My Fluidamper saga.

[Got HO?]

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.

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[JLandry]

Could you tell if the knock was "in-time" with the engine rpm… i. e. : one knock per revolution?



John L.

 

[steved]

Know somebody local? Maybe slip it on their ride and see if the same problem arises?

 

[WCPoe]

Well if you ever discover what it was please keep us posted. Was it the correct one for your truck as I know the 6. 7 is different?

 

[Regcabguy]

Aside from a much smoother idle,no unusual sounds from mine. I purchased my Fluidamper for a great price anticipating a noisy G-56 when I ditched the dmf. They were supposed to quiet them some according to Peter @ SBC.



Well,the transmission is still pretty quiet but I couldn't detect a noticible difference in engine noise after installation of the Fluidamper.

 

[Got HO?]

Could you tell if the knock was "in-time" with the engine rpm… i. e. : one knock per revolution?



John L.

Yes, appeared to be.

 

[Got HO?]

Well if you ever discover what it was please keep us posted. Was it the correct one for your truck as I know the 6. 7 is different?

Verified the part number both with Andy at Genos, and with Ivan at Fluidamper. It is correct for an '03.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Oh boy, I think I'm going through the same thing. My FD seems to be making a litany of clicking, snapping noises that are irregular and sharp sounding. I've gone through everything on the front of the eng (repl tensioner and fan support bearing) and even ran it without the belt. I don't hear it so much in the cab but my ability to hear high pitched sound has diminished. The FD seems to work great but what's with the noise??
My next step will be to reinstall the old pulley but I REALLY don't want to go through all that!!!

 

[steved]

Let us know how it turns out... I was considering this for one of my two next upgrades...

 

[Prairie Dog]

Could you tell if the knock was "in-time" with the engine rpm… i. e. : one knock per revolution?



John L.

In my case it doesn't seem to be. It's just a sporadic jumble of clattering noises.

It doesn't come and go but it isnt rhythmic. Like a few bits of change or a zipper clanking in a dryer maybe. If you ever heard one of the old 6. 2 Chevy diesels, it kinda sounds like that.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Given that the 6. 7 is only about 10% more, I would explore that route next time.

 

[Prairie Dog]

If I find the old HB makes it quiet again then I'll give FD opportunity to do something but I will make it clear that I don't want them to charge Geno's anything. If all else fails, I will probably put the FD back on and just live with it since the smoother operation is so nice.

As a side note, I haven't done any kind of eng testing but my truck runs perfect and starts fast at 78k miles.

 

[Bill Weber]

Installed a FD on mine about a month ago. At first no change from original dampener - maybe a little smoother @ 1700. Last few days there is a small, but, noticeable vibration @ idle. If it continues I'll put the original back on. Bill

 

[JMDancoe]

My brother and I both put the Fluid damper units on our trucks this last summer. We ordered two of the same and got two different ones. They replaced the wrong one with no problem. The only problem we had (on both trucks) was a clearance problem with the fan blades. We ended up putting spacers in behind both fan hub nuts (the big left handed nut). His is a 92 4WD and mine is the 86/92 retro. Can't say as the vibration problem we had is cured, but it is less. We did this after reading the article on dampers. Both our trucks engines are in excess of 230,000 miles and had the original dampers. Some of the vibration was due to the new poly mounts installed the previous year. They have softened some now and the vibration is better. Plus, we loosened the mounts and let the engine "shake" itself down, also. The poly mounts are a lot stiffer.
_________________________________________________________________________
86 / 92 Retrofitted Cummins w/auto 2WD 254,000 miles - 96 Ram 1500 short bed 318 w/auto 4WD 320,000 miles - 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4. 0 w/auto 4WD 200,000 miles

 

[Prairie Dog]

I have been in contact via email with Ivan. He is very concerned about this issue and their company is looking into it as we speak. He also said that Geno's was credited and not debited for Got HO's dampener. He goes on to say that he had not heard about the second unit making the same noise. I think they are genuinely concerned about whats happening.
So it looks like I will be swapping mine with the stocker tomorrow to see whats what.

Scotty

 

[Got HO?]

Update:
When I started this thread yesterday, as stated in my post, and in fairness to Fluidamper, I had not contacted Fluidamper about the second VB noise problem. After installing the stock damper on the truck, testing cylinder balance, and driving it, I was satisfied that the issue is with the VB. That said, I did not intend in any way to harm any relationship that Genos has with their vendors, and I sincerely apologize to them and Fluidamper for not following the normal channels and trying to get some type of resolution to this. Frustration will sometimes cloud a person's judgement. Also, as stated in my first post on this thread, the guys at Genos have bent over backwards to ensure customer satisfaction. I've been using them for quite a few years now, and they are great people. If I misunderstood Andy about the original damper debit/credit situation, then I was wrong and I offer my sincere apology to him & Genos.
If Fluidamper wants the second VB back to test, I would ask them to install it on a truck, and go out and put some miles on it, not run it on a test bench. if they don't find anything wrong with it, then they may dispose of it as they wish, I won't ask for any refund.

I am fully aware that the folks at Genos have built up relationships with their vendors and have/had no desire to compromise those relationships. In fact, if the mods wish to delete this thread entirely, I'm good with that too.

 

[sid325]

I wonder if it's something recent with newly manufactured FD? I've had a FD on my 05 for about 4 years and its been great, really made a difference.



jacob

 

[JMDancoe]

We found both Geno's and Fluidamper easy to work with and quick to respond to any questions and problems with their units. Ivan was very easy to work with. But, no, I, for one, don't want the monitors to take your post out. We all have gotten upset with things that don't work as we hoped they would. At least your post is out here for others to read and should they encounter similar problems it is a good sounding board for both Geno's and Fliudamper. I believe Ivan will agree that problems come up with anything you make and as a quality supplier, they want to know about problems. I am glad you posted this. Let us all know what the final solution turns out to be please. We are here to help each other.
_______________________________________________________________________
86 / 92 Retrofitted Cummins w/auto 2WD 254,000 miles - 96 Ram 1500 short bed 318 w/auto 4WD 320,000 miles - 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4. 0 w/auto 4WD 200,000 miles

 

[Wingate]

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

You made mention several times of the new bolts... Did you happen to check the new bolts to ensure they weren't bottoming out before getting full clamp force on the dampner. .

 

[Got HO?]

The bolts are angled torqued, thus the requirement that they only be used once. The threads in the crankshaft are not blind, but go all the way through. The bolts can not bottom out.