Damper size

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » May 17, 2010, 1:22 pm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD-FE- ... 4ceec86905

So I bought the attached damper cause my original one looked pretty rough and the rubber seal was pretty rotted. Anyway I got it in and it sure seems bigger and thicker than the original. Is that normal? Will it fit fine, has anyone used what I have purchased?

BarnieTrk · Post by **BarnieTrk** » May 17, 2010, 3:20 pm

I'd be asking & showing it to your machine shop person who is balancing your engine.

I'd also suggest you ask your balancing person to confirm that the TDC mark & timing 'scale' is accurate which is stamped on it...

BarnieTrk

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » May 17, 2010, 3:25 pm

yeah Ive been getting some parts in. My flywheel is crap now as well and even though its an internal balanced engine Im going to being both damper and flywheel. My biggest question was if it would work since it sure seems alot thicker than the original...an heavier. I guess cause its fluid and not compressed with rubber?

Riverside Racer · Post by **Riverside Racer** » May 18, 2010, 10:39 am

You might want to check that your bottom pulley holes line up with the new dampner. There is an early and late FE set up.

Post by **Greg D** » May 18, 2010, 12:23 pm

Every Fluid Damper I have ever seen is bigger than the cast one. Your engine guy should know like Barney said. I would tend to guess the new damper is a "late" setup seeings as it fits 428s. Should be just a matter of swapping pulleys if it doesn't line up?

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » May 18, 2010, 2:30 pm

yeah Im going to go home tonight and bring the one home and see if all lines up. I will take some pics so maybe it will help others down the road...thanks

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » May 18, 2010, 10:01 pm

well not sure whats up but the damn holes dont line up. Close but dont however the radius is the sam,e 7". Is there an adapter plate or spacer?

Hawkrod · Post by **Hawkrod** » May 18, 2010, 11:12 pm

[quote=""Whitey Ford""]well not sure whats up but the darn holes dont line up. Close but dont however the radius is the sam,e 7". Is there an adapter plate or spacer?[/quote]Ford FE engines are not all the same. The balancer you bought appears to be a 68 and newer style and my bet is you have a 67 and older engine. If that is the case then all you need is a 68 and newer crank pulley. I hope for your sake that is the case. There are several aftermarket balancers out there and many of them require custom crank pulleys. I hope you are not in that boat. I am not a fan of fluid balancers myself and only use a solid mass balancer. I helped in the design of the Pro Products balancer a few years ago and it is the only truly bolt on balancer on the market for an FE: http://www.professional-products.com/da ... BBford.php. It will work with 67 and older or 68 and newer pulleys. Hawkrod

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » May 19, 2010, 7:48 am

Well from the numbers I ran it appears to be a 68. Actually I can see the casting numbers on it. see below. I have no problem with going to a different damper. Im going to return this one and if i need another one then so be it. I know the second picture looks as if if I dont have it on straight but I took it too notice that the key way and hole size was the same. Only the holes in the new one are a bit longer. So Hawkrod which one? the 80009 seems to be the one I would need. Does noone remake the damper in 7"...seems weird to go to a 7.5".

Hawkrod · Post by **Hawkrod** » May 19, 2010, 8:38 am

Yeah, the old one you have is a 68 and newer so you need to ask them what you are supposed to use as a pulley. Odds are it was made to use a modified chevy pulley as several of the aftermarket ones are. You can buy a direct replacement for what you have but all of the aftermarket performance balancers are larger because all of the stock performance balancers are as well. A larger balancer does a better job eliminating harmonics.

The Pro Products balancer is a custom designed part that is basically a direct replacement 427 balancer out of the box. You could put it on any 63-67 427 with no modification. For you application you would remove the bolt on pulley that it comes with, install the spacer that it comes with and then put your pulley on and you are done. When you install the balancer this way it is basically a 428 SCJ balancer. The only other change is the Pro Products balancer also comes with a replacement timing pointer which you need to use due to the larger diameter.

One point that many people do not actually understand is that all Ford FE balancers are interchangeable. They all have a neutral balance and so it does not matter if it is a 332 from 1958, a 427 from 1963 , or a 428 SCJ from 1970, you can swap the balancers. Even though some engines are externally balanced, Ford did not change the spec on the balancer and all external weight is on the flywheel except on the SCJ which also came with an extra front weight on the spacer behind the balancer. I don't know why Ford did it this way but be thankful!

The 80009 would be what you would use for a street car as the only difference between the two is the SFI rating. One more caveat. Pro Products used to sell another version of the FE balancer and it had the same stock number. There are a few dealers out there that have old inventory and still try and sell them on various boards and on eBay. They are not common but be aware of them as they are not universal like the newer one. They are easy to identify as they have 6 bolts around the perimeter of the pulley instead of three near the middle. Many people who sell these are still using the old picture in eBay auctions but most of them are dealers that drop ship directly from Pro Products and so even though the picture may show the old one you will get the new one but it never hurts to ask before you buy. If you are getting it from somebody like Summit you will get the new one. Hawkrod

BarnieTrk · Post by **BarnieTrk** » May 19, 2010, 8:55 am

Whitey,
Is the non-fluid dampener pictured the one you're replacing? if it is, it doesn't look all that rough "from this angle". Based on those pictures, I'd use it!
The elastomeric material (rubber) between the outer ring and the inner hub is slightly cracked in places, but it looks plenty well intact from those pictures. Is there any indication that the outer ring has shifted or turned on the hub? If not, why are you replacing it?

You may want to rethink it and just give it a light cleaning, prime & paint it, then highlight the timing marks and use it! Save your $$ for things you really need.... don't worry - there will be other "opportunities" for you to spend it!

Yeah, it's your money and you can spend it as you see fit, but I just hate to see folks spend $$ on something they think they need, when they don't. Sure, if you were building an engine that you expected to crank 7,000+ rpms or needed it to meet a particular safety rating (such as SFI), then I'd be replacing the 40+yr old dampener too. But from what you've described in your posts, that isn't the performance level you'll be expecting from your rebuilt 390...I gather you're just looking for a slightly-hotrodded, street-able, big block that will run on pump gas that you don't need to worry about. Just another

.
BarnieTrk

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » May 19, 2010, 8:59 am

great thanks alot Hawk....Im going to get the 80009 from summit. I just placed an order yesterday with them too and the place where i got this damper says only sotre dredit for returns....as I said awhile back. This is a huge learning curve here. Now I just hope the cam comes in grinded correctly...ive been reading horror stories about Comp cams...anwyay thanks alot for the help on this.

Hawkrod · Post by **Hawkrod** » May 19, 2010, 9:09 am

I don't agree, the rubber on that balancer is failing. I won't even sell one when it gets to that point as it will not last much longer. The problem is that when there is that much cracking it has infiltrated the space between the two parts and no longer transfers harmonics the way it was designed to. It will work but it won't do the job it was designed to do. Buy a new one (yes they sell them, buy a Pro Products (which are amazingly cheap and better quality) or send the old one to Damper Doctors for a rebuild (which usually costs more than the other two options) but don't use the old one as is on a new engine. Hawkrod

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » May 19, 2010, 11:12 am

No the damper is worse than you think. Actually ont he back side the rubber material in between the metal is bent and torn up. When I seen that I actually started to think if maybe that was the culprit to why i couldnt time it worth a crap. Maybe it was slipping but when I did the bump with thumb over hole trick I hit the existing 0 degree mark pretty close so to be honest I have no idea. Also, i dont mind spending 100 ucks for a piece of mind. To me this whole build has been a learning experience and Im paying for it literally....hahaha

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » May 20, 2010, 9:24 am

OK well I went with the damper doctor. Its the same price as the 80009 and when you buy the new one they send a box and return address for the core to be sent back. Once ts returnd they credit you 20 bucks on your card. Im a recyling nut so it works both ways for me. Thanks for the advise once again fordtuk folks. Now this issue is done, about 200 more to go....