Stephen68

Hello everyone and thanks for allowing me to be part of this site. I have a question for some of you veteran LT-1 owner's....I was driving my car yesterday when i heard what sounded like i had ran over something metal in the road. I pulled over on the side of the road just to reassure myself that it wasn't something from my car. I popped the hood and all looked good until i noticed my serpentine belt looked loose. After further inspection, i noticed my harmonic balancer with dampening hub just hanging down towards the bottom of my motor. I put 2 and 2 together and the noise i heard was actually the crank bolt and washer falling out and bouncing off the bottom of my car. My question is this....is it ok to just put this back on and be done or is there anything else i should be aware of? I did notice that oil was dripping from the front of the crank where the hub goes, but i assume that's just the seal on the timing cover which i was going to replace anyways.....Any help or suggestions are appreciated. The motor was also just rebuilt and has less than 1000 miles on it and i turned it off immediately as i heard that noise and nothing got over heated, thats why im wondering if i should be concerned or not. Also, just so you guys know, i am not the one who re built the motor lol...Thanks!

Injuneer

Stock or aftermarket damper/hub? The stock hub is an interference fit. Typically is has to be forced.on with an install tool. There is a keyway in the crank but none on ths hub, so no key is used. The bolt is specific to the hub/crank and should have a large washer bearing on the hub.

You have to determine why it has such a loose fit - crank snout diameter too small, or hub bore too.large.

It won't overheat on loss of the belt. The water pump is gear driven off the cam sprocket.

Stephen68

Thanks buddy for the reply. It is a stock hub. I am not sure if it is lose fitting or just was not put on correctly/torqued and lock tighted....How would be the best way to ensure it is aligned the correct way? I am planning on pulling the front end off of it.

Injuneer

You have to determine if the fit is too loose. If it is, it's going to spin on the crank and damage it.

Stephen68

OK, I will check the fit once i get it home tomorrow....Thanks again Injuneer..

Stephen68

Ok guys, i got my Z home tonight....i checked the hub and it seems tight like it wont go on unless its pressed....is there a certain position i have to put the balancer back on at?...as in do i need to worry about lining anything up before i torque it back down and install the serpentine? Also, what is required to be removed to re install my harmonic balancer and hub?

transamtom

If the elastomer fell off the hub I would buy a new balancer,you already said there is a leak so now is the time to fix it and upgrade your balancer.

Stephen68

Excuse my ignorance transamtom, but what is "elastomer "? i purchased a new hub but there is nothing like that on it....

Injuneer

He didn't read your post correctly. He is thinking the outer ring of the damper fell off, or the damper fell off and damaged the hard rubber (elastomer) ring that holds the inner and outer rings of the damper together. The elastomer allows the outer ring to absorb (dampen) the crankshaft's harmonic rotational vibrations, to reduce fatigue of the crankshaft.

Stephen68

ah, thank u sir....