Not if it is done right. Extremepsi or STM sells the right full kit and get the oem serpentine spacer. The spacer has a dot that faces out. The inside bearing has to go in backwards. So it blocks off the oil hole. That will keep the oil pressure where you want it. Prime the oil pump also.

Thanks very well put

I doubt you will ever notice they are gone. I didn't notice anything when I removed mine. Your OFH may need ported to keep the oil pressure in check with them removed.

Just so you know balance shafts don't actually balance anything. Has nothing to do with the balance of the engine. The main purpose is for consumer comfort.

Just got mine out today. Will report back once I get her fully running again.

It will probably be 10000x easier since you have yours jacked up and hoisted. Mine was in the driveway, on jackstands playing the up and down game to get it in the right spots.

The previous owner had my balance shafts removed on my dd for two years, before I even knew they weren't there. (Or even what they were)

So in other words, yes go for it. One less thing to risk causing catastrophic damage.

hofmania said:

Just got mine out today. Will report back once I get her fully running again.

It will probably be 10000x easier since you have yours jacked up and hoisted. Mine was in the driveway, on jackstands playing the up and down game to get it in the right spots.

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I commend you for working on your car in the driveway I'm doing the same thing with my other car only thing is is that its a VR-4 which requires gloves and alot of patience , my dsm is such a cake walk compared to my 3000gt vr4

Does anyone no were the less expensive kit is do I have to take two shaft out or just one and another question will the removal help with accleration?

The less expensive kits are more expensive, it just takes a few more months for you to find out that it's more expensive. Just use the OEM BSE kit, or you'll be sorry.

Oem kits are 50$? How much more inexpensive do you want it?

He wants it for $20, even it it means the oil pump driven gear is going to exit the vehicle.


Imagine the video where the Mirage Flywheel continues down the highway leaving the car behind, but replace the flywheel with an oil pump gear.

I personally wouldn't spend $50 on a kit. Not when the car already comes with just about everything needed to do the elimination. Remove and unalign the front shaft bearings, cut and plug the rear shaft, then pick up a plug from the local parts store.

Extreme PSI: OEM Mitsubishi Balance Shaft Stub

remove the rear shaft, replace with stubby and keep the front shaft in. Cheapest and easiest way to do it.
Balance Shaft Eliminator Kit Install

c2ypt1c said:

Extreme PSI: OEM Mitsubishi Balance Shaft Stub

remove the rear shaft, replace with stubby and keep the front shaft in. Cheapest and easiest way to do it.
Balance Shaft Eliminator Kit Install

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See read the link ^^^^ it says you can get all four parts for $41 MSRP from Mitsubishi, which equals about $30 from a Mitsubishi dealership who sells online. How is that not worth it? I didn't spend that either because I had a 1.6 laying around, but I would in a heartbeat.

Colt4G63 also said:

See read the link ^^^^ it says you can get all four parts for $41 MSRP from Mitsubishi, which equals about $30 from a Mitsubishi dealership who sells online. How is that not worth it? I didn't spend that either because I had a 1.6 laying around, but I would in a heartbeat.

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$15 + less labor vs $40 + more labor

The link also says you don't need the bearings and can leave the front shaft in...

Well yeah you can leave the front shaft in and save a few bucks and some time, but by all means, don't buy a knockoff stubby shaft.

Colt4G63 also said:

by all means, don't buy a knockoff stubby shaft.

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Hence the link to extremepsi...oem stub shaft

I did the free Balance shaft elimination 5 years ago and its still perfect!
I just cut the damn shaft and made my own stubby shaft works great! The I turned the bearings and bought the hyundai plug. Never had an issue.

Colt4G63 also said:

See read the link ^^^^ it says you can get all four parts for $41 MSRP from Mitsubishi, which equals about $30 from a Mitsubishi dealership who sells online. How is that not worth it? I didn't spend that either because I had a 1.6 laying around, but I would in a heartbeat.

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Was under the impression they ran around $65. but $20 I'm down to spend that any day as long as its legitimate you'd be a fool not to so hell yeah I'd rather spend $20 then $41 who wouldn't? anyways $41 isn't bad at all, I've blown through money on these two cars just did around $2500 in work on my eclipse not including other parts like 16g 680cc injectors ect so im in around 5k large and 2k on my 3000gt . Back to the original post this is my first time doing any of this so both shafts have to come out right? and I should port my OFH?

Colt4G63 also said:

Well yeah you can leave the front shaft in and save a few bucks and some time, but by all means, don't buy a knockoff stubby shaft.

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@Colt I'm not really with the cheap knock off stuff I've heard horror stories when it comes to certainn things being used instead of oem

You don't have to remove the front shaft, just attach the sprocket to keep it from leaking and don't install the belt. Leaving the front shaft in will also help reduce the excess oil pressure caused by the BSE. If you want to remove the front shaft, you need to flip the bearings (or install new ones) to block the oil galleys. You also then need to cap the hole. In both scenarios it would be a good idea port the OFH.

WES, are you saying that basically one wouldn't have to fully remove the balance shaft? Essentially, all one would have to do is attach the sprocket and remove the belt? I've always contemplated to remove my BS but there's no way in heck I have the tools to take out my block. And from what I hear, doing it with the block inside your engine bay makes it stupid hard. If this route is easier, please do elaborate.

ishnish said:

WES, are you saying that basically one wouldn't have to fully remove the balance shaft? Essentially, all one would have to do is attach the sprocket and remove the belt?

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Yes, but that only applies to the front shaft. For the rear (oil pump) shaft you still need to install a stubby/modified shaft.

There are two balance shafts, front and rear. The front shaft is driven by the BS belt, while the rear is driven by the oil pump. If you remove just the belt, the front shaft stops spinning, but the rear keeps going.

You cannot just remove the rear shaft because oil flows through the center of it and you will lose oil pressure, so you must replace it with a stubby shaft (which has no hole through it's center) or cut the original and plug the hole.

Once the rear shaft is dealt with, without the BS belt, the front shaft has no way to turn, so there is no problem just leaving it in. The front balance shaft is fed oil through holes in the bearings so blocking these off will raise the oil pressure. As Wes mentioned, oil pressure is not affected if you leave the front balance shaft in, because oil is still able to flow to the front shaft. This is especially helpful when feeding your turbo from the oil filter housing because you may not need to run a restrictor to limit pressure. Also, when doing a BSE with the engine still in the car, the front shaft is a bi*** to take out, not to mention getting the bearings out and putting them back in, so it is a considerable amount of more work....

Anyway, to drive the answer home, yes you can leave the front shaft in

Going to throw a question or two here - one on topic and the other a side topic: Granted, Mitsu came out with this BS to smooth things out during operation. Now removal is the norm to save our motors in case something happens. With removal, vibration can be the results and with this vibration, isn't it going to be extra wear and tear on these motors - reason why the BS system was introduced in the first place?

Side question .. on the DODGE 420A motor: Still a 4cyl motor, but this motor has no BS shafts. How did DODGE manage to get away from using BS shafts (along with a lot of manufacturers of 4 cyl motors in that fact) and come out with a motor that has no vibration issues?

Thx - DSM

c2ypt1c said:

There are two balance shafts, front and rear. The front shaft is driven by the BS belt, while the rear is driven by the oil pump. If you remove just the belt, the front shaft stops spinning, but the rear keeps going.

You cannot just remove the rear shaft because oil flows through the center of it and you will lose oil pressure, so you must replace it with a stubby shaft (which has no hole through it's center) or cut the original and plug the hole.

Once the rear shaft is dealt with, without the BS belt, the front shaft has no way to turn, so there is no problem just leaving it in. The front balance shaft is fed oil through holes in the bearings so blocking these off will raise the oil pressure. As Wes mentioned, oil pressure is not affected if you leave the front balance shaft in, because oil is still able to flow to the front shaft. This is especially helpful when feeding your turbo from the oil filter housing because you may not need to run a restrictor to limit pressure. Also, when doing a BSE with the engine still in the car, the front shaft is a bi*** to take out, not to mention getting the bearings out and putting them back in, so it is a considerable amount of more work....

Anyway, to drive the answer home, yes you can leave the front shaft in

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And thats what I noticed which made me second guess the job, the front shaft is way up there there is maybe 4 inches of space, I don't see how te FBS would slide out with the engine in the car

Also I heard the elimnation of the Balance shafts creates more horsepower to the wheels and ups your acceleration Idk how true that is

DSM1G90 said:

Going to throw a question or two here - one on topic and the other a side topic: Granted, Mitsu came out with this BS to smooth things out during operation. Now removal is the norm to save our motors in case something happens. With removal, vibration can be the results and with this vibration, isn't it going to be extra wear and tear on these motors - reason why the BS system was introduced in the first place?

Side question .. on the DODGE 420A motor: Still a 4cyl motor, but this motor has no BS shafts. How did DODGE manage to get away from using BS shafts (along with a lot of manufacturers of 4 cyl motors in that fact) and come out with a motor that has no vibration issues?

Thx - DSM

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For me I honestly cannot tell the difference if the engine has the Balance Shafts in or not. I feel NO extra vibrations with the BS eliminated.

I think the 4 cylinder engine is asymmetrically out of balance. The V type engines balance themselves out and naturally run smoother.

I think the reason BS are so frequently eliminated is because they spin 2 times faster than the Crank. So if you're at 7300 rpm then the BS are spinning 14,600 rpms. At that high RPM the chance of a BS bearing failure is much more likely. The BS bearing gets worn down pumping bearing flakes into the oil stream and taking out the main and rod bearings.

I personally feel safer without Balance Shafts in my engine. I think the 420a is just more raspy and has more vibration...they didn't care. I think mitsubishi wanted to have a SMOOTH running engine. Back then most 4 bangers were know as raspy little rattle traps ...very rough running. So compared to a 1985 Cavalier the DSM engine was a SMOOTH slick car. Now with all the loud pipes and stiff suspensions I doubt anyone would feel a little vibration off the engine.

The hard Urethane motor mounts don't help the vibrations either. I like my stock Motor Mounts. They make the engine feel smoother.

As for the BS elimination doing damage to the engine. I think if done properly there should be zero issues. If anything you're pumping MORE oil to the crank where it matters more! And the extra Vibrations Is not IMO going to do any damage to the engine. I think it was more of a luxury thing they added to make the car smoother..Not something to save the life of the engine. I could be wrong tho. you'll need to ask the men that engineered the 4g63!