Hudson after-market FLUID DAMPER available?
from an ad on ebay,
"CAT fluid dampers are manufactured from forged 1025 low carbon steel housing and injected with high viscosity silicone fluid. A nylon ring and nylon position guides allow the steel inertia ring a rotation freely inside the housing. The steel inertia ring rotates harmonically with the engine and absorbs the torsion vibration from the rotating assembly at any frequency and RPM. It thus extends the life of crankshaft and bearing and allows the engine to produce more power and torque. All dampers are tested to 12,500 RPM for explosion proof in compliance with SFI 18.1 Specification."
I have a vibration in my Hudson 308 engine that is very "pesty" and annoying.
I would like to purchase an after-market Fluid Damper to replace the original dual-pulley Hudson harmonic balancer.
I know one gentleman who has modified (reduced the diameter) of his Hudson crankshaft in order to install a Fluid Damper type, one originally mnfg for a Chevy 350. Apparently it works.
Just wondering if this thread could lead to something positive, as, firstly, I need to stop the excessive leak from the timing cover Crank Shaft Seal; the spacers that the seals ride upon are prone to groove and this eventually leads to timing cover oil leaks.
So, while I have it apart that would be a perfect time to replace the original harmonic balancer w/Fluid Damper type (kill 2 birds with one stone).
All ideas welcomed.
Thanks
"CAT fluid dampers are manufactured from forged 1025 low carbon steel housing and injected with high viscosity silicone fluid. A nylon ring and nylon position guides allow the steel inertia ring a rotation freely inside the housing. The steel inertia ring rotates harmonically with the engine and absorbs the torsion vibration from the rotating assembly at any frequency and RPM. It thus extends the life of crankshaft and bearing and allows the engine to produce more power and torque. All dampers are tested to 12,500 RPM for explosion proof in compliance with SFI 18.1 Specification."
I have a vibration in my Hudson 308 engine that is very "pesty" and annoying.
I would like to purchase an after-market Fluid Damper to replace the original dual-pulley Hudson harmonic balancer.
I know one gentleman who has modified (reduced the diameter) of his Hudson crankshaft in order to install a Fluid Damper type, one originally mnfg for a Chevy 350. Apparently it works.
Just wondering if this thread could lead to something positive, as, firstly, I need to stop the excessive leak from the timing cover Crank Shaft Seal; the spacers that the seals ride upon are prone to groove and this eventually leads to timing cover oil leaks.
So, while I have it apart that would be a perfect time to replace the original harmonic balancer w/Fluid Damper type (kill 2 birds with one stone).
All ideas welcomed.
Thanks
0
Comments
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I almost hate to say this, but Jack Clifford marketed a fluid damper for HUdson motors0
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Good luck getting one of those.0
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You know, poor Jack must be spinning right now. He did so much with these engines and now we can't even get parts from "his" company. Met him at the 2001 National in Seattle, and he really seemed to think these dampeners were a very important upgrade to the big six.0
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The damper is very important. The length and stroke of the crankshaft creates a "torsional rebound" at the pulley end of the crank that is the destruction we've all heard about in the #5 and #6 rod journal. What this rebound is the deflection in degrees that the crank is subjected to while its running. The higher the rpm, the more deflection takes place. An example would be if the damper had timing marks on it - at 2000 rpm the timing marks would be off by 4*, at 5000 rpm they would be off by 10*. You feel this as a vibration. If you can feel this in the driver's seat, imagine what it feels like at the engine. The end result is that the crank breaks just like you bending a wire back and forth till it fails. While the Hudson damper was good for the age, it has never been able to cope with the full range of harmonics in the big six.
There is no-one I know of that makes a direct replacement for the Hudson. Clifford sold a specially constructed Fisher damper, but Doug Fisher is overly occupied building Harley Davidson balancers these days and has no time to build the Hudson variant. In other words, Fisher has a balancer that works wonders for the Hudson and was the exact high performance damper offered by Clifford - but its out of production.
In researching dampers, I went with ATI.
http://www.atiperformanceproducts.com/products/dampers/index.htm
The reason being, the inertia ring is held inside the outer shell. This meant that any timing marks on the outside or any accessory belt could be driven from the outer shell. Also, most importantly, these dampers bolt on to a hub that is installed on the crankshaft. This hub mounting system allows them to be used on any engine - as long as the hub fits your crankshaft dimentions. If you take your factory Hudson damper apart, you have an almost perfect hub sitting between the factory inertia ring and the backing plate that sandwiches its elastomer rings. So, there you go - take your old Hudson inner hub and have it modified to fit the ATI balancer. This isn't the best option for a hub, but it sure beats nothing or what you have now.
One more thing about ATI. They are accustomed to working with folks on unique applications and was one of the reasons for the "hub" design. They will ask you the weight, length, and stroke of your crankshaft - plug that into their known damper capabilities, then suggest the right damper for your crank. They will also custom build you a hub for your crankshaft, which represents the best option available for the Hudson folk these days.
My crank was being modified to the point it made more sense to resize the snout to fit a standard small block chevy hub. If anyone is interested in that, I'll post details once the job gets finished.
I'm sure that if a group of folks got together for a group buy, ATI may reduce the cost of a "one off" balancer hub. To put things in perspective, my balancer and hub cost $375.00. The cost of the custom Hudson hub was around $400.00 alone. Once I get all the pieces together and can sit down and do some calculating, I believe we may be able to suggest some slight modifications to the standard small block chevy that will be simpler than a whole new hub. Folks, they are pretty close - believe it or not. The casualty will be the seal spacer. The ATI hub would go back into the timing housing and snug up against the timing gear. This is the last piece of the puzzle for me, what is the outer diameter of the hub and what seal am I going to have to go to.
The only thing lacking on my rotating assembly is getting this balancer and hub in - so that is why I can't get the exact specs for you at this time. I'm expecting it soon.
Randy Maas and Rudy Bennett have been down this road before. I believe Randy is running an early ATI balancer on a hub he made for himself. Rudy is running a balancer he had made according to his own specifications and seems to be really happy with it. Hopefully these two will chime in and give some perspective for themselves.
Mark Hudson0 -
And who says new stuff can't be had for Hudsons!!! Thanks to you guys and a couple of others, new parts are out there. It's just getting people to let loose of a couple of bucks extra to get top-quality stuff!0
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