How do YOU tell if your damper is still good?

Besides just buying an ATI, how do you tell if it needs rebuilt or not doing its job. I'm asking from a technical perspective, not a price point perspective. Internal clues to look for ect?

I would replace a stock dampner if:

1. any wobble
2. Outer ring slipped and timing mark is off ( you can confirm this)
3. Rubber is cracked or disintegrating
4. You race you car and rev over 6-6500 rpm regularly. ( in this case, I would also replace stock steel pulley with cnc alum). Mine exploded at top end of track on a run. I got lucky even though I drove over it with slick. )

if the outer ring is still in the stock location by verifying TDC on it,, hasn't spun, and the motor is not vibrating I would consider it good

ATI recommends regular rebuilds on their dampers. Pro guys rebuild every season, bracket guys might go a few seasons between rebuilds. NASCAR rebuilds after every race. It all depends on how serious you are and how much power you're making.

Never mind

Pull the damper off the crank snout. Look for any wear pattern on the crank. It should look perfectly machined with no fret marks. I pulled a 440 Source damper off a crank once that was total junk. Had to drill it & then cut it off. The fret marks were unbelievable, it had been tryn to weld itself together. The engine itself was suffering from harmonics & all the bolts were coming loose. Hence I'll never buy that brand of junk myself.

what damper do you have ?

The damper’s rubber ring will naturally decay with age, mileage, exposure to hot chemicals, vibration, ozone, and ultra-violet light, and become unsuitable for even a stock engine, let alone high performance or racing use.
Visible signs of damage and potential failure include:
» the rubber is partially missing
» the rubber is discolored gray or “chalky”
» the rubber has surface cracking
» the rubber has been partially extruded
» the damper rim is dented or bent
» the damper is loose on its hub or on the crankshaft nose
» the damper rim has excessive run-out (“wobble”)
» a “squeaking” noise that defies detection

This place might be a solution for anyone who needs one refurbished?

https://damperdoctor.com/

I wait until they start banging and scraping against the timing cover!

I've had both an OEM and 440 Source go bad in the last few years. Both showed no signs of failure before coming apart.

all good stuff right here .

Sorry for the late reply..been busy. Thanks for the input, I had a sfi powerbond on it and just wanted to see if there were clues in the rotating assembly to look for while I had it apart to see if it was doing its job. I just decided to go with an ATI...