Explorer 5.0L vibration

[skrit]

1) how badly can a dirt robber mess with the balance on the engine?? See pic of old balancer still on crank shaft.

2) I found the rubber in the balancer. See the pic with the red arrow.

I'm in the middle of an Explorer swap and have been following this thread. When I took my original balancer off to clean it up (soaking in Chem Tool), I noticed pieces of black stuff floating around. At first I thought it was just crud but it was pieces of rubber. I thought the balancer was a was a solid piece of metal! Even though I'm not close to firing it up yet, I didn't want to take the risk and ordered a new replacement for peace of mind.

 

[skrit]

1) how badly can a dirt robber mess with the balance on the engine?? See pic of old balancer still on crank shaft.

2) I found the rubber in the balancer. See the pic with the red arrow.

Oh and I hate a darn mud dauber. Look at what those A-holes did to my D44 housing!

 

[Boss Hugg]

I'm in the middle of an Explorer swap and have been following this thread. When I took my original balancer off to clean it up (soaking in Chem Tool), I noticed pieces of black stuff floating around. At first I thought it was just crud but it was pieces of rubber. I thought the balancer was a was a solid piece of metal! Even though I'm not close to firing it up yet, I didn't want to take the risk and ordered a new replacement for peace of mind.

I would also put a dial indicator on the crank snout while it's open. Make sure there's no run out. We're about do it to mine.

 

[DirtDonk]

When I took my original balancer off to clean it up (soaking in Chem Tool)…

Ahh, yes. The perfect rubber destroyer.
Good call on the new one.

 

[Boss Hugg]

I'm seeing about 5 thou movement in the dial, but that's using the starter to spin the engine, so vibration may be most of it. Otherwise when I pull on the long ratchet I can move the dial 1 thou, and there may have been 2 thou movement using the ratchet. So I don't think the crankshaft is the problem. I can see there is no runner in the gap on the old balancer like there is in the new one, so maybe the balancer is the real problem.

 

[hucklburry rev2]

a clutch fan going bad can cause a vibration at higher rpm - I had it happen in an 89 F250, above 2500rpm. Maybe take the fan off and try it - thats a little work, bolts may be too long (or a pain to take out). If you are running a clutched fan that is.

 

[Boss Hugg]

I would think that the fan speed would cause a difference in that vibration throughout the RPM range?

 

[Boss Hugg]

I can say the new balancer and water pump did not fix it....

 

[steelworker77]

Are we sure its the right weight flexplate? Just went through this. Previous owner stuck a newer 50oz balance motor in with the correct balancer but used the original 28oz flywheel.

 

[Boss Hugg]

Are we sure its the right weight flexplate? Just went through this. Previous owner stuck a newer 50oz balance motor in with the correct balancer but used the original 28oz flywheel.

This setup came out of a mountaineer straight into my explorer. I only pulled the transmission off the engine to convert it to 4wd. I also put a rebuild converter from O'Reillys and that thing maybe out of balance.

 

[hucklburry rev2]

I would think that the fan speed would cause a difference in that vibration throughout the RPM range?

I think the fluid in the fan clutch can go bad, and you might not feel it until a certain RPM. My 351W it was around 2500rpm and up, you didn't notice it at lower rpm. Are you running an explorer fan?

 

[Boss Hugg]

I think the fluid in the fan clutch can go bad, and you might not feel it until a certain RPM. My 351W it was around 2500rpm and up, you didn't notice it at lower rpm. Are you running an explorer fan?

I am. But what I'm saying is the clutch is not fully engaged all the time. So either the clutch housing is out of balance when it's disengaged or it's out of balance when engaged but not turning all the time. And it would seem that when it is engaged there's more mass spinning so You wouldn't feel it as much.

 

[Yeller]

As the fluid leaks out of the clutch, the discs inside can become warped. If you’ve been having unexpected water pump issues, it’s worth a check

 

[DirtDonk]

Have you driven it for a few minutes yet without the belt? You’ve got a few minutes before it overheats. Give it a try.
Unless you have to be going down the freeway to feel it that is. If that’s the case, then you probably can’t really drive it without the belt.

 

[m_m70]

Have you driven it for a few minutes yet without the belt? You’ve got a few minutes before it overheats. Give it a try.

This is how I diagnosed my vibration only at certain RPM's. Turned out t be a bad fan.....

 

[hucklburry rev2]

This is how I diagnosed my vibration only at certain RPM's. Turned out t be a bad fan.....

I don't know the explanation, someone told me the fluid is like a silicon that can harden up, or maybe it gets contaminated and can't flow everywhere it needs to. So I sorta think of it as the fluid is in half the coupling and not the other, so you have MAYBE a few ounces or less than an ounce of an imbalance, you just don't feel it until higher RPM. Don't quote my #s, but if an imbalance is 12 inch #s at 1000rpm it could be like 227 inch pounds at 5000 rpm - the effects get greater exponentially as RPM increases. So a small imbalance at idle isn't felt, at 2500 rpm it is felt. I'm glad its gone so you can enjoy your drive!

 

[ba123]

Sorry, I'm a little late to the party.

I'd bet money on this being:
1) Balancer (which you already did
2) Flexplate or Flywheel (MUST be the same imbalance as the Harmonic Balancer or you'll get vibration)

Water pump will just go bad, it will not cause a vibration. Pretty sure no accessories will cause a vibration...they'll just break or make your belt come off or squeal.
---

man, I missed the bad fan part. never seen a fan cause a vibration but those clutch fans are heavy so I guess it's possible! Glad you got it!

 

[Boss Hugg]

If you’ve been having unexpected water pump issues,

The engine had stop leak in it, and a LOT of it. I feel like a PO was trying to stop the water from leaking from the weep hole on the pump, and perhaps it worked? I can't say it was unexpected, but at some point I felt like it was leaking, and only once did i see actual antifreeze dripping. The other time(s), it was just a small puddle of water underneath the front of the engine on the concrete in a parking lot.

Water pump will just go bad, it will not cause a vibration.

My concern with the pump was that in the donor vehicles collision, the shaft may have been bent slightly. I don't think the engine had a clutch on it when I got it. The accessory brackets weren't even bolted on.

Glad you got it!

I'm glad its gone so you can enjoy your drive!

I didn't get it. It's still there. And I'm still tired of the drone it causes at 75mph!

Have you driven it for a few minutes yet without the belt?

I haven't yet, but I suppose with all the comments about the potential for fan clutch imbalance, I should. In replacing the pump I found out the radio (new with the engine install) was pretty severely plugged with stop leak or something. Took me an hour flushing with a water hose to get the black stuff to stop dumping out.

 

[ba123]

I haven't yet, but I suppose with all the comments about the potential for fan clutch imbalance, I should. In replacing the pump I found out the radio (new with the engine install) was pretty severely plugged with stop leak or something. Took me an hour flushing with a water hose to get the black stuff to stop dumping out.

Looks like autocorrect loves you as much as it loves me and you meant radiator. Never tried stop leak in my radio.

Shoot...saw the fan post and thought from you but see now.

Def worth a try to do what Paul said and try without a belt. Short drive won't hurt or at least just running it if you notice the vibration without driving. You should if it's just the engine. Or just remove the fan and try.

 

[Boss Hugg]

Ok, so I'm hard headed. I went straight to the clutch. Pulled it off along with the fan of course. Drove it. Very slight vibration which a person might expect with an old engine. Acceptible. So now I will be picking up a new clutch tonight while I'm in

Looks like autocorrect loves you as much as it loves me and you meant radiator. Never tried stop leak in my radio.

Stop leak actually helps the radio pick up stations you've NEVER heard before.... SMH.

I did pull the fan and clutch. Much better, but there's still a VERY SLIGHT vibration. Acceptable for an engine with some miles on it. I've got a few minutes so I'm going to go back out and pull the belt to see what it does just sitting there. It takes two minutes to get to the road I can open the throttle on, so I'll just run it sitting still. Heading to town in a few where I'll get a new clutch.

It dawns on me that right after I put this engine in, I learned it was full of stop leak because it overheated. Is it possible a clutch can go bad due to extreme temps like it went thru?