anybody done it? doing it?

pros?

cons?

just thinking out loud really.

any thoughts are welcome!

pros: more hp, you don't have the risk of the belt snapping

cons: the tensioner pulley wears the cambelt faster as the balancing shafts made it rotate in the same direction as the cambelt, minimizing wear...

I am doing it.

Pro's

Slightly more BHP
One less belt to worry about come belt change and one less tensioner.

Con's

More vibrations from the engine, which is debateable as some say they have noticed, whilst other haven't noticed.

If you do decide to run one without, you will need to lock the tensioner in place.

its not on a daily driver,so wear isnt a problem,but i dont want extra strain on the cambelt.

Balancer belt doesn't put any strain on the cambelt, so not sure where you got that idea from

just thinking out loud begbie!

im off work the now and not well so thats my excuse!

So whats the point in it being there? How would you feel the vibrations if it wasnt on? THrough the steering? through the seat? more noise?

how do u lock the tensioner in place begbie?

More vibrations through the engine, so would be felt through the bulkhead / chassis arms as this is where the engine is attached.

The balancer shaft has 2 shafts which counter-rotate against the crank to help stop the vibrations getting through, but as i said, i have read reports of people running without the belt and reported no extra vibrations.

As for locking it in place, i don't have any photo's of it, but from what i remember, Guy Croft puts a plate of some sort on, which then bolts on a spare hole, so it is unable to rotate.

Both Ballancer shafts removed from an Alfa 2 litre block,they are heavy,about 4-4.5 kilos each,so you are reducing weight on the front end of the car,not by alot,but every little helps.

Idle will be slightly rougher/lumpier,but thats not a worry,unless you are a complete panicky pete.

You gain more bhp and the engine revs up that bit faster too.

How many balancer shafts in the Coupe engine?

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/alfa147turbo/IMG_0616.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/alfa147turbo/IMG_0617.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/alfa147turbo/IMG_0619.jpg

They look the same, but i wouldn't say there were 4 - 5kg each, mine were about 1 - 2 kg each, but have left them in, as if you remove them, the head will get no oil pressure as the shafts are there to restrict oil flow as well.

Surely theres some way of getting oil/pressure to the head if you take out ballancer shafts.

Yes, you buy a dummy kit to put a restriction in place. I think Auto Integrale sells this dummy kits

a friend (from the Italian forum) was telling me that there are some other wear related issues that make them keep the belt in but I dont' remember what (I know not exactly a helpful post, but...)
FWIW, I kept them in

V.

Mine have been removed....
Just can't tell from were in the pic????

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q27/nicdav1/DSC00077.jpg

Nick

Ballancer shafts completely removed from engine,yes?

How does the engine run then and whats the story with regards oil pressure to the cylinder head?

Thanks.

YES... completely removed!!!
I only supply the pictures.... Lol
Not sure really.. but when i took my engine to the guy who did it, the first thing he recommened was doing this!!
All i can say is my engine has been running fine for about 5000 miles now with no oil pressure issues!!

Nick

Did you just get a metal blank/metal bung to block up the holes in the block where the ballancer shafts used to be?

i'm sure it's not that simple!!!!
I'll give engine guy a ring tommorrow and find out... Got to ring him anyway as i still need a receipt for all the work he did!!!
I'm pretty sure there is a thread on this on the guy croft website..

There you go..
http://www.guy-croft.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=539&hilit=balancer+shafts

Nick

I asked a similar question not so long ago and was told I'd lose power steering! This wrong then, I've not delved deep into this but like you guys, do want to minimize the risk to my cam belt and the way I see it, if that toothed B/S belt lets go, it will cause all manner of pain and expense!

Ok,been in contact with a race engine builder/ex WRC mechanic.He says its no problem to do this,Simply tap out the oil ways that feed the balance shafts and screw in grub screws to seal them up.Then simply blank off holes in block in engine block where ballancer shafts used to be.

Has a very very small effect on power steering,steering is slightly heavier,but you dont loose it.

Hes done this to a few engines with no problems yet,and some engines are revving to 9000 rpm with no problems at all.

err,how would it affect the steering?

Appoligies for that mix up.

Should have said that he also fitted smaller crank pulley aswell to get more power and free,er reving engine and this had a very very small affect on power steering.

Removing ballancer shafts from his engines has had no effect on head/engine oil pressure.

Sorry for mix up/confussion.

I have done this mod on my Integrale, I removed both ballancer shafts and made a stopper to fit in the hole where the oil fed the central bearing on each shaft. On the cambelt end 2 ali end caps have been machined to block off the holes left when the ballancers are removed. One of the ali parts also has a bearing mounted onto it, this takes the place of the idler bearing on the end of the front ballancer shaft. I can send a cad drawing of the ali parts and some pictures if you want them :-)

Cheers
Paul

Why go to all that hassle when you can just lock the pulleys off, job done?

Because people want to save a couple of kilos

Whats with the Begbie?Surprised by that.

Every few kilos saved here and there all adds up to more power and free,er revving and faster car.And aswell as that,its all bout trying new things and seeing what works and what doesnt work.

I would like C.A.D drawing and some pics ,if its no hassle to you.Can you maybe P.M me please?

Regards-Pat.

Well saving a couple of kilos from the block is not going to be really noticeable in the whole grand scheme of things, so i would rather save a couple of hundred pounds and leave that 2kg in the engine. Also leaving the shafts in or out is going to make diddly squat to how well the engine revs or if it makes any more power

So people do it for fun then!!!! obviously!
Just found this quote on a performance tuning for cosworth website: "Free up excessive engine rotational drag by removing the balance shaft assembly"...

Removing them must have some positive effect other than saving a few kilos???

But if old president ent doing its obviously a No No!

Nick