Crank pulley timing mark position?

[Davo1805NZ]

Thanks for further feedback - yes, looks like mine is in the correct position, though the rubber looks hard and cracked and the guys rebuilding the motor are advising it should be repaired or replaced.

Dave - yes, I see the new ones that Wards are offering. As you say, not cheap, though it will only cost me marginally less to get mine rebuilt - but I'm a fan of restoring rather than throwing away and replacing; also prefer to keep the money here, rather than send it offshore where I can.

[Lingen]

Davo. I reckon that after forty years or more, every Stag damper will be showing a few cracks were the rubber can be seen. Mine certainly does, but that doesn't mean it is about to fail. In the very many years that I have owned and worked on Stags, I have only seen one damper where the bonding has failed. As it clearly hasn't on yours, I think it is highly unlikely that it is about to do so. They are very expensive as you have found, so why not just paint it and put it back? If it does fail, the car isn't going to become undriveable. It could easily be replaced / repaired when need arises.
Mike.

[Davo1805NZ]

Thanks Mike - yes, it has occurred to me that it wouldn't be difficult to replace at a later stage. The reason for replacing was cited as being that, having gone hard, it won't be providing much in the way of damping, so posing a risk of damage to the crank?

[Carboy0]

360 degrees divided by 8 is 45 so as we time off cylinder 2, logic dictates it should be 45 degrees clockwise from the keyway which would be no1 cylinder @ TDC?

Just a thought - being a four stroke engine the 8 cylinders run over a 720 degrees cycle not 360 degrees. However, my pulley mark is also offset by 45 degrees from the key-way.

[Lingen]

Davo. I think damage to the crank is highly unlikely. The damper is there to absorb the natural harmonic vibrations created by a V8 engine. If the rubber has become too hard to absorb them, I would have thought that you would feel them in the car. Do all V8s have them? I expect a Forum engineer will be able to tell us more about that.
Mike.

[trunt]

Just a thought - being a four stroke engine the 8 cylinders run over a 720 degrees cycle not 360 degrees. However, my pulley mark is also offset by 45 degrees from the key-way.

Wow this is hard to put into words..

A full 4 stroke 720 degree cycle is 2 rotations of the crank On one rotation of the crank all 8 pistons hit tdc. I.e. every 45 degrees ... it just does it twice.

[trunt]

I’m with Mike on the damper replacement, as long as it’s bonded and the rubber looks reasonable I just go with them. I also always have my engine balanced which includes the damper.
It’s not a V8 thing, MGB Mini and TR6 have the same type.

Have you tried "shaving" it? I think I have done this to all my balancers, I just run a razor blade over the joint, there is usually a little rubber protruding and it cuts it off. . It gives you a better feel and look at the rubber condition, not just the surface. This balancer had beautiful rubber, but was rusty as heck!

IMG_3018.jpg

[Davo1805NZ]

Thanks for further gems of wisdom, guys - yes, maybe I'll give the rubber a short-back-and-sides and see how it's looking then.