My engine has been balanced by the machine shop already with a regular style harmonic balancer, i may have the chance to purchase a $450 fluid damper for 80ish bucks....brand new in box never been even opened, should i buy this one and throw my other one to the spare parts pile? what are the benefits from it as well and would it need balanced? never used one before so I'm not even sure what i've been missing out on by not using one...about to go try google to see what i can learn before i go to bed. any bit of info on these is appreciated as i know nothing about them...untill google. - last day of work before xmas holidays!
No real idea on the benefits as Ive never used one but I think I remember hearing that you should use an OEM damper to balance anyway since the fluid damper can make it harder to balance properly. Not 100% on that though, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will jump in
not more "knowledgeable" but... maybe check with the shop that balanced your engine...they are the ones that should be standing behind it. I run the ...motor oil and transmission fluid... recommended by my builders... J.M.
yeah.. angryeyes is correct. The fluidampers can throw the actual balance off when being spun on the machine due to it not correctly mimicking the actual forces ona running engine. Most shops should have another stock style rubber band/intertia ring type balancer(or just use yours if it's the correct one for the crank) that can be used during the balance job. Then just switch over to the fluidamper which has the same weight it was balanced with.. whether it be a 28 or 50 oz model that was required to achieve the proper balance. A fluidamper is FAR superior to any stock style balancer in that it can reduce harmonics over a much greater rpm range. This usually results in a sightly smoother spinning engine, especially at high rpm's, and can greatly improve bearing life as result. They've also been reported to reduce oil temps too and seems entirely plausible when moving from a stock setup that is far less than optimum to begin with. I use them on anything I plan on keeping for a bit and they're well worth the extra cash in my book.
I'm no expert but I never heard of an engine being balanced while assembled. I only seen the parts balanced prior to assemblie. That's how mine was balanced anyway..
you misinterpreted what I wrote, Gene. Was just pointing out that a balancing machine doesn't completely mimick the exact forces found in a running motor and that the fluidampers internal inertia ring causes them problems during balancing. It floats in the silicone differently on the machine than when installed on a running motor, is all. That's why you use a similarly weighted stock style balancer for the process and then swap to the fluidamper during the actual buildup.
Actually I was only making a comment as to my personal experiences.. I could be mistaken as to what my builder did because I was not there. I was told what I needed to do with a rod and piston I had to replace when a rod got bent due to an intake leak. He explained that the parts needed to weigh exactly what the old ones did because my engine had been balanced. I only assumed he ment the parts were balanced and that was it. It's been like almost 20 years. I could pull out the receipt to look but all it says is balance and the extra charge on the charge line. Anyway. I find these topics intresting and didn't mean to go off. Here is what I just found that I think is intresting and makes me wonder about the practices done back when I had it done to todays. http://www.carcraft.com/howto/ccrp_0803_engine_balancing/viewall.html
I would think that as long as it`s the same weight as the one you`re removing,the mtr should be OK as the fluiddamper does a better job of absorbing vibration.
so it seems it's just better all the way around....ill call the guy tomorrow to see if it's a 28oz...if so i think i'll get it.
