L79 Harmonic Balancer; how to assess condition?

[Gary B.]

Can anyone give me some general guidelines for assessing the condition of a 36 year-old harmonic balancer on my L79? How obvious is by simple visual inspection to know if a given balancer is structurally OK, i.e., is the rubber coupling between the inner and outer metal rings in acceptable condition or not?

Thanks in advance,

Gary Beaupre

[Peter J.]

Re: L79 Harmonic Balancer; how to assess condition

Gary, The rubber ring on mine looked pretty rough so I had Damper Dudes restore mine. The engine builder that built my L-79 said it didn't look like a problem to him but I am one of those play it safe guys with my car because I drive it quite a bit at highway speed. I don't know how to tell if it is going to slip other than mark the ring and hub and check it. To me it was worth it to get it done right. Call Damper Dudes, as I remember they were pretty helpful on the phone.

[Duke W.]

Re: L79 Harmonic Balancer; how to assess condition

Surface cracks visible on the rubber ring between the inner and outer masses is common, but if the rubber is still all there and you can't easily pick it away with soft tool such as a plastic spoon tip, then it is probably okay to used as is.

Duke

[Gary B.]

Thanks gentlemen. *NM*