My Fluidamper saga.

[Nellie]

I also have a fluid damper on my 03 quad ho 2500 auto that rattles at idle

after the engine warms up, when i get chance i will put the stock unit

back on the noise,is somewhat concerning after reading the above posts

nellie

 

[Prairie Dog]

I also have a fluid damper on my 03 quad ho 2500 auto that rattles at idle

after the engine warms up, when i get chance i will put the stock unit

back on the noise,is somewhat concerning after reading the above posts

nellie

The rattle I have also gets a bit stronger after running for just 10-15 minutes.

 

[fluidampr1]

Hi Guys,



Ivan with Fluidampr...



First I would like to say no hard feelings whatsoever between Fluidampr and Genos nor Got HO for that matter. I only contacted Geno's because I needed to investigate Fluidampr not standing behind our products. We are 100% manufactured in the USA and take all necessary steps to provide the best customer service found anywhere and are very proud to do so. With this being said we also completely understand where HO is coming from, as a consumer, anyone would be ticked if we thought we purchased a faulty $500 unit not once but twice!!



Now down to business...



We have met internally to determine what is going on. We have not had any engineering changes with these units over the past couple of years and have sold many units in applications ranging from stock to Scott Vorhees (now Chris Ryan) pushing 2000+ HP and we have not had any noise issues until this thread. As Got HO stated we have done some "bench testing" on his returned unit which includes verifying the damper internals are working properly, heat tests, torsional tests, etc. Everything checks out as functioning properly. We are now looking at performing actual live tests on an engine. I would also like to thank Prairie Dog for his help as he has contacted me and was able to provide actual video footage of his issue. I just received these videos about 5 min. ago.



Thank you to all for your patience and I will continue to post on the thread with any updates or further information.



I would also like to ask if anyone that is experiencing "noise issues" to post what year engine they are running and how old their damper is.

 

[Bill Weber]

fluidampr1: As I mentioned in my earlier post I am picking up a vib at idle. After making a 100 mile trip it seems to be vibrating constantly @ 1900 RPM. Arriving at my ranch I left the truck running while opening the gate when I noticed light metallic rattle coming from the front of the truck - down low. No sign on the dampener of any rubbing = just that on & off rattle.

Bill

 

[AndyBishop]

Around the first of the year, I ordered a Fluidamper for my '03 from Genos after reading about the positive reviews here and on other forums about them. Andy at Genos even threw in new pulley bolts at no charge. Can't say enough about Andy and Robert at Genos, their service has always been superb, and the fact that my office is only about 30 minutes from their warehouse is a plus.

I installed the damper, torqued the new pulley bolts to spec (40Nm, then 60 degrees). Found out during the install that its no longer possible to change the belt without removing the damper .

But, I digress. All seemed well for the first 3 or 4 days of driving. Then I noticed a change in the type and level of engine noise after warmup. Under light load between 1200-2000 rpm I could hear an intermittent rpm related knock, which would change to a very distinct rattle when lifting off the throttle. the knock would settle down when returning to idle. I listened to the front of the engine area with a stethoscope and had one of my employees run the engine up to about 2000 rpm & back down again. The noise was coming from the front of the crank damper area. After checking to ensure that nothing was touching the relucter ring or the pulley, I removed the pulley and belt (No rub marks on the pulley) and free spun all of the accessories to listen for noise or bearing roughness. None evident.

I called Andy at Genos and explained my problem. He put me in touch with Ivan at Fluidamper and Ivan agreed to ship another damper to me and I would return the original one to Andy at Genos. Great, I thought, must just be a bad one.



The replacement pulley arrived, I installed it, again with new pulley bolts (Thanks Andy) and set off again. Same thing occurred again after about 3-4 days (roughly 400-500 miles) of driving. Same noise, same conditions. It was intrusive enough that my wife said to me, "your truck sounds like a cacophony of crickets mixed in with a jamaican drum solo". .



At this point I was beginning to doubt that it could be the Fluidamper. Sooo, on Sunday, back went the stock, original damper. Since then, I'm back to blissful, normal Cummins music.



I talked to Andy about the second one, and he informed me that Ivan had called him, told him that they had run the first (returned) damper on their test bench and couldn't find anything wrong with it, so they were debiting Genos for it. I offered to pay Andy for both the first and second dampers because its not their problem, rather IMO, an issue with Fluidamper. Another thought occurred to me, if two new Fluidampers were creating this noise on my engine, maybe the motor is the problem? I took the truck to a buddy today that has a DRBIII tester and we ran a cylinder balance test. Everything checks out good. No uneven cylinders. I haven't contacted Fluidamper about the second one, and, frankly, not sure if its even worth doing so, given their response to Genos about the first one. I do know that I'm not impressed with the product, or their willingness to stand behind it.



I have the second one in my possesion, not sure what I'll do with it, maybe a boat anchor?

Exhibit #2: The second replacement damper after removal.



#ad

Hi, I am Andy Bishop from Geno's Garage.



We are sorry that you are having problems with your Fluidampr. We have sold dozens of the Fluidampers, with no problems. Overall, the customer reviews have been very positive. The Fluidamper company has been highly supportive of the industries that they serve, and very supportive of the companies that service the Dodge CTD owners. Fluidampr has fully supported us in the diagnosis of the problem, and replacement of the part. At this time, Ivan, at Fluidampr, is conducting further testing on the original part, which includes cutting the damper open to inspect it. Fluidamper is fully standing behind their product.



When the same complaint was made about the second damper, instead of another replacement, a refund was offered. We, also, fully stand behind the products that we carry. Please, never feel like a component purchased from is is no more than a boat anchor. We want you to be happy with the products you purchase from us to put on your truck. At this point, a full refund has been made on the part, and Fluidampr will not leave us holding the bag on that one, either.



Thank you,



Andy Bishop

Geno's Garage

 

[07 ThunderRoad]

Fluidamper1; I would like to know if there is a chance that the 5. 9 and/or the 6. 7 dampers could be changed to allow the belt to be changed with the newer fan pulley that is used on the 2006 and newer engines? This pulley is set back and allows the belt to be changed on the 6. 7. The 6. 7 damper is chamfered on the back side to add clearance from the fan pulley.

See this thread for pics https://www.turbodieselregister.com...4530-6-7-fan-pulley-5-9-engine-will-work.html

 

[Prairie Dog]

Ivan, thanks to you and FD for your support. If you want I can send you my balancer as well.

Scotty

 

[Got HO?]

Private message sent to Ivan at Fluidamper.

 

[Got HO?]

Hi, I am Andy Bishop from Geno's Garage.



We are sorry that you are having problems with your Fluidampr. We have sold dozens of the Fluidampers, with no problems. Overall, the customer reviews have been very positive. The Fluidamper company has been highly supportive of the industries that they serve, and very supportive of the companies that service the Dodge CTD owners. Fluidampr has fully supported us in the diagnosis of the problem, and replacement of the part. At this time, Ivan, at Fluidampr, is conducting further testing on the original part, which includes cutting the damper open to inspect it. Fluidamper is fully standing behind their product.



When the same complaint was made about the second damper, instead of another replacement, a refund was offered. We, also, fully stand behind the products that we carry. Please, never feel like a component purchased from is is no more than a boat anchor. We want you to be happy with the products you purchase from us to put on your truck. At this point, a full refund has been made on the part, and Fluidampr will not leave us holding the bag on that one, either.



Thank you,



Andy Bishop

Geno's Garage

Andy,



Thanks for the call this afternoon. You guys are standup guys. I have sent a pm to Ivan too, and his response on this thread has changed my initial impression about their customer service. As mentioned earlier, frustration can sometimes cloud one's better judgement. Hopefully Ivan will have answers for us soon.

 

[Dieselnerd]

I installed a new Fluidampr on my stock 2005 Cummins in April, 2011. I also have a "Tinking" noise when it warms up. It's most noticeable at idle and kind of sounds like a coin dropped on a ceramic dish. It runs quite smooth but the noise is like something in a tumbler, erratic, not steady.



I've been wondering what it is and until I saw these posts I never thought it was the Fluidampr. Now that I think about it, the noise did start last Spring right around the time I installed the new damper.



I'll keep watching this thread to see what the answer might be.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I hesitated to post this video but I'm hopeful that one of our more experienced members (TC,Cerb or someone else. . ) may recognise this sound and be able to shed some light on the subject.
Now, I'm not sure that there isn't some small bit of this sound that is inherent to our engines and that the FD just brings it out. It may not really be a problem thats causing any harm to the eng - just an annoyance.
FYI, I have checked or replaced the accessories on the front of the eng and there are no bearing issues.

In this video I idle, run at 1500 and then at about 3. 00 minutes I run it at 2000 RPM's.
At about 20 seconds you start to hear it at idle.
At 1 minute 10 seconds I ramp up to 1500 and it gets more pronounced.
At around 2 min 40 sec I go to 2000

link w/ FD


Here is a very similar run with the stock HB reinstalled. I think the noise is slightly evident here too but the FD brings it out much more.

Link w/Stock HB

Hope you all enjoy looking at my grill as much as I do!

 

[Kry226]

Definitely hear the difference.



But I am not sure it's problematic. I remember when pilot injection first came out, everyone started complaining about all these "noises" they were hearing coming from their engines. The answer, apparently, was that these noises were always present in diesel engines but were obscurred by the valve clatter. With the newfound "silence" of the pilot injected engines, these other noises were readily heard, and consequently freaked out their owners. Might this be a similar condition or situation?



Of course, this may not explain vibration issues others are experiencing. It is a damper after all.

 

[JLandry]

I hesitated to post this video but I'm hopeful that one of our more experienced members (TC,Cerb or someone else. . ) may recognise this sound and be able to shed some light on the subject.

There's definitely a difference. Call me crazy, but I think I hear the same "source" of that sound in both videos. In the Fluidampr video, it only seems amplified somehow... as if maybe the Fluidampr is merely acting as a diaphragm or drum to intensify an already existing sound coming from the crankshaft... or possibly the stock damper is, well, dampening the sound!



John L.

 

[TCDiesel]

Try this,Block all wheels,set Parking brake. Step hard on the service Brake, place in D or R (Whatever is the safest Direction) load motor. . report back.

 

[Dieselnerd]

That's my noise, exactly! I've had it since last April when I installed my FD. It stays the same so I doubt anything is about to break.



It does seem to be in the background with the stock damper, just muffled.



These engines make a lot of funny noises. I'm interested in what it is but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

 

[JLandry]

That's my noise, exactly! I've had it since last April when I installed my FD. It stays the same so I doubt anything is about to break.

It does seem to be in the background with the stock damper, just muffled.

These engines make a lot of funny noises. I'm interested in what it is but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

I think the slight metallic pinging sound with the Fluidampr is actually kinda cool. I like it!

But then I drive a noisy 2nd gen, so what do I know?

John L.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Try this,Block all wheels,set Parking brake. Step hard on the service Brake, place in D or R (Whatever is the safest Direction) load motor. . report back.

Someone else will have to do this test since mines a manual and I don't have the FD in anymore. I can tell you this, when I pulled the TT over the mountain at about 2000+ RPM's last year in 5th, it was so quiet in the cab that I forgot to shift into 6th at one point. There was no drone or any other noise in the cab with the FD. It made an incredible difference.
So come on Todd, what are you digging for? Don't toy with me!

Kry226, good points but I dont think any of us have experiencing vibration issues with the FD. They work great in that regard!

 

[llotton]

I think what is going on is the FD takes other noises out of the picture and there fore the "ambient" noise still being present appears to be louder. Larry

 

[Prairie Dog]

I think what is going on is the FD takes other noises out of the picture and there fore the "ambient" noise still being present appears to be louder. Larry

I thought that too but it's very clear that the "noises" are much louder and harsher (to the point of being scary at 2k RPM's) than with the stocker.

 

[Kry226]

Kry226, good points but I dont think any of us have experiencing vibration issues with the FD. They work great in that regard!

Bill Weber reported vibes. See below.

fluidampr1: As I mentioned in my earlier post I am picking up a vib at idle. After making a 100 mile trip it seems to be vibrating constantly @ 1900 RPM. Arriving at my ranch I left the truck running while opening the gate when I noticed light metallic rattle coming from the front of the truck - down low. No sign on the dampener of any rubbing = just that on & off rattle.

Bill