Hey all its my busy season with work and i don't get a lot of time to participate on fte or spend time with my rig. Just got home from a week away from home at work. Asked my wife while i was gone to fire up the truck every day or two and let her run for 5 or 10 min. Well she failed so i get home after cold temps from last tues till yesterday and tried to start the truck this afternoon when i got home and well the batteries were dead. So i charged them up via jumper cables hooked to my skiddloader and she fired right up.

So with the hood up and running at idle i looked over everything for fuel/oil leaks etc. Was looking at the belt and pulleys and all looked good but the very bottom pulley. The harmonic balancer pulley looked as if it were wobbling a bit. I crawled under and looked at a different angle and it sure looked like it was wobbling. Thought i was being fooled by the magnets that pass the cps but when looking at the center of the pulley it seemed like it was wobbly especially compared to all the others. I hit the hi idle for a bit which idles it at 1200rpm i believe and looked again and it seemed to go away ? Not sure if its my mind playing tricks on me or an illusion but it sure looks wobbly at idle. Is this normal ? There appears to be no signs of oil from around the seal or strange binding noises. Just curious. Don't know too much about this part, is there i bearing in there ? If so do they go out ? and is there a way to check it ? Tomorrow i was going to the shop and was going to take the belt off and check it for play.

Any ideas guys ?????

 

I don't know about ours, but the ones on 5.0 have a rubber layer or bushing in between two of the metal rings. Eventually mine separated as I was going down the road one day.

 

I've never herd of something like that going out but if one were to go it would be mine lol. Just for giggles I'm going to check it today. Loosen the belt and see if it has any play. But if it dose i wouldn't know what to fix. I have no idea whats even behind there

 

A wobbling/shifted outer damper ring is more common than you think. Here is a video that Swimholm posted in his thread when he replaced his. Harmonic Balancer Movie - YouTube

 

Take a look at the rubber between the two rings. If it is oil soaked and swollen, missing chunks, or the front face not even( take a straight edge and check equal distance from outer ring to inner hub)....

 

Roland thanks for pointing this out. I have always looked at any stock harmonic balancer as a weak link as they get years / age on them due to the design. But I did not know that the 7.3 had issues with the harmonic balancer. Now I myself think that harmonic balancer does a job that is highly under apperciated. I just think most guy look at it is as it isn't broke so it is OK. But a so so or a harmonic balancer on it's way out can cause more wear to an engine and rob power than one might think.

I remember when you bought a Fluidampr and if I recall correctly you seen improvements in the way the truck ran. I have always been a big fan of Fluidampr harmonic balancers, they are the best money can buy!! But they aren't cheap as you well know.
But it a solid upgrade to any truck.

So in my opinion if the harmonic balancer is in doubt I say replace it with at least a new OEM. But if you love your truck and have the cash you can't go wrong with a Fluidampr harmonic balancer. It is a way better design. Ford Powerstroke

 

Sorry I didn't get into explaining my point about what the harmonic balancer does or why the Fluidampr is better but here is something I copy and pasted. Which explains better than I could.

"Fluidampr Engine Dampers are designed to control destructive vibrations which are transfered thru the crankshaft.
Each time the air/fuel mixture inside a cylinder is ignited, the combustion that occurs creates a torque spike that is applied to the crankshaft through the piston and rod. This torque spike is so severe that it not only turns the crankshaft, it actually twists the crankshaft ahead of its normal rotation and then the crankshaft rebounds. This twisting action is known as torsional vibration. When these torque spikes and forces get into phase with the natural frequency, critical torsional harmonic vibrations occur and can be seriously destructive to the bearings and the crankshaft. Dampers are designed to control those destructive vibrations.
Critical harmonic vibrations occur numerous times in a engine’s operating range. Stock rubber and elastomer-type dampers are frequency sensitive “tuned absorbers”, and work at only one critical frequency. In the case of a stock rubber damper, it is tuned for a factory engine’s critical harmonic vibrations. If you change the mass of pistons, rods, or the crankshaft, you change the natural frequency of the crankshaft assembly; therefore, the stock damper is no longer tuned to the new frequency of vibration, and you may be headed for early failure of expensive engine components. Dampers also create heat while they work, and rubber is a poor dissipator of heat. This heat and the exposure to the elements deteriorates rubber, causing it to crack and change durometer, which then leads to inertia ring slippage, damper failure, uncontrolled torsional vibration, and costly engine parts breakage."

 

Love my fluidampr.....

 

Ok good info but is there a way to check if its shot or on its way out ???? I loosened the belt yesterday and grabbed that sucker and from underneath i pushed up and pulled down on it and tried to go side to side with it and it didn't have a hair of play in it that i could feel ?

 

Sorry for my stupidity here but what two rings ??? and check distance from outer ring to inner hub ??? I'm confused !

 

There is a thin layer of rubber separating the two halves of the damper. If it has separated, a straight edge will help you in diagnosing. I had a massive oil leak for a while from my front oil seal and it did not effect the damper in the slightest..

 

Got it !!! Thanks i watched the video that was posted above after i read what you described. Mine is defiantly shot then. Bearings had no play but the rubber is bulging out fairly bad. That will be on my list for when my travels end.

I also noticed that in the before and after shots in the vid the truck sounded quieter after the new one was installed. Maybe its just me but listen and tell me if I'm wrong.

Thanks for all the help !!!!!