Bet you can't name this vibration...

SilverCoupe

Registered User
Ok, so get this;

I've got my solid rubber motor mounts, a solid rubber tranny mount, a new harmonic balancer. The car has vibration at idle, (lopy, alot like a extreme cam, but I know for sure it isn't) and once you pass around 3500, you get massive vibration throughout the chassis. This is not related to speed, nor is it related to the driveshaft spinning in gear, or even load on the motor. Driving downt he road, it's there, sitting in neutral in a parking lot; it's there. Could I have something internally off-balance in the tranny or motor? Could it be something with the flywheel or clutch? I don't honestly think it's the crankshaft since I've owned the car since 109000 miles and it now has 118000 on it; during that time it's been driven hard more than a few times at the drag-strip and on the street, which probably would have snapped the crank by now. So, well... any ideas?
 
Is that a stock balancer?

Or some other kind. I have read that if you use any balancer other than stock you have to have some special procedure done to balance it with your other pullies especially if you have underdrive pullies. Thats my guess.
 
It's a stock OEM Ford balancer.

I think it might be possible that the flywheel wasn't balanced or re-surfaced last time the car had a clutch job. Do you think that would cause some obvious rotational vibration?
 
I have 2 bad stock balancers. Looks like they are balanced to the engine. I would hit the search button, as there is a lot of threads on harmonic balancer. I just can't believe the flywheel not being resurfaced would cause it but bet your balancer is.
 
Doug... so how do I find a balancer that is balanced to my engine? I mean, I probably can't just buy one and install it... so that would mean I'd have to go down to the dealership, bend over once for the part and then again for the labor, no?
 
I don't know. I have not read all the posts on the subject myself. Hoping you might, haha. I will be buying a new single piece balancer or two. I will then read all there is to it. No way will I get a new composite from Ford. I have only noticed comments about the balancing. I have a few SCs so I am not hurting to fix them yet. But plenty of folks have changed them and so I am sure there is a procedure or I am all wet.

Are you losing power when the vibration happens? Just wondering if some other problem.
 
SilverCoupe said:
Doug... so how do I find a balancer that is balanced to my engine? I mean, I probably can't just buy one and install it... so that would mean I'd have to go down to the dealership, bend over once for the part and then again for the labor, no?

Nope, I don't lose power, it pulls just fine to redline.
 
http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18410

This is the link to the BHJ solid damper installation. I guess you just stick it on if you have broken dampers as mine are. Nothing left to check original balance. One of my used Ford dampers has the bond to the outer ring loose. That rings appears to have weights/pegs on it. Who knows what the location was. The other broke off the crank shaft on a 55k engine. I was told to not use the first one I mentioned as it will screw things up. Maybe some smart people will respond. Click on the search button above and type in key words.
Doug
 
if the balancer had to be balanced 'to the engine' then you would have to tear your whole engine apart and have everything balanced together, just to change the balancer. So i'm sure that's not the case. I've read posts here that say the balancer and pulley have to be balanced to each other, so maybe that's where your problem lies. Also, not resurfacing the flywheel would not cause this (you might get a shudder or shake when first letting the clutch out to start off) But it's possible that something broke in the clutch itself, such as one of the springs in the disc or something in the pressure plate let go. Did the problem occur immediately after changing your balancer? if so that's probabably where it is, if not it may be the clutch
 
I've got a similar vibration, though not quite as extreme. I was thinking clutch components also. I'll be following this thread with interest.
 
I got bad pressure plate one time on a 68 goat that would shake at differnt RPM. Took it back got another one bingo no vibration. The guy said one of the balance weights was missing.
 
bet its your exhaust ... loosen all your exhaust system ..DONT TAKE IT APART !.. just loosen everything so it will neutralize everything ... then loosen your tranny crossmember and trany mount ..AGAIN DONT REMOVE... just loosen to were you have the ability to move everything from side to side ..then start be tightening the tranny mount making sure its straight. not pulled in any other direction... then tighten your crossmember...after that proced to tighten your exhuast system .. double check all your exhaust hangers make sure their is not alot of play...mine did that it was driving me crazy.. replaced this that and all that it was .. is that the exhaust was pulling the tranny to my passenger side and the shaft was mis aligned ...... good luck.
 
That's interesting....I've never heard of that. This is what you did and it helped? Was it an automatic or 5 speed?
 
Well, I'm going to check the balancer later tonight. I'll see what I find. The thing that ticks me off most about the vibration is that it's been there ever since I owned the car. I've done everything I can so far to try and fix it, lucky (maybe) I'm running out of possible culprits, but the last few seem to be the most expensive.
 
Well if you replace your stock HB with a new stock HB you are supposed to transfer the weight pins that are pushed into holes in the outer ring of the HB into the exact same hole posistions that they came from on the old HB into the new HB.
The previous owner may have replaced the HB at some point and either did'nt transfer them to the new HB or put them in the wrong holes.
Take a look at your old HB and see if the weights are still in the outer ring.:)

EDIT: I can post some pics if you need them.
 
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Mike
Those pins are only a couple of grams, I don't think that's enough to cause the vibration he is talking about. I run a bhj without any pins with no vibration at all (stock damper had one pin).


Silvercoupe
Try removing all of the belts to see if that changes anything.

I don't know how easy it is to inspect the clutch/flywheel but a problem with either could easily cause rpm dependant vibrations

Aaron
 
Well I dont have anyway to really tell through the internet how bad it really is but when we ballance an engine we get alot closer than a couple of grams.
My understanding of the BHJ balancer is that it is already neutral balanced where the factory one is not.
Maybe I have that wrong I'm not sure. Maybe someone that is up on the BHJ can set us straight on that.
I thought he was talking about a stock HB.:)
 
mine was an automatic the vibration i had sounds like the one he is having ... it would happen from the range of 2000-2500rpms even if i was coasting so i new it wasnt the engine cause i would go over that range and it would be alright if i let of the petal or accelerated to that point it would happen .. the vibration was also extreme it didnt just vibrate but it felt like someone would hit the frame of the car with a rotorhamer like... my theory was that the catlytic converter support on the tranny if you loosen the crossmember or tranny mount .. and not the manifolds also if for some reason they have some pull to either side... not noticible enough to see but enough for porbably the drivline to feel... i guess so when you tighten the crossmember up u have that pull either way i think its better to neutralize every thing first and make sure it not in a bind some where.. not saying this is your problem but just tought i give u a pointer on what happen to me...:rolleyes:
 
Creeper are you saying that you eleminated your vibration this way?

reminds me of an old Falcon I had that vibrated so bad it split the tail housing of the tranny half in two. The spline shaft was worn so bad I just drove it till she broke and put in another tranny and never had problem again.
 
The BHJ is neutral balanced.

I believe that the stock assembly is also neutral balanced but individual components are not.

My comment on the pins being a few grams was that with the mass of the engine, a couple of grams a few inches from center would not be able to shake the car.

Aaron
 
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