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6.5 diesel harmonic balancer ??

shady

shady

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I need to replace the HB on my 95 L65 6.5. but when I look for them there seems to be 3 or 4 sizes/diameters... Are they all interchangeable, is one better than the other, or do I have to just measure mine and buy the same..?

I know the fluidampr is a 1 size fits all, so it seems the others would be interchangeable too. But I figured I'd ask.

And no, I don't think I can swing the fluidampr at this time. The $300 difference is sort of too much at the moment lol.
 
I have Fluidampners on all 4 of my 6.5’s my 6.2’s just get what ever Napa sells .

That being said , I would just go with what ever your truck calls for . The difference probably has to do with pulleys and/or possibly manual vs auto .

If all else fails try calling Heath Diesel or one of the other 6.2/6.5 gurus.
 
So a little digging, one has a built in pulley and the other does not

907BE54D-B185-403D-AB2D-320CA3D10434.png
 
2 separate things.. the one with the pulley is just a pulley.
 
When I looked them up on a couple sites typing in my trucks I do I got some at like 6.5" some at 8" and 1 or 2 in-between.

Measuring it would be a pain while it's still in there. But not impossible. I'd kind of rather do the fluidamper.. but I'll have to leave it down a few weeks to a month to do so.

I figured Id get a stocker for now and just do the fluidamper when OT comes back in November.
 
shady said:
I need to replace the HB on my 95 L65 6.5. but when I look for them there seems to be 3 or 4 sizes/diameters... Are they all interchangeable, is one better than the other, or do I have to just measure mine and buy the same..?
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Several pulleys exist, but I'm not aware of dimensional variations in the actual harmonic balancer or the timing cover. Fluidampr can make one universal part because GM kept the design consistent.

Just make sure your pulley is going to fit. I think you figured it out by now, but some of the "harmonic balancers" for sale are just the crank pulley. It can be confusing if you've never taken one apart, as 6.5 pulleys have their own rubber damping inserts, which look like a second harmonic balancer (though that's not their actual purpose).
 
It looks like summit is the only one with different diameters. So maybe I just didn't look far enough. They have 2 or 3 different external diameters listed. Im going to replace the pulley too, just because I'm in there.

I found the AC delco one on Amazon for $65. So I'm just going that route. The pulley is actually more than the balancer every where for some reason.
 
shady said:
It looks like summit is the only one with different diameters. So maybe I just didn't look far enough. They have 2 or 3 different external diameters listed. Im going to replace the pulley too, just because I'm in there.

I found the AC delco one on Amazon for $65. So I'm just going that route. The pulley is actually more than the balancer every where for some reason.
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I'm not surprised. The pulley has more rubber and a more complicated shape.

6.2 solid V-belt pulleys are cheap... :whistle:
 
They have solid machined replacement pulleys out there, but they're as much as the fluidampr :doah:
 
shady said:
They have solid machined replacement pulleys out there, but they're as much as the fluidampr :doah:
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I guess you missed my sarcasm. The rubber isolators are good things. They reduce shock loading on your belt system. Obviously the solid pulleys work for those of us stuck in the past. But I wouldn't voluntarily downgrade, even if the solid pulleys were cheaper.
 
Just seems odd that it's the only engine I've ever seen that has a rubber bushed pulley.
 
shady said:
Just seems odd that it's the only engine I've ever seen that has a rubber bushed pulley.
Click to expand...

GM was trying to lower NVH at the time they did that. Same with the ill-fated dual-mass flywheel that also came with early 6.5 engines (before they figured out that they didn't last). It's adding refinement, something these engines were not naturally good at. :ignore:

Is it necessary? No. I wouldn't run a dual-mass flywheel if one were given to me. But these engines do stop more abruptly than almost any "normal" automotive engine. I can't fault them for trying to smooth it out...
 
Tax return got deposited today. So I pulled the trigger and ordered the fluidampr, the correct installer, and a seal :waytogo:
 
I'm seeing this a little late. But the only real difference between the balancers is if they need the spacer or not, otherwise they're the same. Mechanically injected engines need the spacer. The fluidamper comes with said spacer.

The pulley there is several different choices. Some have the rubber core and some aftermarket ones are solid. I'm still running a stock style pulley so I can't say if the solid ones help or not but most folks that run them seem to like them.
 
This is what initially confused me. I'm starting to think maybe its the mechanical/electrical the that makes the difference.

Screenshot_20200207-101231~2.png

Screenshot_20200207-101219~2.png
 
Yeah that's definitely confusing for sure. Which is odd since Summit is usually on the ball with marking parts correct.
 
Both of them when isame parts come up on O'Riley's. And when I did checks on them they match summits OD's
 
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