New Crankshaft damper?

1979 Mustang 17 w/ 302 4v

My crankshaft damper (Pulley) looks about 37 years old and the rubber inside seems to be cracking and it's got a bit of wobble to it now. I've been looking online for a new one and cannot seem to find one anywhere, even for a car. I see solid crankshaft pulleys but no actual dampers. Has anybody had to replace this? What did you do/where did you get it?

Thank you!

Hi Aaron

Your best bet is to find the part number on your damper.

It'll be either on the front of the damper or on the outer circumference near the timing graduations.

Since it's a reverse rotation engine, the timing graduations will be opposite a normal rotation automotive damper.

Being a 1979 302 if it's original, the crankshaft imbalance is 28.2 oz which calls for a specific damper

And you also probably have 3 bolts holding the lower pulley to the damper unlike lots of automotive 302's with 4 bolts.

All this just means that there are lots of ways to screw up and get the wrong one so get that part number, then you'll probably find it's no longer available but you can get in touch with someplace like     damperdudes.net and they could help you out or rebuild what you have.

KenO

Summit racing has 7 dampers listed for a 28oz imbalance 302/351 with a 3-bolt pulley. The cheapest being a $99 Pioneer, which I have heard is a reputable brand. I would not sweat the timing marks, that is the only difference between RH and LH. Just add timing tape or use a dial timing light (TDC is in the same spot).

MrMcD wrote: There is a company in Redding CA, might be Anderson or Cottonwood CA. Both are just outside Redding.   Damper Dudes or Damper Doctor. Both companies take your damper and rebuild it and ship it back to you. They have all the popular dampers on the shelf but yours being reverse rotation is special.   They do a very good job and have been in business 25+ years.   Originally there were two partners and they split making the two separate companies. Both do a good job.

Must be a little bit of an echo in here, look back a couple of posts Mark

One thing to watch out for with the aftermarket stuff is the thickness of the balancers and how that affects the alignment of the pulleys.

Unless you get just the right one that'll cross reference to the Ford part number on yours you may have some fun times with alignment

There were a lot of variations on Ford pulleys as far as width and whether or not they had mounting lips for the pulley to mount on.

Not trying to complicate things or disagree with Tim since I think his aftermarket suggestion would be just fine as long as it has the same dimensions.

KenO