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As the various replies have noted, this is a job best left to the professionals. However, IMHO you would be much better off finding a good, private Vette shop to do the work, rather than a dealer......in the long run, a private shop will be much less expensive. Just make sure whoever you choose has a good local reputation for working on Vettes.
I don't know how difficult it is to repair but I will say this..it might be normal for it to wobble.
I have been shopping for a Corvette for months and looked at 6 of them years between 1999 and 2005 and ALL of the harmonic balancers has a wobble to them.
I finally ended up with a 2005 with 30,000 miles on it and guess what...it wobbles too and im not worried about it.
This has been going on since 1997. GM doesn't care or they would have designed a better HB in the last 15 years.
Some people have had their balancer replaced and the new one had a slight wobble. I have read about some putting new HB's on a lathe and using the one that had the least wobble.
When i was looking for a C5 for the wife some time ago, i ran into the same situation as you. All of them i looked at had some wobble.
As the various replies have noted, this is a job best left to the professionals. However, IMHO you would be much better off finding a good, private Vette shop to do the work, rather than a dealer......in the long run, a private shop will be much less expensive. Just make sure whoever you choose has a good local reputation for working on Vettes.
Not a hard job, just time consuming because you gotta move the steering rack out the way. I think most people overreact to the wobble. A slight wobble is fine. The stock balancer is made of two pieces that are mated together with rubber. All you gotta do is look or reach down in your engine bay (of course with the engine off) and feel along the front face of the balancer to see if the two pieces are starting to separate from the rubber. If they are, thats when you need to be concerned.
All you gotta do is look or reach down in your engine bay (of course with the engine off) and feel along the front face of the balancer to see if the two pieces are starting to separate from the rubber. If they are, thats when you need to be concerned.
Not a hard job, just time consuming because you gotta move the steering rack out the way. I think most people overreact to the wobble. A slight wobble is fine. The stock balancer is made of two pieces that are mated together with rubber. All you gotta do is look or reach down in your engine bay (of course with the engine off) and feel along the front face of the balancer to see if the two pieces are starting to separate from the rubber. If they are, thats when you need to be concerned.
Its much easier to look at it with the engine running so you can see the wobble. I have the bad one that was replaced and visually it looks fine. You would never know its bad by looking at it.
Its much easier to look at it with the engine running so you can see the wobble. I have the bad one that was replaced and visually it looks fine. You would never know its bad by looking at it.
Yes, you can tell from the pics its bad.....,.............it a stock GM unit
Have any of you had any chirping before the wobbling? I supercharged my Camaro, same crappy balancer of course, and I'm chasing a chirping noise when it is cold. I'm getting really frustrated. It sounds like a $500 car that someone has let all of the maintenance and repair go its whole life. It is really embarrassing. I don't drive it much, and I don't think I'll be driving it anymore unless this gets fixed, lol.
__________________ Phone: 484-334-8833 Owner of CULTRAG Performance
Mine started chirping after my supercharger install. It only chirps for a few minutes after start-up then goes away. You can look at the crank pulley and see it dancing.
Looking at replacing mine this weekend. Does anyone have any tips on the replacement of the pulley. I thought I read somewhere a while back that you can lift the engine enough that the balancer will clear the power steering rack. Has anyone tried this method?
Mine started the wobble @ 40k. Has since been replaced at a vette specialist for $500 labor and I paid $200 for an SLP under driven unit plus new belts.
Edit: $500 for labor and belts.
If he has a repair business and has insurance and overhead, he will not be in business for long.
Well my shop replaced mine in my Camaro for me today. I am happy the noise is gone. There is a procedure to measure the runout of the balancer to see if it is out of spec and causing the noise.
10-19-2012, 08:57 PM
