Just finished buttoning up the new motor only to realize I forgot the oil slinger,I think I already know the answer, but has anyone run without one? what are the pitfalls of doing so.Thanks in advance for any input you may have!

not all of the engines came with them.

just like some had a tab set up for the oil for the timing chain, and some did not.

you should be ok.

Modern timing cover oil seals are much better than old time ones but DEFINITELY put the timing cover on loosely then draw on the harmonic dampener part way onto the crank to center the timing cover then finish tightening the timing cover bolts cover bolts & at the same time useing the 2 lower oil pan to timing cover bolt to draw the tcover down onto the seal which will line up the timing cover bolts.

Thanks for the replies guys,been one of those days where everything I touch goes south,CTD blew up the starter and then this,crappy thing is I saw this coming and put the slinger on the crank so I wouldnt forget,noticed the machine shop had not put in a dribble bolt or the drip tab and had to pull the chain out a bit to put the oiler bolt in and low and behold...lol,did have the forsight to center the cover with the balancer before tightening.thanks again!

take the tcover back off & drill a 1/64" oil hole into the pass oil gallery to get a pressurized spray onto the tchain/eccentric which fixes a SB weakness & will give them a long life, the dribble hole and or the drip tray did not provide enough lubrication over the long run in a stock app & definitely is inadequate for a performance engine. Pretty soon you'll be able to R&R the tcover blindfolded.

I forgot to put mine back in one time. Didn't hurt the chain or anything but it had a little oil leakage at the balancer. Got tired of wiping the k-member off so I put it back in.

The main purpose of the slinger is to deflect oil from the front seal - not to oil the chain. There is so much oil fog in th cahin is not lacking for oil. And it gets oil from overflow from the lifter valley too. Don't worry about it. Many engines came without them.

Take the timing cover off and put that slinger back on. It's main purpose is the lubricate the fuel pump eccentric and pump arm. (see picture). There's a reason the slinger is in direct alignment with the eccentric. It's NOT there to keep oil off the front seal, it needs oil on it to keep it from burning up. The seals made today from China are not better than the seals made back then in the USA. The only engines that didn't come with it were the fuel injected engines with electric fuel pumps. Put the slinger on or you'll be replacing the eccentric and fuel pump in a hurry.

That's a nice theory, but big blocks had them too, with cam pump lobe behind block face.

Not just my opinion. http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techa...d/photo_22.html
Sure it will throw some oil back on the chain and what ever else is in the way but there is so much oil fog and over flow from the lifter valley to the oil dripper held on with the cam retainer bolts that that slung oil really is in excess.

The oil dripper is behind the timing gear so that oil doesn't reach the eccentric, it gets shielded by the cam gear. HP engines had windage trays to reduce oil fogging, so the slinger is there to help create that fog in the timing chain area. I didn't say the only reason was to oil the eccentric, I said it's the main reason. Big blocks have them to create the oil fog to lube the timing chain, gears and fuel pump pushrod. Think of the pressure that's put on the eccentric, it's steel spinning at 1,000- 3,000 rpms with a steel arm pressing on it with spring pressure, pumping a non compressible liquid (Gasoline). Imagine the heat build up there. It needs a lot of oil to lubricate and cool that area or it would burn up.

No not listening to a journalist but showing that some of us are of a different opinion than yours. I have been around this thing and was working the Mopar dealership and on race cars in the 60's too, so don't give me that longevity song and dance.
If you feel that it is nessessary by all means use it. But they were not even on all the engines from the factory, they were skipped on many. Most recent being a virgin 440 last fall that didn't have one. Don't loose any sleep over not putting it in.

I've been "into" a few engines over my lifetime, and just cannot remember the last time I found one without a slinger. The factory put them there for a reason, and factories are not know for "throwing in extras" for free. If you were building an engine for me, I'd want the thing in there.

I forgot to put mine in. Don't have any oil leaks. And I believe there is enough splash in there to keep everything oiled up. Of course it would be best to have one in there. I went through and searched for and read all the threads and feel I will be fine without it.

It was used to prevent an oil leak, Chrysler quit using them when the "modern front seals came out, but went back to them in the police engines, because "sustained high speed pusuits, may cause the front seal to develop a leak from excessive oil contact behind the seal" it was in a tech buletin from chrysler in the late 70's. The slinger is a good idea, but not 100% necessary. Both of my 360's had well over 150,000 mile, both were late 70's e58 "police" motors, neither had slingers, or front seal leaks.