With ATI balancer and pin yes. There are other types of pins though so the answer is also NO. :/

 

That’s all fine and good......but if I can’t find someone in my area to do it for a fair price, I guess I don’t have much of a choice.

 

I wasn't trying to come across as a dick, but rather give you a frame of reference to illustrate that the job isn't particularly difficult or time consuming to hopefully help you from paying too much.

 

Just shop around and get more quotes.

 

Sorry, I gotta raise the BS flag on this one.... NO WAY !!!

 

 

Wow, do you seriously think I just made that up?

I can also pull the engine in a little under 5 hours and swap the torque converter in about 4, but I'm guessing you probably don't believe me about those either, huh?

 

I apologize for the doubt; I'd love to see you get that done with no lift in 3 hours.... you're one heck of a wrench; I guess I'm just getting slow in my old age!

 

No worries.

Here are the steps in case anybody was curious:

- jack up the car and remove the front wheels
- remove the two 13mm lower shock bolts on both sides
- remove the four 15mm upper control arm bolts on both sides
- remove the 11mm bolt holding the steering shaft to the steering box
- support the engine either from up top with an engine hoist connected to the heads or with a floor jack down below with a block of wood under the oil pan
- remove the two 18mm nuts at the bottom of the engine mounts
- position a transmission jack under the front cradle
- remove the four 21mm bolts holding the cradle to the frame
- slowly lower the cradle all the way to the ground, adjusting the angle of the jack as necessary to make sure it comes down smoothly without binding up anywhere

At this point the balancer will be staring you in the face but in order to get it off you'll need to lock it somehow. I use the flywheel locking tool shown below. Alternatively, if the car has a manual transmission you can put it in 5th gear and have somebody apply the brakes and parking brake while you attempt to loosen the bolt. Something I don't recommend (although I've done it once before) is placing a large prybar in the teeth of the flywheel to keep it from moving.

After the bolt is out you'll need a balancer puller tool to get it off the crank. I use the same one that the dealership uses as the three arms sit in the slots of the pulley without slipping off. I've had mixed results with the ones you can borrow or rent from parts stores.

If you don't anticipate having to replace it again anytime soon then a stock balancer bolt is fine, otherwise an ARP bolt works well and is reusable.

A lot of people don't like the stock balancer but honestly I've had less trouble with those compared to the crappy ATI one that I have to run due to NHRA rules for my car. On three separate occasions several of the Torx bolts holding the two halves of the balancer together have sheared off.

To install the new balancer you'll need an installation tool to get it on since the new bolt isn't quite long enough. For that I just went to Fastenal and bought a threaded rod (can't remember the thread pitch) along with a couple of large nuts and washers and cut it down to the length I needed.

 

It took me 4 hours with no lift. I used the HB from summit and arp bolt. Everyone makes this job out to be a nightmare, it’s not that bad.

 

Just me would scribe the crank and old damper keeping the old damper if you are not installing OEM. The procedure is described in the service manual. Someone might want to replicate the factory external balance down the road.

 

Yup its a bear of a job. I just had my 07 base hb replaced with an ATI 10% under drive super damper. Went ahead and pinned it while they had it apart, never know when I might decide to bolt on some power, so just thinking ahead a little. It cost me about 1100 all said, and my shop belongs to family. So that quote, although not great, sounds like hes not taking advantage either. Imo anyhow. Its a big job without question. Hope it all works out and you are back on the road again soon!

 

did you have to unhook any power steering hoses and electrical connectors? Was wondering about that.

 

yes he is missing a few step in there. You have to move the steering rack out of the way. You cannot pull the HB with it in the way.

 

I ended up unhooking it and moving it to passenger side. I also had to unbolt right side kooks long tube header to remove starter to put in the flywheel locking tool. Waiting on the HB. Already installed new seal.

 

His way is dropping the cradle (power steering rack and all) out of the way vs. fighting with unbolting it and moving just the rack. I've never done it that way, but either way you do it it's not AS bad as everyone makes it out to be. I shove the rack over to the passenger side where there's more room

The original quote is high IMO but not totally insane.

 

I've done it both ways and this way is definitely easier.

 

No, I'm not missing any steps. The whole purpose behind doing it this way is not to have to pull the power steering rack.

 

sub definitely knows what he's talking about.... definitely a great resource to have!

the time estimates are pretty spot on... after pulling and reinstalling the motor in my z06, I could probably get pretty close to what he's saying.....

just look at the kids who can do a Rubik's cube in like seven seconds... it's just a matter of knowing what needs to be done



and

 

My shop charged me about $1300 with an ATI ... I was having some other things done at the same time so it might have influenced things. I thought it a fair price.