If a car has a bad vibration dampner...

Jayls5

Registered User
If a car has a bad vibration dampner... (update with pic)

what are the signs?

Thanks.
 
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Jayls5 said:
what are the signs?

Thanks.
1) no start...Reason...the HB has loosened enough to knock out the crank sensor...no crank sensor, no start and the yellow upshift light will remain on during cranking.

2) Rough engine...can be caused by MANY different things, but the HB is just one of them. The crank pulley will wobble too. Be careful though as worn engine mounts will make it appear that the pulley is wobbling, but it is infact the whole engine vibrating.

3) Most obvious will be the crank pulley/bolt is broken and off. The most extreme will be the crank pulley completely off, the least extreme will be the bead of the crank bolt broken off. Use a mirror to check inside the crank pulley...Big bolt...okay for now...No bolt...Replace the HB.

I'm sure there are more, but that is what I can think of right now...
 
As 007 said, and sometimes the bolt will still be there, but the weighted part (hidden under the black plastic cover) separates from the center portion. If you are under the car and feel like popping off 3 or 4 bolts/nuts, you can pull the plastic cover off and see if you can rotate or wiggle the weighted part without the actuall pulley turning. If so, it is junk.
 
Ok well i'm likely to buy a supercoupe on sunday. He says it has a bad vibration damper but i'm worried it might be something more. I just wanted a way of confirming it's that and that alone. Here's the most recent email he sent me:

"The outside was painted a couple of years ago. It looks
great when waxed. The inside is in pretty good shape. I just
had the headliner done last year. There is a crack in the
dash. It can be repaired. The passanger side window tint is
coming off. I disconnected the motor so it would not
continue to mess it up.
Thanks,
Paul"

I'm just a little worried about the whole thing. It's a good deal if it's just the damper. I'm a little dumb when it comes to this stuff. Where exactly does it go? It's part of the crank pully, or what?

I have a 3.8 on my mustang and I'm told the crank pully is different. Is there a vibration damper that would work off of my 3.8? I don't even know. Spout out as much information as possible please!

Forgot to ask- where do i go about getting one online? What cars have the same one so i know to look for it in the junk yard?
 
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No the damper (harmonic balancer) will not work off your n/a 3.8. I recommend that you get a BHJ one. The price is over $300, but you won't need to worry about it again.
 
Jayls5 said:
.....Where exactly does it go? It's part of the crank pully, or what?.....Forgot to ask- where do i go about getting one online? What cars have the same one so i know to look for it in the junk yard?

It is located on the front of the crank, hidden under that black plastic cover. Yes the crank pulley is what it bolts up to. Just can't see it until the plastic shield/cover is removed. Do NOT get a used one, period! Once removed off a car the stock one will fail when reinstalled. They are a ONE time use, UNLESS you buy a BHJ like 007 was referering too, which you should be able to get from Bill Evanoff at: www.supercoupeperformance.com He will hook you up, think he can get either OEM or BHJ.
 
Jayls5 said:
"There is a crack in the dash. It can be repaired."
Not easily. Your options are limited; there is a company in Australia that you can send the entire dash to that will recover it to OEM standard for about $700 + S/H (100 lb piece crated and shipped to Australia :eek: ) However, it can be covered up for cheap.

Jayls5 said:
"The passanger side window tint is coming off. I disconnected the motor so it would not continue to mess it up."
Ummm Humm.. Yeah... OK..[translation:] so the pass side window motor is crap; this however is easy to fix. We can get you going for less than $10.

On the rest of the stuff; Don't go used on the damper. Either get a new Ford damper, or buy the BHJ.. Before you do anything however, if not already, become a member of this community. This is the place for Supercoupe owners. Learn to search the forums, and read read read and then post questions. Don't be afraid to post, but don't be unrealistic about an answer; some are poor, some are good, and nobody gets paid for any of it.

Forgot to ask- where do i go about getting one online? What cars have the same one so i know to look for it in the junk yard?
I think most of our sponsors carry the BHJ. If you do a search on BHJ, you'll get a lot of info. Be aware though that its a pricey part, so a new Ford balancer is still an option but it is a 1 time use part. The BHJ is much better and besides.. its sharp looking.. of course nobody but you will probably ever see it.. :eek:
 
TbirdSCFan said:
Not easily. Your options are limited; there is a company in Australia that you can send the entire dash to that will recover it to OEM standard for about $700 + S/H (100 lb piece crated and shipped to Australia :eek: ) However, it can be covered up for cheap.

Ummm Humm.. Yeah... OK..[translation:] so the pass side window motor is crap; this however is easy to fix. We can get you going for less than $10.

On the rest of the stuff; Don't go used on the damper. Either get a new Ford damper, or buy the BHJ.. Before you do anything however, if not already, become a member of this community. This is the place for Supercoupe owners. Learn to search the forums, and read read read and then post questions. Don't be afraid to post, but don't be unrealistic about an answer; some are poor, some are good, and nobody gets paid for any of it.

I think most of our sponsors carry the BHJ. If you do a search on BHJ, you'll get a lot of info. Be aware though that its a pricey part, so a new Ford balancer is still an option but it is a 1 time use part. The BHJ is much better and besides.. its sharp looking.. of course nobody but you will probably ever see it.. :eek:

Yea I'm a moderator over on www.3.8mustang.com

I'm definately not afraid to post and I research before hand. I definately appreciate the help. Assuming all goes well on Sunday, i wlil be the proud owner of a Superbird to gut :D

He told me its a 89 Thunderbird Super Coupe, needs vibration dampner replaced, does not knock.

Mods: overdrive pully one the supercharger - 70mm Throttle body - Flo-master exhaust - K&N cone air filter - 73mm MAF sensor - intercooler fan - Tranny shift kit EXTRAS: differeential with 3.07 gears, a set of 3.73 gears not installed, 2 extra superchargers, extra tranny (needs work)

He's asking $1800. what do you think? :D
 
Parts alone you're doing OK if you ask me. If the car is in even reasonable shape body wise for a few hundred bucks spent doing the damper and other tidy up bits you could make that back selling the extra superchargers.

If the spare superchargers are in working order you could score a couple hundred for each at least from what I've seen.
 
Ok guys, he started it up for me before I bought it. It seemed mostly like the bottom pullies were wobbling. He also said the wobbling made the belt begin to fray. You can see how the belt came loose from the wobbling. Other than the noises from the pullies, the engine sounded great along with the exhaust. You guys more certain that it's the harmonic balancer now?
 

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TbirdSCFan said:
See my previous comment. I think we've been pretty clear about it. :confused:


I was just clarifying for him. Thanks for the information. I can't wait to get this thing fixed and drive it for the first time.
 
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