Obligatory C5 Thread

[D Griff]

So I noticed a belt squeal type noise from the engine bay in my car... popped the hood and I noticed that the serpentine belt had jumped over a rib on the tensioner and as such wasn't lined up quite right. I fixed this, noise went away, but I'm curious about whether this indicates an underlying issue. I think I'll order a new belt, it's likely original but it does look to be in great shape. My thoughts are either the belt stretched or the ribs have worn down over time, or maybe the tensioner spring wears over time? If it's not holding tight, that could cause it to come loose. I did notice it has a bit of vibration (the tensioner) while the car is running.

I shall keep an eye on it.

Did you have your balancer replaced?

Never have, no...

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Did you have your balancer replaced?

Never have, no...

More than likely that's the problem. Look at it closely, and then start it and watch for a wobble...it'll be visible.

Belt jumping is a key indicator of the balancer.

[D Griff]

Never have, no...

More than likely that's the problem. Look at it closely, and then start it and watch for a wobble...it'll be visible.

Belt jumping is a key indicator of the balancer.

Looks like I should've done that when I had everything apart a month ago...

[D Griff]

I will check it out later.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

More than likely that's the problem. Look at it closely, and then start it and watch for a wobble...it'll be visible.

Belt jumping is a key indicator of the balancer.

Looks like I should've done that when I had everything apart a month ago...

Yea...the steering rack has to come out, which can be some pretty major tear-up.

Unfortunately, if yours is original, it's past due to change.

[D Griff]

Looks like I should've done that when I had everything apart a month ago...

Yea...the steering rack has to come out, which can be some pretty major tear-up.

Unfortunately, if yours is original, it's past due to change.

Yeah I did think about it when I started the suspension/brake/electrical refresh I did, but it appeared to be good so I figured I'd leave well enough alone. if it needs this, I might just take it to a shop, but that's probably

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Yea...the steering rack has to come out, which can be some pretty major tear-up.

Unfortunately, if yours is original, it's past due to change.

Yeah I did think about it when I started the suspension/brake/electrical refresh I did, but it appeared to be good so I figured I'd leave well enough alone. if it needs this, I might just take it to a shop, but that's probably

Probably ~$1k mostly labor, sadly.

It's possible that it was fine but let go during your track day.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

#oldcarshit

[D Griff]

Yeah I did think about it when I started the suspension/brake/electrical refresh I did, but it appeared to be good so I figured I'd leave well enough alone. if it needs this, I might just take it to a shop, but that's probably

Probably ~$1k mostly labor, sadly.

It's possible that it was fine but let go during your track day.

I mean, I've done a lot of track days in it... shouldn't be surprised.

[CaleDeRoo]

My Corvette tech buddy checked my balancer first thing when I mentioned a belt chirp, and said it's a common failure. Thankfully for me its just the A/C belt idler chirping. Annoying as fuck though and so little time to take care of it.

[D Griff]

So I went out and looked at it... the bolt is tight, there is no separation between the rubber and the two metal parts. When I crank the car it spins straight, no wobble or anything I can see. Is there anything else to look for?

The tensioner on the passenger side is oscillating quite a bit with the car running, I think that is probably due for replacement.

[Acid666]

I replaced mine a while back. It's not horrible, but it definitely ain't fun. You can do it with a $30 or so harmonic balancer puller kit. I don't think you've got the room to really do it with some standard 3 jaw pullers.

You can definitely see the wobble. I tried to use it to my advantage when I looked at a C5 at a dealer. I pointed it out to the guy trying to chip them down in price. Made sure to look for it and yup, it was obvious. I'd replace it if you haven't yet. If my memory serves me right, you need to remove the radiator and move the ac condenser to the side. I can't remember why but I remember pulling the power steering pulley setup off. It's really just 4 bolts in weird spots, and I can't remember why I removed it. It could of been for another thing I was fixing back then.
And then there's the steering rack that has to come out. I can't remember which side, but I did like the internet says and pulled it thru the wheel well.

[Acid666]

In super fun times, I had to buy a new battery. Old one was from the previous owner so it's at minimum 3 years old. It was an O'reilly one. I took it out for a ride a few weeks ago and when I went to start it after making a stop, D E D.
Replaced it with an Optima Red Top since I've had pretty good luck with em. My buddy jumped me with an Optima Bluetop that he charged up 3 months ago. It was a spare in his engine compartment that he keeps for whatevs. It wasn't hooked up to anything. He wanted to see if it had enough cold cranking amps in it to turn mine since he's never really messed with the blue marine ones. Pretty impressive.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

So I went out and looked at it... the bolt is tight, there is no separation between the rubber and the two metal parts. When I crank the car it spins straight, no wobble or anything I can see. Is there anything else to look for?

The tensioner on the passenger side is oscillating quite a bit with the car running, I think that is probably due for replacement.

Check for alignment of the belt. It's possible it could walk forward or back and still be straight.

Look down the belt from the tensioner as it goes to the balancer, you'll be able to see if it's straight or not.

Also, how much effort does it take to move the tensioner? If it's really lose, that might be it. If the belt is original, maybe it's lost some ribs or stretched a bit?

Dodged a major bullet there because it's easy to replace.

[D Griff]

So I went out and looked at it... the bolt is tight, there is no separation between the rubber and the two metal parts. When I crank the car it spins straight, no wobble or anything I can see. Is there anything else to look for?

The tensioner on the passenger side is oscillating quite a bit with the car running, I think that is probably due for replacement.

Check for alignment of the belt. It's possible it could walk forward or back and still be straight.

Look down the belt from the tensioner as it goes to the balancer, you'll be able to see if it's straight or not.

Also, how much effort does it take to move the tensioner? If it's really lose, that might be it. If the belt is original, maybe it's lost some ribs or stretched a bit?

Dodged a major bullet there because it's easy to replace.

I looked at that too, they are dead even. It looks like that is common where the outer metal part of the balancer walks out, it's dead lined up with every other pulley on the belt.

I think I'll replace the tensioner and the belt. They're not terribly expensive and very easy to do. I might wait a while on the balancer, kind of burned out on working on the C5. I'll just keep an eye on it, but by all the visual/feel inspections, it seems fine. I've seen some crazy shit on youtube where it walked forward like 1"+, the bolt is finger loose, bad wobble, etc.

I'm sure eventually something else up there will break and I'll tackle it then rather than paying a shop. When I had all the front suspension off and a bunch of other stuff, I was already part way there, wishing I would've done it then. I had to losen a bunch of those parts to get the PS cooler in.

[D Griff]

In super fun times, I had to buy a new battery. Old one was from the previous owner so it's at minimum 3 years old. It was an O'reilly one. I took it out for a ride a few weeks ago and when I went to start it after making a stop, D E D.
Replaced it with an Optima Red Top since I've had pretty good luck with em. My buddy jumped me with an Optima Bluetop that he charged up 3 months ago. It was a spare in his engine compartment that he keeps for whatevs. It wasn't hooked up to anything. He wanted to see if it had enough cold cranking amps in it to turn mine since he's never really messed with the blue marine ones. Pretty impressive.

That's . Mine seems to go through batteries pretty quickly, I've bought two or three in the six years of ownershit. I'm hoping redoing all the grounds helps out with that, we'll see if I need one again anytime soon.

[ChrisoftheNorth]

Check for alignment of the belt. It's possible it could walk forward or back and still be straight.

Look down the belt from the tensioner as it goes to the balancer, you'll be able to see if it's straight or not.

Also, how much effort does it take to move the tensioner? If it's really lose, that might be it. If the belt is original, maybe it's lost some ribs or stretched a bit?

Dodged a major bullet there because it's easy to replace.

I looked at that too, they are dead even. It looks like that is common where the outer metal part of the balancer walks out, it's dead lined up with every other pulley on the belt.

I think I'll replace the tensioner and the belt. They're not terribly expensive and very easy to do. I might wait a while on the balancer, kind of burned out on working on the C5. I'll just keep an eye on it, but by all the visual/feel inspections, it seems fine. I've seen some crazy shit on youtube where it walked forward like 1"+, the bolt is finger loose, bad wobble, etc.

I'm sure eventually something else up there will break and I'll tackle it then rather than paying a shop. When I had all the front suspension off and a bunch of other stuff, I was already part way there, wishing I would've done it then. I had to losen a bunch of those parts to get the PS cooler in.

Yea, you're probably good with just a belt and tensioner placement, then keep an eye on the balancer.

Mine started visibly wobbling and when I took it off, the degradation of the rubber was REAL.

[NeonJonny]

In super fun times, I had to buy a new battery. Old one was from the previous owner so it's at minimum 3 years old. It was an O'reilly one. I took it out for a ride a few weeks ago and when I went to start it after making a stop, D E D.
Replaced it with an Optima Red Top since I've had pretty good luck with em. My buddy jumped me with an Optima Bluetop that he charged up 3 months ago. It was a spare in his engine compartment that he keeps for whatevs. It wasn't hooked up to anything. He wanted to see if it had enough cold cranking amps in it to turn mine since he's never really messed with the blue marine ones. Pretty impressive.

That's . Mine seems to go through batteries pretty quickly, I've bought two or three in the six years of ownershit. I'm hoping redoing all the grounds helps out with that, we'll see if I need one again anytime soon.

How often are you guys driving these turds? I daily mine and the battery is 3 years old. I leave the stupid dimmer on all the time and have found the battery dead more times than I can count. Jump it with the neon and it never happened.

[Acid666]

That's . Mine seems to go through batteries pretty quickly, I've bought two or three in the six years of ownershit. I'm hoping redoing all the grounds helps out with that, we'll see if I need one again anytime soon.

How often are you guys driving these turds? I daily mine and the battery is 3 years old. I leave the stupid dimmer on all the time and have found the battery dead more times than I can count. Jump it with the neon and it never happened.

Right now I'm driving it once a month... maybe.
It stays in the garage with a cover over it and hooked up to a battery tender. I was mainly pulling it out just to autocross it. I still love it, but it just ain't really fun to just cruise around in it or anything. It's more fun to hop in my beater miata and zip thru the gears than it is to get the z06 out and roar down the city streets blasting thru 2 gears before you get to nearly 70mph. So I'm officially a gold chainer

[NeonJonny]

How often are you guys driving these turds? I daily mine and the battery is 3 years old. I leave the stupid dimmer on all the time and have found the battery dead more times than I can count. Jump it with the neon and it never happened.

Right now I'm driving it once a month... maybe.
It stays in the garage with a cover over it and hooked up to a battery tender. I was mainly pulling it out just to autocross it. I still love it, but it just ain't really fun to just cruise around in it or anything. It's more fun to hop in my beater miata and zip thru the gears than it is to get the z06 out and roar down the city streets blasting thru 2 gears before you get to nearly 70mph. So I'm officially a gold chainer

Nice.

[D Griff]

That's . Mine seems to go through batteries pretty quickly, I've bought two or three in the six years of ownershit. I'm hoping redoing all the grounds helps out with that, we'll see if I need one again anytime soon.

How often are you guys driving these turds? I daily mine and the battery is 3 years old. I leave the stupid dimmer on all the time and have found the battery dead more times than I can count. Jump it with the neon and it never happened.

It is now my daily again but still probably less than 50 miles/week. It was my daily for four years while I was on the road every week so it would often sit for a week or two, that may have been why the batteries didn’t last...

[NeonJonny]

How often are you guys driving these turds? I daily mine and the battery is 3 years old. I leave the stupid dimmer on all the time and have found the battery dead more times than I can count. Jump it with the neon and it never happened.

It is now my daily again but still probably less than 50 miles/week. It was my daily for four years while I was on the road every week so it would often sit for a week or two, that may have been why the batteries didn’t last...

I'm not an electrician or mechanic. Do you lock your car when you go to sleep? Is there more draw when the alarm is armed?

[D Griff]

It is now my daily again but still probably less than 50 miles/week. It was my daily for four years while I was on the road every week so it would often sit for a week or two, that may have been why the batteries didn’t last...

I'm not an electrician or mechanic. Do you lock your car when you go to sleep? Is there more draw when the alarm is armed?

Hadn’t thought about that. I could leave in unlocked now at home, in the past it was at the airport a lot or various apartments.

[NeonJonny]

I'm not an electrician or mechanic. Do you lock your car when you go to sleep? Is there more draw when the alarm is armed?

Hadn’t thought about that. I could leave in unlocked now at home, in the past it was at the airport a lot or various apartments.

I'm probably wrong. However the corvette does have a crazy security system. I know it uses magnet sensors in the doors to detect the key. Ive seen someone drill just near the key cylinder and slide a magnet in to disable the alarm before opening the door.

[CaleDeRoo]

I'm thinking about trying to mount two of the C5 Bose woofers in the rear shelf of the s4 to replace the 6.5" ones that are in there now. If anybody here happens to have any that are just sitting around I'd be willing to pay for them + shipping before giving somebody else my money.