The harmonic damper ,or balancer as it is also called, aids in the removal of unwanted vibrations produced by the spinning crankshaft, flywheel, the pistons, rods, and camshaft. Preferably all these parts should be balanced by a machine shop during a complete engine rebuild. The "rubber" that is sandwiched between the two rings of steel absorbs the vibrations. These can go bad over the years and can separate from age, as I found out on a small block Chevy V8 and also my friend had one come apart on his '48 Chevy 216 motor. The balancer on the 235 does not have the timing mark. The timing mark is located on the flywheel and is viewed thru a hole in the bell housing on the distributor side of the engine. The V8 motors have the timing mark on the harmonic balancer.
