So I'm putting my 98 XJR timing chains back on after I had the heads off..... And of course I forgot to put the chains on the left hand intake cam sprocket prior to torquing down the camshaft... Since I really didn't feel like taking the cam back off just to install the chains, I took the intake sprocket off instead. Noticing how the "damper" (??) on front of the intake sprocket is separate, could I invariably just leave that dead weight off of it??? I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel nor am I trying to gain hp, I'm just simply wondering why so much dead weight without any (seemingly to me anyways) functionality is even on there. Has anyone left it off with any adverse effects from it?

 

They did not put that there to give away metal! The purpose of a damper on a rotating shafts to dampen vibrations. Vibrations are metal flexing! What do you suppose happens to metal bars subject to constant flexing?

 

Give away metal... Now that's funny!!

I suppose your right about the flexing and vibrations. I just think it was waay overkill in weight. It feels like it weighs a half pound!!

 

You would have to do some finite analysis to make that determination, and I would have to assume that Jaguar did that.