underthewronghat

Howdy all,

Just replaced the timing belt on my 2004 Acura RL.

Now the engine has a small vibration. I didn't mark the balancer belt and gear teeth, so it may have been slightly out out of time. I just didn't know what it was, and the manual I had didn't mention it. I'd never even heard of a balancer shaft before this week --I guess I like buying old cars. Anyway, I drove it 300 miles, back home. Good gas mileage, plenty of power, etc... I figured it had to be that belt.

But I couldn't figure out why any engine, let alone a V-6 would need a balancer. And I couldn't figure out how bad it is to have it slightly out. I had friends tell me that it will ruin the bearings, stop driving, and I had friends tell me to pull the engine and remove the balancer to save power. Then I watched this video:
This seems to indicate to me that really only the engine mounts and smooth ride are at stake here.

So with engine mounts in mind --how much jeopardy am I in if I leave it out of balance for --oh a month or two or let's say til the next oil change in 2000 miles?

Ken1997TL

It's a 90 degree six cylinder, thus needing a balance shaft.

underthewronghat

Ah --right. So if it were a 45 degree V6, it might not need a balancer?

What's your opinion on waiting to fix it? How bad will it be for the engine mounts or anything else that might be susceptible to slightly more vibration?

underthewronghat

Ah, wait. Just found the crank pattern differences for 60 degree vs 90 degree V6. Makes a little more sense now, though I still don't understand secondary forces.

underthewronghat

Okay, I found this procedure for setting the timing on the balancer belt. I'm having trouble interpreting it. Can anyone give me a little better step-by-step on this goofy thing...

underthewronghat

Here's a procedure for a different Honda engine that describes the basic methodology for setting the balance shaft back into time.

How-To: Replace Timing Belt, Timing Balancer Belt and Water Pump on a F22B1 - Honda-Tech

This procedure is very similar to what we had to do with my 2004 Acura RL.


We used a screwdriver to feel as the gear goes around. There are actually 3 positions 120 degrees apart where you can slide the screwdriver in and stop the balancer shaft from spinning. The procedure left me wondering if you can set it 180 degrees out of sync. We rotated the engine one revolution, and the mark ends up pointing down, then back up after another revolution. That's scary. I think that might have something to do with using the oil port to find the correct position. On the other hand, because this shaft spins twice per engine revolution, it might not be possible to set it 180 out of phase if the mark is lined up.