Damper with or without balancer

The Vibratech TVD harmonic damper is better than the OEM's in my opinion. I don't know about Cummins or Detroit build quality. CAT has theirs manufactured in China by a low cost vendor. The liquid silicone used by the vendor that CAT uses isn't as good a quality and will solidify eventually this causes crankshaft failures. VibraTech is the company that also is known by the name Fluidampr and is used by most NASCAR, NHRA race teams for their dampers. The parent company of both of these companies is Horschel Companies located in Springville, NY. Usually the price of the Vibratech damper is lower than the OEM replacement dampers offer by the engine manufacturer

http://www.vibratechtvd.com/


http://www.fluidampr.com/



The crankshaft balancer ring is actually manufactured by a company called Balance Masters. These do work when you install them on a CAT engine. I never seen them installed on a Detroit or Cummins to say that they'll make a difference. I don't think any of the engine manufacturers get the balance on the rotating assembly very close, so you should see an improvement on each of the engine brands. The only bad thing I've found with installing this on a CAT engine is it makes it harder to change the fan belts, especially in a Peterbilt


I can supply you with both the Vibratech TVD damper and the Balance Master crankshaft balancer, if you're interested PM me.

 

How can you tell when the crankshaft balancer is worned out and needs replacing ? How does the engine run, rough, etc.....

 

On Cats with the two piece damper there is a line up mark aligning inner and outer rings that will move or you will see the rubber between the two pieces bulging out or missing. When we did overhauls we automatically changed the dampers. The viscous (liquid filled) damper is better you just never know if it is bad, except for an unusual vibration in the engine. It is always good practise to change out at 750K miles.

 

i run a vibratech and a balancer, well worth the money for both.

 

Looks like I need to save up a little more $$$ for Mr. Haney's pocket...... turbo, manifold, ecm tune and now this LOL

 

Well, the other stuff is nice to have, but a dampner and balancer is a wise investment for the longevity of your engine. And the damper is one of the most overlooked items. You would be surprised the number of times when someone gets an inframe done, they never change the damper. Most engine techs don't even give it a thought. It is the best bang for the buck. I am using a balancer made by Balance Masters I put on when I changed my damper at around 480,000 miles.

 

So how much for the balancer and dampner??

 

$225.00 balancer, $499.95 damper + shipping

 

I have the damper and balancer on my n14 and it makes it very hard to change the belts.