Balance Shaft/Tapping Questions

[Kaliko Street]

Ok so I've been doing a lot of reading on balance shaft removals since my car started tapping about a month ago and no one around here can seem to find out what it is since I've replaced all the lifters and rocker arms and its still tapping. The tapping sound is definitely near the head somewhere, right around cylinder one, close to the cam gears. After running out of ideas of what it could be since everything that usually has tapping to it, is new and the timing couldn't be more perfect. I'm thinking about the balance shafts/bearings. Read a lot about it and from what I've read its a bi*** to remove the shafts from the motor with it in the car...and its to cold to remove the motor from the car right now. So instead of checking the bearings in the front balance shaft I thought about just cutting the belt to it and removing the rear shaft since its a little easier to get to and cutting it down to a plug size. Anyone done this? A lot of people say they just cut there front belt and left the rear one along and the car run fine with little added vibration, others say just do the elimination kit way. But I'm thinking somewhere in the middle of those two...what you guys think?

Or any other ideas of the tapping source? Been told over and over it sounds like lifter tap but Ive change the lifters around so many times and it only does it on cylinder one no matter what lifters are there (All new 3g lifters). Sounds like its coming mostly from the top right corner near the cam gears but I was told it might be the BS/bearings so I'm going to give that a shot. Could that be the problem?

 

[CanMan]

Possible piston slap or a wrist pin issue.

 

[project98dsm]

I had a tapping sound coming from what sounded like the head of my 98 GSX a while back. But take into consideration that sound bounces around the engine bay like a ping pong ball. Took my car to a shop and they pulled my engine, dropped the oil pan, and found a few hairline scratches on my crank and told me it looked like I spun a bearing. Car sits at said shop for over two years...I pick up car and bring it to auto shop here on Fort Polk yesterday, along with the block. The journals, rod caps, as well as everything else in the block still looked almost pristine from the rebuild it had had 1,000 or so miles before it shyt the bed on me. I pull the balance shaft out and find this...


And this could have very well been the culprit. So now I'm debating on doing a crank kit and balance shaft elimination after I get my block re-machined, just to have a fresh platform for yet another rebuild, as well as getting my rods reconditioned and pistons re-ringed.

 

[Kaliko Street]

So what you guys think about just cutting the front belt and removing the rear shaft and cutting it down to a plug size?

Would the hydraulic tensioner cause a tapping noise like that? I might take it off and check it, it shouldn't compress much or at all by hand if its good right? We've took screwdrivers and stuck them on top of each cylinder and stuck our ear to the handle and listened and it sounds so much like a lifter near cylinder one, we also did the same with a stethoscope. But why I don't think its the lifters is because the old ones did it, then I put new 3g lifters in it and they did it, then I changed them around and they still done it. My timing belt does feel a little loose between the two cam gears but not enough to jump teeth I don't think.

 

[project98dsm]

Honestly since you're going to have to pull the front case anyway, you should probably just go the BSE route. Cutting the stock balance shaft is a shortcut/bandaid and while will probably work, I still believe the correct way would be to do a proper BSE on it. Mitsu sells everything you need to do it, but you'd probably be better off getting it through a vendor. If hacking the stock balance shaft was the best route they probably would have never made the stubby shaft to replace the primary one when doing a BSE. But be your own judge, jury, and executioner. Others may agree with me, or might just hack up the stock balance shaft haha. Let us know what you come up with so we can continue to offer help if you need, brotha.