DanClarke

Well-Known Member
Full Member
I was under the front of the car today on my back fitting a new ABS Sensor and I noticed a thing that looked like a fat barbell weight attached to a bracket and hanging off the back of the front axle.

I just looked in my workshop manual and it says it is a "mass damper", but I have no idea what it really does.
Clearly, it "damps mass", but I would like to know why/what/how and why does the axle need one?
 
Generally they look like meteorites at this age. Only prestige models like yours have one on front.
GoldRover found good link on why it works some time back
 
Generally they look like meteorites at this age. Only prestige models like yours have one on front.
GoldRover found good link on why it works some time back

I think all the v8s have them, only the oil burner doesn't because there was no way to get it in there with the m51 engine that didn't foul somewhere. Besides, the diesel vibrates so much on its own it is a losing battle.
 
I think all the v8s have them, only the oil burner doesn't because there was no way to get it in there with the m51 engine that didn't foul somewhere. Besides, the diesel vibrates so much on its own it is a losing battle.
M51 has one on the side of the bell housing
 
I think all the v8s have them, only the oil burner doesn't because there was no way to get it in there with the m51 engine that didn't foul somewhere. Besides, the diesel vibrates so much on its own it is a losing battle.

Correct. V8s have axle dampers front and rear. Diesels rear only.
 
If you stand with the bonnet open on tickover you’d never believe they’d do 200,000+ miles
I agree with your earlier Lister statement
 

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