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quality made harmonic balancer?

durk80

durk80

Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2015
Location
South GA
I purchased a harmonic balancer for my 90 240 not even a year ago. The rubber has moved that should be sandwiched in between the two layers of metal. Right out of the box, I new something was wrong. I had to file out the holes so the hold-steady tool could fit in the ovals. The casting was terrible! Lately, I've been hearing squeaks at start up and strange running issues. I never marked the rubber and the metal with white-out, until today. I had two alternator belts on, but one somehow became shredded off a while ago, dunno if that is related...

In your opinion, has anyone had luck with aftermarket balancers? If so, what brand(s) are reputable? These are some that I was considering purchasing. The only one that had a review was the Genuine Volvo. However, none of these say where they were made, or provide any feedback. I believe that the one I purchased before is a MTC, so I won't be buying another one of those.

https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1990/volvo/240/engine_mechanical/crankshaft_pulley.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/9135194-0-Dorman-Harmonic-Balancer-New-for-Volvo-940-740-240-960-594-032/132631759181?fits=Model%3A240%7CMake%3AVolvo&epid=1318865760&hash=item1ee178094d:g:8aYAAOSwxMhdYnbd

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-engine-crankshaft-pulley-9135194oe#reviews

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/564...ancer-damper-pulley-aftermarket-vm375-9135194

Thank you for everyone's future advice!

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Curious to see what anyone else has to say.
I opted for the IPD one on my rebuild because of price but i also had to file out the holder holes to get it to fit the tool. Otherwise, it didn't seem too terrible.
There's one piece ones i see here and there but i don't want an underdrive pulley either, would prefer to stay stock for this vehicle.
 
Keep in mind that solid metal harmonic balancers remove all damping capabilities. The rubber is there to damp crank vibrations, primarily radially from what my professors said while I was in school. If performance is priority, sure, go lightened solid aluminum. If longevity (of your engine) is a priority, stick with rubber.
 
Thanks guys! I wound up buying this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C15CSC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

based on a review from a professional Volvo mechanic. Granted the review is from 2016, but I decided to take a leap of faith and buy it. The MTC one I ordered, not only did I have to file out the ovals for the tool holder, but the center hole would not accept the crankshaft. At first, I thought that I'd tap it on, but opted to sand out the inner diameter some. It clearly did not want to go on. I'll update this when it comes to let everyone know of its quality.

sbabbs, Wow! That sure looks nice! I had a vision in my mind about a solid pulley since it seems quality control is non-existent on everything today and that it would be a part which I'd never have to replace again.

IansPlatinum, my car is nowhere near a performance car, so the radial dampening factor will definitely help it stay together for a longer period of time.
 
IansPlatinum said:
Keep in mind that solid metal harmonic balancers remove all damping capabilities. The rubber is there to damp crank vibrations, primarily radially from what my professors said while I was in school. If performance is priority, sure, go lightened solid aluminum. If longevity (of your engine) is a priority, stick with rubber.
Click to expand...

Big misconception: they are not tuned mass dampers or balancers. Just a heavy 2-piece pulley with a rubber bushing in the middle to absorb vibration; not really anything tuned to cancel out harmonics.
 
Harlard said:
Big misconception: they are not tuned mass dampers or balancers. Just a heavy 2-piece pulley with a rubber bushing in the middle to absorb vibration; not really anything tuned to cancel out harmonics.
Click to expand...

Correct, they are not 'tuned', but they DO provide a non-negligible increase in the damping coefficient to the system, which acts to reduce the amplitude of vibration felt by the crank shaft.

Bottom line, they increase the longevity of your crankshaft.
 
IansPlatinum said:
Correct, they are not 'tuned', but they DO provide a non-negligible increase in the damping coefficient to the system, which acts to reduce the amplitude of vibration felt by the crank shaft.

Bottom line, they increase the longevity of your crankshaft.
Click to expand...

Question:
Have you ever seen a broken redblock crankshaft?
 
kyote said:
Question:
Have you ever seen a broken redblock crankshaft?
Click to expand...

volvo saw borked cranks when they were designing the b230 in testing thats why they added the harmonic damper. Forged b23 crank doesn't need it cause its strong like ukraine.
 
IansPlatinum said:
Correct, they are not 'tuned', but they DO provide a non-negligible increase in the damping coefficient to the system, which acts to reduce the amplitude of vibration felt by the crank shaft.

Bottom line, they increase the longevity of your crankshaft.
Click to expand...

Engineer buddy of mine (who shall not be named in this conversation) corrected me. It is a tuned mass damper, albeit mostly a torsional one. From the seat of my pants I have trouble telling between it and a simple lightweight underdrive pulley.

kyote said:
Question:
Have you ever seen a broken redblock crankshaft?
Click to expand...

Apparently BNE has, second hand at least.

blkaplan said:
volvo saw borked cranks when they were designing the b230 in testing thats why they added the harmonic damper. Forged b23 crank doesn't need it cause its strong like ukraine.
Click to expand...

Even the big bow rear thrust ones?
 
kyote said:
Question:
Have you ever seen a broken redblock crankshaft?
Click to expand...

The vibration doesn't typically "snap" a crank from my understanding... Maybe thru fatigue, but I think the primary concern is wearing down the main bearings at a faster rate. A bunch of engineers designed it that way for a reason. If you want your engine to last as long as possible, use one.

Harlard said:
Engineer buddy of mine (who shall not be named in this conversation) corrected me. It is a tuned mass damper, albeit mostly a torsional one. From the seat of my pants I have trouble telling between it and a simple lightweight underdrive pulley
Click to expand...

I'm a ME. To damp vibrations of a rotating eccentric mass (unbalanced rotating system), you add radial damping. A crank may be close to balanced, but at high speeds, even the tiniest eccentricity will cause radial vibrarion to the system. Think about when you try to put a pillow in the dryer. Which way does it vibrate? Up and down, side to side. How do you reduce that vibration? Either remove the eccentricity (balance with another pillow on the opposite side) or add radial damping. To my knowledge, they are not tuned, because the speed of rotation varies so much, it would be pointless, right? It would only be able to damp one harmonic. There should be tons of harmonics in the system. It makes much more sense to increase the overall damping ratio of the system. The rubber is important.
 
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I installed ended up installing the Dorman brand harmonic balancer https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It did not say the country of origin on the product page, but is is made in China.
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But, the casting is much better and it slips onto the shaft smoothly while locking into place.

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The one caveat I had was that the finish was a little rough on the ovals around the center of the harmonic balancer.
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To remedy this, I placed the tool on into the ovals and lightly tapped the bar a couple of times with a hammer. No filing was necessary like the MTC brand. I finished placing the tool in the remainder of the ovals and completing this process. Now it is much better!

The genuine Volvo harmonic balancer at FCP Euro is manufactured in the Czech Republic, in case anyone was wondering. It has one 5-star review and is backed by a lifetime warranty.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-engine-crankshaft-pulley-9135194oe

While I can't vouch for the genuine Volvo harmonic balancer, the Dorman brand made me happy because it went on smoothly once the hold down tool was inserted a few times off of the car.
 
kyote said:
Install with the impact and the hold down tool not needed ��
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Nope. Use the specified torque and angle to avoid it getting loose and have the possibility to snap the key on the gear for cambelt.
 
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