[EvlTwn]

I have an older prorace damper - prob 20 yrs old.

It seems fine - other than some etching of the outer metal.

How can you tell if a balancer is still good? What’s the life of them?

[Tom Vaught]

1) Probably not good if the damper breaks the snout off the crankshaft.

2) Probably not good if the damper material has dried out and is cracking.

Probably not good if the Pulley and the damper exits thru the hood or fender of your vehicle. I have seen that happen in pictures people have posted. Same deal with metal cooling fans.

Tom V.

Since this is the RACE SECTION, I would buy a ATI new damper and be done with it.

[EvlTwn]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

1) Probably not good if the damper breaks the snout off the crankshaft.

2) Probably not good if the damper material has dried out and is cracking.

Probably not good if the Pulley and the damper exits thru the hood or fender of your vehicle. I have seen that happen in pictures people have posted. Same deal with metal cooling fans.

Tom V.

Since this is the RACE SECTION, I would buy a ATI new damper and be done with it.

Let’s say it was an ATI that was 5yrs old… how do you know it’s still good? Or is this just something to replace every couple years

[Scott Stoneburg]

Check to see if the timing marks have slipped, not sure if the ATI Dampner uses rubber or urathane between the hub and the outter ring, but if that is cracked or dry rotted then maybe replace it.

[Tom Vaught]

No rubber, no urathane, they use a Elastomer material, Elastomer, used in ATI Dampers, is a sturdy, stretchy material that's latex and silicone free (silicone will not soak easily into it, so is not recommended as a lubricant for it).

Attached is an exploded view of a ATI Balancer.

Tom V.

I have been using ATI Balancers on every personal and Company test engine
(designed for high speed long duration testing) since they were first introduced.

Since the Elastomer rings are supported by the inertia ring and not attached to the hub, the hub cannot "slip"

[ErikW]

If you're worried about an ATI damper, send it back to them and have it rebuilt. That's the beauty of an ATI damper in the first place. Serviceable

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by EvlTwn

Let’s say it was an ATI that was 5yrs old… how do you know it’s still good? Or is this just something to replace every couple years

The ATI dampers are 100% rebuildable. You can send it back to them They open it up, replace the elastomer rings, replace the fasteners and send it back. I think you can also buy the parts and do it yourself if you wish. They suggested we send ours in for inspection and rebuilding every 5 years in our 1300-1500 HP nitrous manual transmission application. For a less stressful application, less service would be needed. ATI balancers are the best available, period. IMO We ran the same balancer 18 years with 2 rebuilds.

[PAUL K]

Originally Posted by EvlTwn

I have an older prorace damper - prob 20 yrs old.

It seems fine - other than some etching of the outer metal.

How can you tell if a balancer is still good? What’s the life of them?

Fwiw ATI would not service one of their twenty year old balancers. They would tell you it's an obsolete design and offer you WD pricing on a current design balancer. I know this has nothing to do with your original question but seems to have input on other folks comments.

Now for your question;

If it's a high end build I would obtain an ATI balancer. If it's a moderate street strip build, I would visually inspect the damper, check it for run out and wobble, verify TDC mark, check and correct balance if needed and reuse it if it passed all the above. ProRace makes a pretty good damper.

[Brian Baker]

I've never used an ATI balancer. How are they "compatible wise" with factory pulleys and V-belt drives?

[chuckies76ta]

The ATI balancer I used on our IA2 is a bit thicker. I had to remove a bit off the timing cover, timing tab and a bit of the bottom sides of timing cover. It is also a 3 hole mounting for the pulley like chevy. I can't remember if it moved the pulley our a bit more or not, as I'm running a crank trigger.

[Skip Fix]

My ATI from late 80s the pulleys dd not line up until we took 0.125 off the hub where it hits timing gear on crank. Did have to clearance the cast in timing tab.

[ErikW]

Originally Posted by PAUL K

Fwiw ATI would not service one of their twenty year old balancers. They would tell you it's an obsolete design and offer you WD pricing on a current design balancer. I know this has nothing to do with your original question but seems to have input on other folks comments.

Now for your question;

If it's a high end build I would obtain an ATI balancer. If it's a moderate street strip build, I would visually inspect the damper, check it for run out and wobble, verify TDC mark, check and correct balance if needed and reuse it if it passed all the above. ProRace makes a pretty good damper.

Funny story
I was able to get them to rebuild my 22 yr old balancer by walking it in to their shop in Baltimore, MD. Fortunately one of the techs had some of the early hardware in his tool box as they use a different thread pitch now. They fixed me right up. Guess it helped that I was having them freshen up my converter also. Lol

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by Skip Fix

My ATI from late 80s the pulleys dd not line up until we took 0.125 off the hub where it hits timing gear on crank. Did have to clearance the cast in timing tab.

I used one of the "Non" timing tab aluminum timing covers with a steel timing tab.

I mounted it on the Drivers side of the timing cover. I did no grinding.
I just made a TDC mark on the ATI custom 10 rib serpentine balancer
on the drivers side. Worked very well with the Vortech Supercharger mounted
on the passenger side. And the lower radiator hose, and the other crap over there.

P-Dude sold the steel timing tabs.

Tom V.

[EvlTwn]

Originally Posted by PAUL K

Fwiw ATI would not service one of their twenty year old balancers. They would tell you it's an obsolete design and offer you WD pricing on a current design balancer. I know this has nothing to do with your original question but seems to have input on other folks comments.

Now for your question;

If it's a high end build I would obtain an ATI balancer. If it's a moderate street strip build, I would visually inspect the damper, check it for run out and wobble, verify TDC mark, check and correct balance if needed and reuse it if it passed all the above. ProRace makes a pretty good damper.

Thanks this is actually what I was looking for…

It’s actually my race combo that I was racing and now will just be street driving..

It’s a 455- eheads solid roller cam - 13:1 scr running e85

I think I’m around 3300lbs and was running 6.30-6.50.

I guess I want to know the signs of what to look for when the balance is going bad. I’m probably a lot like a bunch of you and don’t just buy $500 parts just “because”…there isn’t much of a viewing area to inspect the rubber and it has never slipped to my knowledge.

If I understand a damper right it prevents any NF excitation and keeps the amplitude of the frequency content low… I guess I was looking for a more “engineery “ response rather than just “replace it or you’ll be sorry”. Like where the crossing frequency may exist and if you notice increased vibrations within a certain rpm range than this would be indicative of a failing damper… of course I know if the ring comes off or my crank breaks it’s bad.

I will prob buy another in a few years - I’m not aware of any issues with this one other than it’s minor cosmetic flaws

[67Fbird]

typical failure is rotten elastomer or cracked keyway. If those look good...must be good!