Posted by clueless [201.202.24.222] on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 15:32:40 :
In Reply to: 4bts don t have balancers posted by clueless [201.202.24.222] on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 14:13:51 :
So after some digging and searching I haven't got the straightest answer. So I was hoping someone could shed some light. I was tinkering on a couple of the 6bts in the family fleet and notices they both have harmonic balancers,then when back in the shop I happened to glance over at my 4bt and noticed it just has a pulley,no balancer. So am I missing something? Did they come this way? Would it be beneficial to put a balancer on it? Thanks for taking the time to answer everyone.
The simple answer is the 4B doesn't need a harmonic balancer. The inline 4 crankshaft is to short to be affected by torsion vibrations. The reason a 6B or any other inline 6 has a harmonic balance is to dampen the torsion twist of the crankshaft. With out a damper a I6 would break its crankshaft.
As to whether a 6B damper on a 4B does any good at reducing felt vibration, I did not feel any difference. This is subjective, some members swear it helps, others like me say it made no difference.
Will it hurt a 4B, not that I know. I ran my 4B for years with the factory pulley, came across a 6B damper for a good price, have been using it on my 4B and see no benefit other than it's paid for so it stays on.