I received 440 4bbl engine that has a 6 bbl balancer on it ,so when i removed oil pan I expected to find the large connecting rods. but I find standard LY rods. Is this right? The engine has been apart/ rebuilt in the past. but I don't by who or when. Is there ever a case when you would use this balancer on an engine with standard rods?

LY rod engine should have standard 440 internal balance damper on it, unless the pistons are extremely heavy.

In short, no. This is quite common to mix up parts and not know it’s wrong. Bud bought a 69 charger with a cast crank and balancer. Problem was it had a std balance flywheel. Vibrated bad enough to beat out the pilot bearing in the hub. If the balancer is drilled somehow enough to offset the weight of the six pack balancer to make it neutral, then yes, or as mention, real heavy pistons were used. I don’t see finding pistons heavier than stock. Now, are you sure it’s a six pack balancer instead of a cast crank balancer and cast crank with ly rods?

I'm fairly certain its a six pack balancer. I'll post a picture later.

yes post a picture , if it is an external balancer balancer it must have a nasty vibration unless someone balanced the crank wit htht balancer ?

What does the crank look like, is it a cast crank by chance?

Six Pak and cast crank dampers are different and often mistaken for each other.

The heavy rod balancers have the offset weight with no writing. All the cast crank balancers I've seen have a note on the face to use with a cast crank on the face.

440 Cast Crank Balancer

Doesn't look like that . There is is no lettering on it and the counter weight is thin. I will post a picture tonight of what I have. Thanks for the info !

Not all, this is a balancer from a '72 cast crank 400. Very easy to mistake for a 6-pack, the difference being the thickness of the elliptical weight...the 400 is about 3/8" thick while the 6-pack is 3/16"-1/4" thick.

Part of the problem is confusion about the meaning of "damper" and "balancer".
With a few exceptions (the 1953-54 Dodge 241 hemi didn't have a damper) every engine has a damper (Dr. F. W. Lanchester held a damper patent in 1906).
If the crank doesn't have enough material in the right places to balance internally, the extra eccentric weight needed to achieve acceptable balance is added to something outside the block, such as the damper, flex plate, etc. Combining the 2 functions (damper for harmonic suppression, balancer to correct crank weight) is a financial choice, they could be separate.
Using a damper with an eccentric balance weight on an internally balanced engine ruins the balance (unless, as said, the engine was balanced with that damper).
There is also some chance that the damper is not tuned to the engine's resonant frequencies, and will not reduce some harmonic torsional (twisting) vibration.

yes post a picture , if it is an external balancer balancer it must have a nasty vibration unless someone balanced the crank wit htht balancer ?

What does the crank look like, is it a cast crank by chance?

I added a picture or two to the original post

That looks like a six pack balancer but it’s got two extra holes drilled in the hub that are not stock. Is it a cast crank or steel?

It's a steel crank

Does it have any extra balance holes drilled in the crank or any heavy metal added? How about weights on the converter or an external balanced flywheel? The factory cut a big radius out on the outer flat surface of the back of the flywheel but a non factory balance job will just have holes drilled in the back or edges. If no on the above is found, I’d say you have an out of balance rotating assembly. You have not said if you have ran this combo and if it vibrates.

Its possible it was balanced at a shop with that balancer on it.

My opinion. Get a new damper, will save future problems. Also the LY rods are better than the six pack rods. Much lighter and just as much material at the weak points. Beams of six pack rods are bigger but only ads weight.

That's a big rod balancer , remember that 440 4bbl in 70 also had the big rods so it used the same balancer/dampner setup. Also noting the 2 drilled holes, to my eye the crank was balanced with that attached to it so I would not just remove it . What did it have on the back , flywheel or flexplate?

I had a speedpro forged piston/big rod combo internally balanced , it took very little standard weight slugs welded into existing holes to do it , why Chrysler thought they had to external balance these engines is beyond me.

Yes , build it using what parts you have on hand , does the counterweights look like swiss cheese ?

I wouldn't run that engine without having the balance checked , possibly correct with a neutral balancer and sell that one off to someone looking for one, the two small holes aren't really an issue when it's going to be used to balance the engine anyway, easy enough to pound 2 piece of steel into it and tack weld them into place.

So the rest of the story is .... When I drove the car ,a 71 GTX 440 4spd car. It has a vibration but it also has soild / steel engine mounts with one of the bolts missing so I figured that was the source of the vibration.
When I pulled the engine to fix several oil leaks and repaint it I noticed the balancer and when I removed the pan and saw the rods in it , well , the parts don't match. The flywheel is a neutral balance. I posted what I found because I wanted to see if if this right or someone else has seen this. I think this is a parts mismatch . I think I'm going to install a new balancer, if the vibration is worse I'll put the 6 pak balancer back on.

I had my old 440 (forged crank, 6 pack rods, Ross forged pistons) internally balanced when I put it in my dad's 4 speed car just to make things easier. It didn't take much to balance it internally.