Harmonic balancer
 

I checked mine this afternoon whioe routing the new cable for the starter and found that the balancer is definitely bad...caput!!!. There is about 1/2-3/4 inch of rubber sticking out.
I was looking at the TD Performance fluid damper but it says external balance. What is the difference between external and internal balance dampers?
Also should I go with the stock balancer for 130.00 (Price for retail, I'm sure I can get it cheaper than that), or should I get one of the fluid type like TD performance or Streetdamper?

If they mean what I'd think they mean, then its what you would want. The late model 5.0 has a 50 in-oz external balance; early model 5.0 & 351 a 28 in-oz external balance and the late model 4.6/5.4 an internal nuetral balance. To internally (neutral) balance your 5.0 requires the machine shop to do a dynamic balance of the rotating assembly, usually done by adding heavy metal to the crank. You want the external balance. Stock or aftermarket is up to you, but you get what you pay for. I've got a Romac balancer on my engine. Kinda pricey (~$300), but good insurance given what I've got in the rest of the motor.

Just to let everyone know I bought a Fluidampr, Streetdamper. It seems to be working great. I have noticed much smoother acceleration and shifting.
I also bought a remoing tool and the installation tool. I HIGHLY recomend that anyone who does this at home to get these two tools or borrow them. The puller alos acts as a steering wheel puller so it will come in handy later on. The installation tool I bought is universal and can be used on numerous applications. Including painting the balancer, I think the entire process took me about an hour and a half.
Thanks for all the help everyone. :lol: :D :cool: :cheers: :flag:

Pics of the bad blancer:

Balancer pics