Harmonic Balancer
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 16
Likes: 3
From: North Carolina
Harmonic Balancer
Happy Monday!
Background: we've bought our Vette 6 weeks ago with under 48K miles. Less than a week after having it an annoying engine squeak started. We took it to the local Chevy dealership multiple times. They replaced the belt, but the squeak came back. Took the Vette back and they told us the squeak couldn't be the idler or tensioner pulley - had to be the belt so they ordered a "better" belt. While waiting for the belt to come in (and we became impatient) my husband replaced both pulleys and the squeak went away. YAY for no noise...right? Being frustrated with the dealership my husband contacted the service manager to provide constructive feedback on our experience. The SM asked that we bring the Vette back this morning so he could look at it. LO & BEHOLD the OEM harmonic balancer installed on 30 October is bad!!!
Need advice: the SM has agreed to install an aftermarket harmonic balancer with no labor cost. What brands are recommended? Any that we should stay away from? We are looking at Summit Racing or ATI.
Background: we've bought our Vette 6 weeks ago with under 48K miles. Less than a week after having it an annoying engine squeak started. We took it to the local Chevy dealership multiple times. They replaced the belt, but the squeak came back. Took the Vette back and they told us the squeak couldn't be the idler or tensioner pulley - had to be the belt so they ordered a "better" belt. While waiting for the belt to come in (and we became impatient) my husband replaced both pulleys and the squeak went away. YAY for no noise...right? Being frustrated with the dealership my husband contacted the service manager to provide constructive feedback on our experience. The SM asked that we bring the Vette back this morning so he could look at it. LO & BEHOLD the OEM harmonic balancer installed on 30 October is bad!!!
Need advice: the SM has agreed to install an aftermarket harmonic balancer with no labor cost. What brands are recommended? Any that we should stay away from? We are looking at Summit Racing or ATI.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 664
Likes: 320
From: Houston, Texas
You don't need to go anywhere but Oreilly's Auto Parts and order this: the price may be different but this is the HB you need.
Race Series
PowerBond Race Series Harmonic Balancer PPI PB1117SS
Qty: 1
$225.89
Also order the ARP bolt to replace the stock HB bolt in the crank.
Race Series
PowerBond Race Series Harmonic Balancer PPI PB1117SS
Qty: 1
$225.89
Also order the ARP bolt to replace the stock HB bolt in the crank.
Last edited by BMF_C6; Nov 19, 2018 at 12:15 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 1,122
Likes: 199
From: TX
Power Bond, Summit Racing, Trick Flow all have one right at the $200 mark. Any of these will work great.
If you want to spend more you can get the ATI for about $400.
Stay away from anything $100 or under.
If you want to spend more you can get the ATI for about $400.
Stay away from anything $100 or under.
Last edited by jaredtxrx; Nov 19, 2018 at 12:20 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 5,376
Likes: 1,118
The two best harmonic dampeners (they’re actually not balancers) on the market for LS applications are Innovators West and ATI. Both cost around double what a Powerbond (now produced by Dayco) costs. I’ve installed each of these over the years on different engines. For the money, the Powerbond is probably the best deal. The Summit/TFS balancer seems to be good value for money too. Almost anything is better than the OEM junk. Whatever you do, don’t reinstall one of those. Ditto for the ARP bolt. They are, like all of ARPs products, good quality, but I’ve seen those come loose a couple of times now, once during a race on a friend’s car and it almost caused him to crash. Most likely in those cases the problem was that the bolt wasn’t torqued enough to stretch and load the bolt properly (it’s not easy to do that) or no locking compound was used (I use Red Locktite generously on these bolts). The factory torque-to-yield bolt costs a fraction of what the ARP does, works well and comes with a red sealant under the flange that acts as a locking compound. That’s why you need an impact to break them loose. They use the torque/angle method of tightening, which is what your dealer’s tech guys are going to be used to anyhow, hopefully - if they know what they’re doing. Good luck whichever way you go.
Advanced
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 67
Likes: 6
From: Chicago IL
The Summit "in house" "Bracket Racer" is great and tested up to 12000RPM. It's aboutr $200. and looks and works great. Be sure to have an ARP bolt installed too. Here's the link. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-c2501/overview/
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Drifting
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,494
Likes: 146
From: Saint John's, Florida
I did the Powerbond a couple of months ago and all is well. No need for the ATI bolt. Have the dealer use the stock GM bolt. This bolt is fine if you do not intend to replace the balancer again.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,634
Likes: 190
From: Austin TX
...or do any other mods that require removing the balancer (i.e. cam or oil pump) without buying a new bolt. Get the ATI bolt and call it a day. Dont go to the dealer for the work. Look for a reputable Vette shop in the area. I'd say do it yourself if you are mechanically inclined but it can be a PITA.
Last edited by schizcat; Nov 26, 2018 at 05:49 PM.