Hi guys, I just had a question about the balance shaft belt. They usually change that when they replace a timing belt right? I mean Honda does right? Plus, is that the belt that controls vibrations when you are at a idle, thus you can't feel the engine vibrations? I remember I used to drive a car that would vibrate through the steering wheel, I fixed a motor mount, but it would still vibrate thus it was due to I believe a lack of a balance shaft from what I have read. Any answers or knowledge about balance shafts would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

 

the balance shaft is always running. you have 4 mounts, and maybe one that you didnt replace was the bad one, like the rear motor mount. when the balance shaft stops working......the oil pump and the water pump stop working too, and you would definately notice that

 

if the balancer shafts are misaligned yes ,,you could experience engine vibration ..Have you had a timing belt done recently ??
did you chk all the mount s??

auto tranny ?? mmmmm

actually why don't you tell us year and model so we can stop asking all the silly questions,,, because if it is a pre 90 accoed there was no balancer shafts,, and since my crystal ball is being polished today ( once a weekend ) i cannot tell what car you got ...

 

99 Accord EX 4-cylinder, timing belt was actually done last spring/summer. So, I am pretty sure they put on a new balance belt as it says in the service schedule. It is an automatic. Yeah, but I wouldn't be surprised if a motor mount has gone bad since I know for a fact that they usually don't go bad for a long time. Thanks for all the tips guys, sorry I didn't give the year and model. But, your crystal ball works pretty well!

 

Also, I did a google search on balance shaft and read what wikipedia had to say. I think they are wrong cause vibrations can be smoothed out as we have discussed. Try doing a search for balance shafts on google and read what wikipedia has to say. They say that you cannot stop a vibration a 4 cylinder engine, I beg to differ as the Accord I drive is a 4 cylinder and doesn't vibrate. No if there are mounts that are bad that's a different story.

 

chk the left upper motor mount, the 1 by the timing belt cover make sure it is not colapsed, also i have seen a few times , someone mis install the little brcket in the same mount and it rubs on the mount creating noise and vibration, and if mount is collapsed it does the same thing.
get a 12 mm socket and remove that little bracket see if vibration lessens,,

 

thanks, yeah i will obviously not do the work i will take it into honda during the next oil change, the 116,500 service schedule which i didn't see in the service manual, but came across an interesting misprint in the manual, they say to do things in item a (oil change) but that doesn't include oil filter, so i am definitely sure there is a misprint there cause they say to always change your oil and filter at the same time.

i think my main problem though is that the idle is low and it might need some cleaning up in the egr system. cause the vibration doesn't seem like its there. the power steering belt might need to be replaced since when i start up and reverse the car and then put it into drive the steering wheel becomes really tight. any suggestions about the power steering belt, i read that it is close to the balancer belt in this forum somewhere.

 

ummm.. Are you sure about that? I thought the oil pump ran off the crank, and I know for a fact that the water pump runs off the timing belt, at least on my F22A motor.

If they didn't replace that belt they are pretty dumb. If that belt wears out and comes off at all, it's going to get tangled up with the timing belt and cause some serious damage.

If the balance shafts are anything like the ones on my F22 motor, then it's really easy for an inexperienced mech at the dealership to screw up the timing. I had to keep rotating it untill I was able to get the timing marks to line up AND be able to fit the tool in the side of the shaft for alignment, You have to check both of those. I checked when I took it apart while doing the waterpump and then checked again when putting it back together, and it was most definetly off from when the timing belt install was done. My engine runs smooth as silk now that they are back in time.

B.

 

oil pump driven by balancer belt,

water pump driven by timing belt