how to tell if damper plate is good or worn out.

[pbgbottle]

hey guys just pulled my tranny to replace the rear main seal . how do i tell if the damper plate is getting tired . it has a few loose springs. and the whole center hub part has some slop. as if there was some missalignment

should i put a new one in there . i am a new owner of this boat so i don't no the history of this damper plate.

also another question that comes to my mind is about the loose hub .i had a bend bellhousing on my 4x4 and it would cause the hub to wear loose in the clutch disc the same as this damper plate is and it ended up being an alignment issue on the clutch disc prematurly wearing out the hub in the center of the disc .

so my question is how do you center the damper plate to the flywheel so that it is centered on a car you use a clutch disc alignment tool . how do you know it is centerd to the flywheel and the tranny input shaft. i would think the damper plate would have to be dead center so that the tranny input does not wear it out from side load or wallowing it loose. how come the tranny input does not seat into the crank like on a car to support the tip of the input shaft .or am i missing something.

nobody ever talks about engine to tranny aligment ,in a car this is important.
i would think you would need these two things in perfect alignment so as to not destroy the damper plate which in turn could cause your front tranny seals to wear out as well.

oh well just thinking out loud here .

see pics of damper i cleaned it up .how to tell if it is worn ?
it also looks like the starter was hitting the edge of the damper as well

P.S.

me being in Canada shipping is a biatche
does anybody have a NAPA part number for the rear main seal?

and is skidim the only place for the damper $200 bucks ouch !
i may have to place a big order with them and see if they will ship to a US adress for me.
and get everythnig i am going to need from them to restore this old boat in one big christmas present to myself


cheers

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[mikeg205]

if its already out ... why not change it....not that expensive...all the hard work is down... change and fuhget about it... but that's just me.

[thatsmrmastercraft]

I know nothing about these. Time for me to watch and learn.

[-V-]

what does a damper plate do?

[TOO-TALL]

If Your damper plate makes a rattle noise just off idle while in gear.Then it needs to be replaced. Mine made this noise and I knew it was time to replace..once I got it out I found three cracks in the plate.

I say if you have it out and it looks bad or has loose parts......change it....just my .002

[pbgbottle]

i will change it for sure i don't want to take this apart again any time soon.

i am just curious about alignment . anybody else have any ideas . what if the tranny doesn't actually go straight through the middle splined part of the damper .if it is off to the side just a hair it will side load the damper plate causing premature failure .maybe even cracking around the bolt holes.
or cause the center hub part to become loose on the mounting rivits.

anybody ??

anybody see any issues with alignment and just bolting this thing on to the flywheel.
i guess i can hope that it was all lined up from the factory .but what if the bellhousing is slightly tweeked or the dowel pins in the engine block have worn or changed shape .
then the trany won't line up with a straight shot through the damper. there must be some way to make sure the damper is put on there perfectly centered to the input of the tranny .
i will be taking some measurements. ..

who knows maybe i am over thinking things


cheers

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[thatsmrmastercraft]

I would give the guys at SKIDIM a call with that question. Another source would be to send JimN a PM.

[TRBenj]

Replace it. If you have a Velvet Drive, you can get a high quality Sachs (Alta) damper from ebasicmarine for $90.

You want to get the damper perfectly centered. The trick Ive heard is to leave the bolts a little loose until the trans is installed, then go back and tighten them. You can access the bolts through the starter hole or if you drill a hole in the bellhousing.

You'll also want to align the whole powertrain in the boat.

[pbgbottle]

ebasic marine for $90 i like this price
which one fits the ford 351 Application?

[Kyle]

Not to nit pick things but I do believe the website is

https://www.ebasicpower.com

I'm looking for one for a buddy.

[Kyle]

And correct me if I'm wrong but I think this is the link.

http://bpi.ebasicpower.com/pc/ALTDA-106/DAMPERS

[Kyle]

Here is one from skidim

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=R140001

It costs twice as much though like most of their items.


I've bought many things from www.ebasicpower.com and have been very pleased with them. They know A LOT about Borg Warner trannys. I bought a rebuild kit and a front pump from them (www.ebasicpower.com) when I was rebuilding my slot. The kit if I remember correctly was 1/3 the price from the skidim folks. This was before I had "MAJOR" issues with skidim due to service and was shopping them too. Now all I do is shop against them.

The $90 plate will be just fine.

[pbgbottle]

i was researching the different drive plates .

google search DA106 drive plate can be found on various sites around $100 dollars but only mounts using 3 bolts. and is universal for all 14 inch large flywheels. be it GM or Ford.
found on ebay for $60 with free shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Drive-Damper-Plate-26-Spline-Marine-Gas-Small-Block-New-/390361110110?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&vxp=mtr&hash=item5ae355d65e

the skidim one. part # R140001 can be found for a bit cheaper but not much $179 and fits ford only and mounts with 6 bolts.

and just buy searching i found out that the one in my boat may be this one for a mercruiser?
fits ford and GM

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercruser-Engine-Drive-Plate-Adaptor-47608A1-26-tooth-Inboard-Ski-/120801013137?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&vxp=mtr&hash=item1c204d2d91

... not to sure if i only want my drive plate mounted with 3 bolts only.

[Kyle]

Don't cut corners. The spline has to be 26 and I would look at a plate with 6 bolts.

[-V-]

i still would like to know what it does.