Damper Plates

R&D Marine Damper Drive Plates are designed to prevent gearbox rattle at low engine speeds, which allows an engine to operate through its entire RPM range. Today's marine diesels are designed with lightweight flywheels which do not create the inertia of an older heavy flywheel. The lighter flywheels result in gear chatter or rattle at low RPM's. This rattle translates into gear wear and damage to the drivetrain. Our damper plates eliminate this problem.

Three types of damper plates are available for different applications:

1. A "Linear" damper plate is designed for general applications. This damper provides a linear dampening of the torque applied to the system.
2. A "Hammer Head" damper plate is designed for general use where motoring at low Rpm's is common. This damper provides a two stage dampening of the torque with 10 degrees deflection of the element.
3. A "High Deflection" damper plate is designed for use in vessels where low RPM engine use is the norm as in work boats or where gear noise is being experienced. The "HD" damper gives three distinct stages of dampening with 33 degrees deflection of the element, virtually eliminating gearbox rattle for extended use even at idle speeds.

All styles of these damper plates use a molded polyurethane element to absorb the engine torque. The fail safe design of the plate makes sure that even in the unlikely event of a flexible element failure (from severe shock load), the drivetrain system would remain functional. The back plates for the R&D Marine damper plates are punched and ready to install. They can be installed within the existing space of a metal damper.