Crankshaft Vibration Damper

[Rolf B.]

Hi All,

the engine of my 1933 Daimler 15 is fitted with a Crankshaft Vibration Damper. After dismantling the damper I found, a former keeper or mechanic must have filled black lead grease inside the damper system. After all the years this grease was so hardened, fixing all the rotation components together. It was a pig job to free all the disc clutch parts without damaging them.

Firstly I thought the internals of the damper have to work without grease or oil as a normal clutch system for gear boxes with friction plates. But yesterday I read in "The Lanchester Legacy" Volume One, page 83, "The Crankshaft Vibration Damper consisting of thin steel plates are lubricated by oil."

Otherwise the vibration damper of my Daimler 15 has a friction plate added to the steel plates. And so I'm in an insecure position what is right.

My question is: Does the internals of the vibration damper of the Daimler 15, which seems to be similar or even the same as these ones of the Lanchester 4 cylindre engines of the same period, has to been driven in grease or oil or are they working in dry mode?

Any information desired!

Kind regards
Rolf B.

[bop]

I recently restored my Daimler 15 damper

and below is the info I found for it in "Motor Repair and Overhauling" by Newnes

If this info is correct then mine is the "dry" friction disc type. If you have 2 plugs on the outside circumference then it is the "oil" multiple-plate type. Could your black grease be just engine oil (leaked into damper) mixed with the friction disc dust (from wear)? Just a thought!
Hope this is of some help
Bob

[Stan Thomas]

To my knowledge, the damper fitted to your car is most likely the "oil filled" type commonly favoured by Daimler in the early thirties - so as the above posting says - look for a plug on the outside circumference, (which may have a square head).

If so, you fill the damper with the same oil you use for the diff.

Incidentally, Silkolene market a specific oil especially formulated for bronze worm drive axles, which is called Rhino 140 Classic.

[Rolf B.]

Hello Bob, hello Stan,

thanks a lot for your efforts.

The copies of the edition "Motor Repair and Overhauling" by Newnes are very helpful to find out which crankshaft vibration damper is mounted to the engine of my Daimler 15. It is definitely the "dry" type of "Friction-disc Damper" because there are no plugs on the outside circumference.

The note about engine oil which leaked into damper and mixed with the friction disc dust could be right. Otherwise it could be possible that based on wrong information about the type of damper somebody filled in a bit of SAE 140 oil or grease which tempered with the wear of friction resulted in black grease. Otherwise while dismantling the steering box of the Daimler 15 I found it completely filled with black grease instead of required oil. Another mistake of an uninformed person?

I too have the "Motor Repair and Overhauling" by Newnes, but it's the ninth edition and there's no chapter about "Engine Vibration Damper". Maybe the edition belonging to me is a later, newer one.

Rolf B.

[bop]

I have the "Second Edition (Revised)", volume 2.
Bop

[qantasqf1]

The parts book shows this. It looks very much like it’s a dry friction clutch type damper and it also corresponds with the Newnes description.

Steve

[Rolf B.]

Hello Steve,

thank you very much for your additional information.

Regards
Rolf B.