Decided to install a Fluidampr

Porno Joe

Member
Oct 11, 2010
513
0
16
South of Pittsburgh
Well I decided to install a fluidampr on my LBZ today. Know there is a stigma with them but I decided to try one anyway. Main reason for me was I had suspected my stock balancer had seen better days, confirmed it when I removed it. Rubber ring is completely cracked and looks like total shit.

First impression is fantastic. Idle is much smoother. Driving down the road is smoother, and even when I shut the truck off- before it would make an odd shake- that's gone too.

We'll see if I break a crank in 5,000 miles ;) but so far this is much better than my stocker
 

Hot COCOAL

May the farce be with you
Jun 9, 2012
4,433
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0
Cool man, definitely keep us posted:thumb:
Been thinking about getting one myself after I had the So Cal billet flex plate installed, since then there has been a slight "lope" feeling in the idle and I have always thought the fluidamper would help if not resolve the issue, but I've been too afraid to try one out.

Good luck
 

inc4203

New member
Dec 11, 2012
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Whatever you heard bad about Fluidampr is false. My name is Ivan Snyder. I work for Fluidampr and would not stand behind the product if it was junk. The fact is they have been 100% made in the USA and used in diesel applications since 1946 and are OEM on over 90% of heavy duty diesel applications to this day. The Duramax crankshaft was a poor design from Isuzu to begin with. They incorporated an external balance weight on the end of the damper on the end of the crank. Regardless of which damper you use when pushing serious power, the crankshaft has a tendency to want to break.

I am more than happy to answer any questions about Fluidampr products.

Porno Joe: Thank you for your honest evaluation. I am positive you will not be disappointed with the product. I cannot tell you how many times I have come across some guy who heard this or that about Fluidampr. Rarely a customer first hand, always a guy who heard from a guy. Almost all customers I encounter have the same feedback that you have provided. Feel free to contact me anytime. [email protected]
 

Max Attitude

11SIX
Mar 7, 2012
814
0
16
Caledonia, MI
inc4203
I have not seen anyone say bad about fluidampr. I think it seems some guys have put them on and the crank still went bad. I'm thinking maybe because the crank was used to how it was before?... Don't really know.
 

Porno Joe

Member
Oct 11, 2010
513
0
16
South of Pittsburgh
I gotta say. I haven't driven many miles at all. Maybe only 20-30 around town but the noise when I shut my truck off is definitely noticeable- it's gone! The truck just sounds better all around

I'm very impressed with this
 

Robby Avery

GM TECH @ FENDER GMC
Jul 31, 2008
820
2
18
Norman Park, Georgia
I'm just wondering how is balancing it back out going to break the crank? One would think it would make it live a longer healthier life once the excess vibrations are smoothed out? Am I missing something here?
 

sterlinLBZ

New member
People did say I shouldn't run one on my build but I did. I have a Ats flex plate on the back with everything balanced again and the shake and rattle I had before when shutting off the truck is 100% gone! I do have merchant motor mounts and I know that helps some but the noise is different the motor during exceleration is extremely smooth. I love mine I don't have one complaint and I have around 1,200 miles on the build and hoping the motor makes around 700+ horse
 

inc4203

New member
Dec 11, 2012
2
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Has anyone here went to an internal balance crankshaft swap. I have heard that competition builds are now changing the Duramax crankshafts out from an external crankshaft and replacing with an internal balance crankshaft. At this point we do not offer an internal balance Duramax Fluidampr but may decide to if thats where the market wants to go. Any thoughts?
 

TheDieselRock

ENGINE Y U NO RUN??
Feb 27, 2013
10
0
0
Barnesville, Ohio
I've got a fluidampr balancer that I'll be using to finish my engine build. I'm using my stock crank with 205k+ Miles. Hopefully it will stay in one piece. :spit:
 

Porno Joe

Member
Oct 11, 2010
513
0
16
South of Pittsburgh
I'm just wondering how is balancing it back out going to break the crank? One would think it would make it live a longer healthier life once the excess vibrations are smoothed out? Am I missing something here?

One of the rumors that has floated around the forums for awhile was that this balancer was harder on the crank because its heavier than stock, putting more stress on the front of the crank, the known weak point.

So far I still love mine. Truck runs smoother all around.
 

dirty_max

Member
Jan 27, 2013
815
2
18
eureka il
I put a fluidampr on my truck about 10k miles ago when I changed the water pump. way more smooth than stock. i also know a lot of people that put them on when its time to change a water pump and no problems with any of their trucks either. go over to competitiondiesel.com and say something about a fluidampr. you will hear some of the most ridiculous crap ever, that is mostly assumption with little evidence to back any of it up.
 

Cknight199

New member
Aug 23, 2012
1,827
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Salt Lake City, Utah
Dang so whats the fix? Swap over to the internal balanced crankshafts? Any of those been broke yet?

No fix. As you can see in the thread it's somewhat random...

I would feel better if a crank broke rather than a piston, then I know I could do nothing about it.

But I was reading the other day in a book, every time the rpm is doubled, stress on the crank is multiplied by 4.