Might wanna be a guinea pig...

[97camryman]

Well I have been thinking over taking out my engine balance shafts and plugging up the oil hole to save a bit of weight and lose some rotational weight off the crank (pick up some ponies). People always say oh the engine needs a balancer, but the balancer is just there to cut down on vibration and make the car more civilized for the old peopel who normally buy these cars. I also heard that lowering a my car with tokico struts and tein springs on 35 series tires would kill me. I have no problem with it as of yet. I am not very big into creature comforts, I like my cars loud, mean, light, quick, and nimble. I know its a Camry and it will never be fast but I will try my damnest. The balancer is my next idea, so far I have swapped to a 5 speed, lowered the car, taken out much of the AC system (I never used it since I bought the car) and now I am looking at removing the rest of the ac, cutting down weight of my audio system (4 twelves are heavy) removing the balance shafts, and removing a bunch of dynamat in the trunk. I already filled my motor mounts (didnt mind increased vibration at all) and Im getting ready to install the turbo kit I have been putting together for awhile. Do you guys have any info I might need like how to plug the oil hole in the balance shaft assembly, (I have an oil pressure gauge so I can keep an eye on pressure changes) and how much will vibration increase? I figure worse case I can put the thing back on if I need to and yes I know how to do so (align maks with piston 1 at tdc etc.) Any words of advice?

[ECale3]

I would find somewhere else to cut weight.

[noofa]

Yeh thats a little excessive. but may be a good way to free up the engine. lets hear what the skoolers think.

[88 LE]

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t20692.html

^ Big discussion from 2 yrs ago.

[97camryman]

Alright I have talked to more and more people who say just do it the increase in vibration is negligible so I am gonna do it as soon as I can get a good break here long enough to work. I guess I need a 10mm bolt to plug up the oil hole? Figure that a tube of rtv and a 10mm bolt should be all I need to buy, cheap mod, I will be sure and try to take pictures.

[Keep]

we've been doing the balance shaft removal mod on 4G63's time and time again.

the balance shaft is there to keep your ass comfortable. If your engine is not out of balance, then there are safe benefits from the balance shaft removal.

[97camryman]

Well I did it, vibration increase is minimal, barely noticable actually. Oil pressure increased noticabley, here is how that breaks down:
before after
idle 7-10psi 10-12psi

2000rpm 40psi 55psi

4000rpm 40-55psi 60-70 psi

It varies based on temperature but no big deal really. I blocked up the hole by threading in a 8mm bolt but it wasnt biting very tightly so I bought a 10mm x1.25 x 30mm bolt and a washer and threaded it into the old mounting hole right next to the oil supply hole. The bigger bolt clamps down on the smaller one and the washer bends so that it locks the two bolts together. Torque it down and thats that. The balancer weighs a ton! The oil pan is a bitch tho. Tons of time spent scraping gasket material off. The exhaust has to come off between manifold and cat, few brackets have to come off as well. Overall a good mod, I will post up power gains and pictures later.

[97camryman]

UPDATE!!!!!!!
Here is a picture of the balance shaft assembly: You can see the little oil supply hole in the lowest left hand corner of the picture. It is by one of the six big bolt holes. This assembly weighs in at like 20 lbs so not only does it free up horsepower but it offers the same weight savings as a cheap carbon fiber hood or trunk and it also increases overall system oil pressure and aids in keeping everything well lubed. Here are the effects I noticed:

1.) Oil pressure increases and allows for better block lubrication and higher volume supply. I measured very noticable gains in pressure throughout the range of engine speed. Con is that any small oil leaks become bigger due to more pressure behind the leak. Easy fix, run synthetic with a lower viscosity, I run 5W-30 instead of 10W-30 and it will drop pressure a bit more than dino oil.
2.) Weight savings of about 20 lbs. The two balance shafts are a parasitic drain on the crank and as speed increases their drain becomes more apparent. The actual rotating mass is only a few pounds but think of this, people will pay like $140 or more for an unorthodox underdrive pulley that only shaves a few pounds as well and you sacrifice alternator output and wear on the crank bearings. This is free and offers all kinds of benifits and only downside really is a small amount more vibration. Theunit itself weighs enough to factor in to a weight reduction program.
3.) Engine revs much faster. I noticed a very decent increase in power. Not huge but I could notice it. I removed my AC and my balancer at the same time and I definitely pull ahrder in 2nd and 3rd than I used too.
4.) The increase in vibration actually helped me, I can "feel" the motor reving now and I dont have to look down at my tach as much when I shift. I can feel what rpm I am at better and this has helped me out a good deal in heel toe downshifting and in normal driving as well. The increase is small enough that no one who doesnt daily drive the car will notice and after a week or two niether will you. It also motivated me to get under my car and tie up a few loose vibrating pieces that I had previously kept putting off doing.

This is an easy free mod that anyone short on cash looking for extra performance should do. Hell the MR2 5S-FE's dont even come with balancers. Oh and BTW , you can now sell that balancer for about $400-$500 on Ebay or to someone else who needs a new one... Happy modding!