[OmahaDZL]

Originally Posted by robnitro

I just got my febi from FCP, it was drop shipped from California.
What's interesting is that it has the ground down area where BMW part number would be and looks like the OE corteco/bmw one, like this even with the shiny coating and cooling holes in the backside.

Not all that surprising...I reported that way back in the day (last year, but it seems like 5yrs) about the Febi I received....

As far as I was concerned, I got a BMW part at half the price.

[rulonger]

Originally Posted by Hoooper

Pulled into a parking lot all good, when I came back ... had no power steering plus got burnt rubber smell. Quickly turned a/c off and sort of regained power steering but it wasn't full power. When I got home I popped the hood and looked, belt was turning suspiciously slowly and then when a/c was popped on it stopped completely.

So just had the exact same thing happen. Went out for lunch, got back in the car and had no power steering and the burnt rubber smell. Turning off the A/C brought back the power steering and I made it back to work. In the parking lot here at work, the belts are all turning normally and there is no smell. But when I turn on the A/C; the belts slow considerably, the driver-side upper pulley (A/C compressor?) seems to lag and the smell begins to emanate.

So I understand that I will need to replace the two belts, four bolts and the harmonic balancer.

My questions: Is there a chance that the A/C compressor is the culprit? What risks do I run in trying to drive home (25 miles) with no A/C?

[Hoooper]

There is always a chance, but if it was the A/C compressor you would likely have massive squealing from the belt slipping either on the balancer pulley which would be spinning, or the a/c compressor which would be stopped. Since you didnt say that, its almost certainly the balancer.

As for driving home, you risk killing the battery, driving with no meaningful damping of crank vibrations, losing all power steering, etc. I drove about 2 miles on roads with no traffic, 25 miles I would get a tow. If its the balancer, you probably have a fully separated outer and inner, the only reason it is still spinning the belt when a/c is off is the rubber inner is still contacting the outer enough to transmit whatever amount of power is needed to run the power steering and alternator. With mine, power steering was working but not full power so the faster I cranked the wheel the less assist I got, presumably the pulley would slip when the added pressure was needed by the pump.

[OmahaDZL]

Originally Posted by rulonger

So just had the exact same thing happen. Went out for lunch, got back in the car and had no power steering and the burnt rubber smell. Turning off the A/C brought back the power steering and I made it back to work. In the parking lot here at work, the belts are all turning normally and there is no smell. But when I turn on the A/C; the belts slow considerably, the driver-side upper pulley (A/C compressor?) seems to lag and the smell begins to emanate.

So I understand that I will need to replace the two belts, four bolts and the harmonic balancer.

My questions: Is there a chance that the A/C compressor is the culprit? What risks do I run in trying to drive home (25 miles) with no A/C?

Im somewhat questioning this.... If the HB has failed...its failed.....AC or not, mine wasnt turning the belts at all....and if you look at a failed one you will see why....it completely lets loose of the crank hub. Get in there and take a pic or two with your phone to be sure of what we are working with...

But your big concern is the water pump....

[Hoooper]

Originally Posted by OmahaDZL

Im somewhat questioning this.... If the HB has failed...its failed.....AC or not, mine wasnt turning the belts at all....and if you look at a failed one you will see why....it completely lets loose of the crank hub. Get in there and take a pic or two with your phone to be sure of what we are working with...

But your big concern is the water pump....

Mine failed just like his and it was definitely the balancer on mine. With low enough load on the balancer it would spin the belt, but a/c would make it stop. There really is no other explanation, if the balancer wasnt broken and the belt stopped there would be a smoke screen from the balancer doing a massive burnout on the belt.

[OmahaDZL]

Originally Posted by Hoooper

Mine failed just like his and it was definitely the balancer on mine. With low enough load on the balancer it would spin the belt, but a/c would make it stop. There really is no other explanation, if the balancer wasnt broken and the belt stopped there would be a smoke screen from the balancer doing a massive burnout on the belt.

Interesting...mine broke completely.....mine wasnt spinning the belt at all....

I guess ive only seen one failure with my own eyes so Ill defer to your experience.

[rulonger]

Hoooper's description came to mind when I lost power steering as I was backing out after lunch. As I had a 1 pm meeting to get back to, I did what I recalled him doing - turned off A/C and drove slow back to work. Without A/C load, I had power steering and no smell. Back at work I inspected the belts turning normally without A/C and turning slower with the A/C turned on. Also when the A/C was turned on, the smell of burning rubber started again. To avoid any risk of further damage, I had car towed home. Now I am waiting on parts.

[Hoooper]

Who was it that predicted a rash of balancer failures now that the whole country is into a/c season

[nicklockard]

Mine failed 2 nights ago. I'm going to have my shop proactively replace the driveline guibo if it needs it, too.

[dmanb2b]

Originally Posted by Hoooper

Who was it that predicted a rash of balancer failures now that the whole country is into a/c season

I know I had the same thought a few months back

Originally Posted by dmanb2b

Yeah, they are missing out on a whole new wave of failures too, as summer driving season is here, there is another spike in failure reports.

[Asonchadwick]

I sure would like to see a video of this failure. I am new and my car has 85000 miles on it so maybe it will go out at any time. I put myself on the list at fluidamper a few months back they said they will be working on it so i am just waiting i may call again to see what's up.

[335dsl]

Originally Posted by Tucson335d

I sure would like to see a video of this failure. I am new and my car has 85000 miles on it so maybe it will go out at any time. I put myself on the list at fluidamper a few months back they said they will be working on it so i am just waiting i may call again to see what's up.

I emailed them earlier. I will respond back on this post when they reply back. I'm at 82k miles but i rather do it as preventative maintenance than be stranded and have to deal with towing which will cost a lot more and end up with parts im not not happy with.

[sukutash]

Good luck with getting a response from Fluidamper. I e-mailed them twicw about 3 months ago and am still waiting.

[kydiesel35]

Keep emailing/calling them. We should be getting a conclusion on this subject soon...

[335dsl]

I just spoke to Evan and he said they "got the green light on getting things started". It will take roughly 4-6 months and will be around $400-500. I'm planning to wait for it a bit longer in hopes mine doesn't give up anytime soon. Happy waiting everyone ��

[f00dstamps]

What does "getting things started" mean? Are they just now going to start development or are they looking to start production?

[kydiesel35]

Just in.

This is happening! Sorry it has taken so long but we should be approximately two months away from test pieces and four months from production.

So if your damper isn't broke, don't fix it quite yet

[kydiesel35]

Fluidampr should be chiming in whenever we get closer.

They will be here to discuss technical information and not to sell this product. The sales will be directed to a subscribed and paid vendor.

Thanks!

[JTC1]

Wow, I was starting to think this was never going to happen. Still four months could turn into eight months, but I hope not. I assume at this point we do not have an idea of what the price will be looking like?

[rulonger]

Originally Posted by JTC1

Wow, I was starting to think this was never going to happen. Still four months could turn into eight months, but I hope not. I assume at this point we do not have an idea of what the price will be looking like?

somewhere it says $500 to $600. The idea was that it would be similar to the BMW part's price

[JTC1]

If that's the case I may have to jump ship then. I'm sure the Fluidampr is a superior product, but I'm not sure its worth that much more than others. I know quite a few folks have used the Febi. ECS has it listed for $225 right now and I think it can be had for under $200 on sale. For $500-$600 I can buy two or three of those. I really doubt I'll still be driving the car at that point.

[Hockey13]

Originally Posted by JTC1

If that's the case I may have to jump ship then. I'm sure the Fluidampr is a superior product, but I'm not sure its worth that much more than others. I know quite a few folks have used the Febi. ECS has it listed for $225 right now and I think it can be had for under $200 on sale. For $500-$600 I can buy two or three of those. I really doubt I'll still be driving the car at that point.

fcp you wouldn't need to buy 2 or 3, lifetime warranty