How vital is the harmonic balancer / dampner on the back of the MT75?

i’ve been relocating the gear lever a few cm forwards, if I omit the dampner I can use the better 4x4 linkage..

i fitted the 2wd linkage around the dampner figuring Ford put it there for a reason, if it wasn’t needed they’d have saved the cost.

i’m running regular UJs rather than the doughnut..

what are peoples views / experiences?