balance shaft removal question

[adrian2627]

i searched but couldnt find a specific answer. Im planning on taking out my balance shafts. Ive read the Vfaq and all but thats for a 1g. my question is, im not going to be pulling the engine out, im leaving the engine in and i want to remove BOTH shafts, can i do that by removing the rear tranny mount and front mount, leave the top mount and disconnect the motor mount then raise the engine so i can have more room to pull the front shaft out instead of leaving it there? or its really not a big of a deal to just leave the front shaft and just do the rear? sorry for the nood question its just late and i just got off work and kinda scared of scenarios involving balance shafts. thanks in advance!

 

[illeffekt vr-4]

its all up to you. some people like to remove the engine from the car, some get away with it while still in the car. same goes for the balance shafts. some remove both shafts, others just one. so choose whatever method you feel more comfortable with. if you look around you'll find a lot of threads with info about balance shafts. good luck.

 

[brute]

There's nothing wrong with leaving the one in, as long as it is not connected. Absolutely do not have one spinning and not the other. So you can take the rear completely out and leave the other one in. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you feel more comfortable with taking out both, it's a hassle (but not impossible) to remove the front while the motor's in the car. I felt more comfortable taking both out, but my motor is sitting in my garage, so it was easier for me.

 

[Michael Z.]

It may be easier to leave the single mount on the tranny bolted in, remove the other 3, and dropping the motor downwards rather than lifting up.

 

[Strm Trpr]

I have a 97 GSX and I just did the BSE with the motor in the car.
You'll obviously have to remove all belts, pulleys and the A/C tensioner bracket.
Remove the Timing Covers and make sure the dowel pins on the cam gears are pointing at 12 o'clock and all other timing marks are aligned.
Once everything is aligned and double checked, remove the plug in the back of the block to make double sure you have the balance shafts in the correct phase.
Once you're happy with that, mark the T-belt and camshaft gears with whiteout or =. Do the exhaust cam gear and T-belt at 9 and 12 o'clock and, mark the intake cam gear and belt at 3 and 12 o'clock.
Put an arrow between the cam gears on the belt to indicate which direction the belt travels.
This will aid in transferring the marks onto the new belt.
Mark the oil pump gear and belt, and also the crankshaft and belt.
Once all of that is done, remove the T-Belt and all timing hardware.
The alternator and power steering pump will have to come off in order to lower the engine enough.
You may have to remove the water pump too, so make sure you a new gasket and o-ring and a pump if you are over 120k miles.
It's all pretty easy, just take your time and post up any questions.
You'll have to remove the front to back cross memeber and front tranny mount.
Leave the large tranny mount and rear tranny mount installed.
Drop the driveline and support it with a stack of 2x4's or = and remove the T-Case too.
Remove the bracket that holds the intermediate shaft to the back of the block. You may want to remove the driver's side front axle so you can remove the oil pan easier.
I believe it's almost necessary to remove the axle to reinstall the oil pan and not mess up the RTV when you reinstall the oil pan.
Remove all of the water lines from the oil cooler prior to removing the oil pan.
The oil pan will have to come off, so plan ahead and have a jack with a 4" - 6" piece of 2x4 to support the engine block once the oil pan is removed.
When you're ready, you should be able to lower the motor low enough to remove the front balance shaft, and remove the entire front case with the rear balance shaft still in the oil pump.
Post up your questions and we'll try to help you out if you get in a bind, also it may help other people learn too.

Sorry so long, but I tried to cover as much as I know about this topic as I am reinstalling the oil pan tonight...

 

[adrian2627]

I appreciate your help guys. This should be a lot eisier for me since ill be doing mine on a lift I noticed that you said to remove just the motor mount and the front mount, so i dont have to remove the rear tranny mount at all?? wouldnt that be eisier to remove the rear mount too so i have full tilt of the motor with just the upper tranny mount holding the engine and tranny?

P.S. Danm i didnt know, its like a spelling bee competition in here when it comes to spelling and grammar

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

You don't need to remove the rear mount but I recommend taking the crossmember out to allow the motor to lower a little.