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Over the approximately two decades that "B" engines were in production, a total of 17 different balancers (or at least part numbers for balancers) were used. Use the table at the bottom of this page to give a year by year breakdown of what balancer every engine used. One important note is that starting in 1972, the bolt pattern on the front of the damper was changed to be exactly symmetrical. (Damper 1858382 is the only exception to this rule) Before this (71 and earlier) there is one bolt that is offset slightly, forcing the pulley to be installed only one way. (In case you are curious, the bolt is the second hole away from the woodruff key in the counterclockwise direction - it should be right in line with the timing mark.) So, because of this any pre 72 pulleys/dampers are not interchangeable with post 72 models. Be careful of this when buying balancers at swap meets - bring your pulley with you or verify the casting number. Speaking of casting numbers, we have found that probably 80% of dampers do not have any identifying numbers on them. The only way to find out what they are for is to try and work backwards. For instance, is it for a cast or forged crank? A cast crank damper will have an elliptical offset weight in one side, while a forged crank damper will be perfectly round. Second, check the bolt pattern for the offset hole... this will narrow it down to half of the list. We have tried to list pictures of every common damper further down this page, in addition to new ones. Dampers listed below are for informational purposes. We may or may not have them in stock for sale at any given time. Give us a call for details if you are interested. |
| This first damper is an early forged crank internal balance type, measuring 7 1/4" diameter by about 7/8" wide, with the offset (pre 72) pulley bolt pattern . Most of these types of dampers will be Chrysler # 2275897 or 2658457. These were available with either the solid ring (above left picture) or the cut ring (above right picture), and the holes in the hub may be either round or square. The difference appears to be based on the supplier Chrysler happened to use, as we have seen both types used for the same year, part #, etc. The cut ring type seems to be more commonly used. These were used from about 1962 until 71 with all forged crank engines. In 72, the bolt pattern was changed to be symmetrical and therefore a different part and associated part # were used (see below.) These usually do not have part numbers cast into them (although sometimes 2658457's will be marked on the rear inside of the hub.) Check for the offset bolt in the pulley bolt pattern to be sure. |
| Next is damper 3614371, used on forged crank engines from 1972-75. Appearance and dimensions are the same as above, the only difference is the pulley bolt pattern in the 72 and later, which is symmetrical. These will usually have the casting number on the rear of the hub. We have only seen these with the cut ring. These continued to be used as part 3830183 for 1976-79. |
| Shown above is damper #3512017,
commonly known as a "six-pack" damper. This damper can be easily identified
by a small .210" thousandths thick elliptical weight attached to the center
hub. This version was used in '70 and '71 and has the offset pulley bolt
pattern. Be careful not to confuse it with 3614372, which was used only in
'72 and looks similar except for having a symmetrical pulley bolt pattern.
The weight on the 3614372 may be slightly thicker at .255", but we have not
been able to verify this. Even though these dampers have an elliptical weight, they were never used with any cast cranks. These dampers were used with steel cranks and "six pack" (2951908 casting #) rods. The extra weight is to offset the added weight of the extra metal in the rods and pistons. Another important fact is that even though six pack rods continued to be used up until 1975 in HP and truck 440's with steel cranks, they did NOT use this damper. As you can see from the chart above, any 73-75 steel crank 440 (with either six pack or standard rods) would have come with the 3614371 damper. We have found this to be absolutely true. |
| Shown above is damper #3614374, used on 400's with external balance cast cranks, which can usually be found in a passenger car and/or automatic trans application (applications with 400 engines and manual transmission applications used forged cranks.) It measures 7 1/4" diameter by about 7/8" wide. Although it is similar to the "six pack" dampers above, the weight on these is much thicker, and more closely resembles the weights on the cast crank 440 models below, even though the ring thickness is similar to an internal balance damper. One easy way to identify these (and not confuse them with six pack models) is the small half circle that is cut into one side of the counterweight. This is visible in the picture above at about the 3 o'clock position. This is the only damper that will have this small cut. |
| Shown above is damper #3577785, used on 440's with cast cranks from 73-75. It measures 7 1/4 diameter by 1 5/8 wide. It is an externally balanced model, (notice the approx. .275" thousands thick counterweight which contains the words "use with 440 cast crank only") Notice that the outer surface of the damper is straight, which makes it easy to differentiate from the later "bullet nose" cast crank damper (3830482) pictured below. |
| Shown above is damper #3830482, which is an externally balanced type, used on cast crank 440's from 1976 until the end of production. It measures 7 1/4" diameter by 1 5/8" wide. The counterweight on this damper measures about .300" thousandths thick. This damper is unique in that the outside edge is not straight, but rather tapers down at the front. This lead to it being known as a "bullet nose" type. It is also unique in that it is the only damper that has timing marks machined at every 90 degrees. Note however only the main timing mark continues to the rear of the damper, the rest stop where the taper begins, or about 1/2" from the rear. |
| Shown above is damper #2658871, used on street Hemi engines 1966 to 1971. It measures 7 1/4" diameter by about 1 5/8" wide, using the symmetrical pulley bolt pattern.. This damper has several similarities to other dampers listed. From the side view, it looks very similar to the early cast crank damper, however it is an internal balance unit, so there are no counterweights. It also has a pulley mounting face with a unique pulley spacing similar to the Heavy Duty truck damper listed below. These are unique to 426 Hemi Engines, so they are very hard to find. We have listed them for educational purposes only. We do not offer them for sale, however we have occasionally seen them at swap meets selling in the $300-$500 range. If you need something similar for a lot less money, try our Heavy Duty truck damper below, which is nearly identical in width and pulley spacing, except it is 1 inch smaller diameter. These use the long damper bolt. |
| Shown above is damper #1858382, used on heavy duty (HD) trucks and motorhomes with internally balanced forged cranks. It measures 6 1/4" diameter by 1 5/8" wide. These first came into use in 1960, when the heavy duty/industrial versions of the 361 and 413 replaced the early hemis (354/392, etc) in Dodge's medium and heavy duty lines of trucks. They continued to be used unchanged until Dodge discontinued their medium and heavy duty truck lines in 1977. All of the these balancers have the standard offset pulley bolt pattern. The hub used on these units spaces the pulley out further from the engine, so if one of these were to be used in a standard car-type setup, it would require a custom pulley arrangement. Also, note the lack of a hub which overlaps the outer ring, acting as a safety to keep the ring from flying off. Also, these are always used with timing cover #1858639 (our part number 100-1063) These use the long damper bolt. |
