Need Help on counter/balancer chaft!

[BlueGoat]

I have a 1992 camry 4 cyl, 5-speed manual.
I pulled the car apart cause needed to do a Timing Belt. Found out Timing Belt, Water-Pump, Cam Seal, Crank Seal and Oil pump needed to be replaced. But i got to this.... the bearing on the right side has alot of play in it so i pulled it apart and found it screwed up somthing fierce. So my question is do i need this in the car.... i cant seem to see a thought behind the design or what they were trying to accomplish with this part. So has anyone done a rebuild and removed this part? (Will it damage anything is my concern)
And just for curiosity sakes, what is its purpose?? having a hard time finding a new one and those i do find are in a price range i'm not pleased with if its not a needed piece.



<Picture belongs to uilbalne > I hope its okay to use your pic i couldn't find another one. Sorry in advance.

[Chris Crash]

No you do not need it in the car. Most machine shops remove them.

The balancer is what caused my and many others' engines to explode.

I just rebuilt my car without it and have driven almost 300 miles now with no problems.

[BlueGoat]

What did you use to plug the oil hole?

[BlueGoat]

Cause looking at the part its timed, i know that. And its driven by the Timing belt no? so how would i go about removing it and have it work? do i need a new belt or what?

[uibalnme]

The balance shafts were to reduce the engine vibrations. However, form what I've gathered, most mid 90's Celicas(which also had the 5sfe) never even left the factory with balance shafts. I also, read that Japan built Camrys did not have balance shafts either, but the U.S. built Camrys did.

Anyway, Chris Crash is right. If that thing is starting to go bad, toss it. I haven't read of any ill effects of removing it. Do a search on balance shaft removal, and you find a DIY on the whole process.

EDIT: it's driven by the crank shaft, not the belt. Here's an image taken right out of the repair manual...



You can see the balance shafts are driven by a gear on the crankshaft.

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[BlueGoat]

So i dont need to do any modifications to remove this? Just pull it out, toss it and put it all back together

[uibalnme]

You still have to plug the oil passage that feeds the assembly. Search tab is your friend.

Seek, and you shall find.

[Rattlin_Steele]

Here's a thread I had bookmarked because I think its what caused mine to fail 6-weeks after a mechanic put the old one back in after he installed a reman crank with matching bearings.

Note that the suggestion is too keep the housing in there, just remove the shafts from it. Your oil strainer does have a mount point on the housing.

5sfe balance shaft removal updates?

FYI, the 1999 Camry 5SFE J-VIN engine I just installed did come with the balance assembly in it.

[BlueGoat]

Does anyone have a link for a DIY on balance shaft removal? I have searched and have come up with nothing so if anyone has one it would be greatly appreciated.


I already removed mine, i'm left with the oil passage hole. My thought to this is just to tap it throw a bolt in there an call it good. Just would like to have the DIY for my history.

Thank for everyones help. I hope that my engine is still good due to metal shavings. There isn't alot but it never takes much. I did however get a message saying that by removing the shaft my car would eat dirt in a year and i'd have to replace the engine anyways.... any thoughts lol