When I bought my Grand Sport back in December, we encountered a mechanical noise on the test drive. In my mania for buying my dream sports car (again), I decided to follow through with the sale with the solace that any issues would be resolved under warranty.
I kept hearing the sound, but it only came about when the engine went into V4 mode and the throttle was lightly applied, about 1,200 RPM or so. It honestly sounded like a bunch of silverware being tossed around in a bowling ball bag. It was alarming sometimes because it would get loud but as soon as the car switched back into V8 mode from V4, the noises would go away.
Some internet research revealed (thanks to the enthusiasts at CorvetteForum.com) that the sound was most likely coming from a failing or failed belt tensioner. Thankfully, this was a pretty cheap part and mostly a simply process to replace. I calculated that it would be cheaper for me to buy a new serpentine belt and belt tensioner on RockAuto (~$120 total) versus paying my warranty deductible ($250), needing a diagnostic to confirm belt tensioner failure, and possibly having the car out of commission for several days.
Most tutorials on the internet are fairly comprehensive but I noticed that lots of walkthroughs of the belt tensioner replacement process glossed over the removal and retorquing of the bottom bolt of the belt tensioner, located on the left hole on the picture above. Some people also mentioned lack of space for bottom bolt removal and recommended the front of the car be lifted.
I didn’t think I would need to lift the car up because the car is so low, and hey, I have the tools for a tight removal and replacement, right? Right?
Nope. Long story short, I spent about 20 minutes total in the removal and replacement of all the other items in the way, but the lower tensioner bolt took me h o u r s. I would highly recommend lifting the car to access the bolt from below with a 1/4″ socket wrench, it likely would have made this 3-4 hour job into just a 1 hour job. In the end, the belt tensioner was successfully replaced, and all funky noises are gone.
On to the next one.
-Roth
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