I did a search already....
Has anyone had a balance shaft (bearings) go bad yet? As far as engine work goes I have had the 272's and cam gears installed for about 1 1/2 months. That's it for engine internal mods.
Now to what happened. I made a pull in 4th gear to 7400 rpm on 21 psi with the same map I have been running. Pulled off the road and heard a "ticking" noise. The noise sounds faster than the bottom end and is "ticking" not "knocking" or "clunking" noise. We changed the lifters already and still have the noise. There is no "miss", smoke, or power loss. I have been babying the car since the noise except for 1 pull in lower gears. Well today we dropped the oil pan to check rod bearings and didn't see any abnormal wear or discoloration. Tomorrow I am going to mic them just to be sure. What we did find is alot of up and down play on the front (oil pump) balance shaft. I am not sure how much play there is supposed to be (but there is quite alot compared to what I would expect). Also when I rattle the balance shaft up and down it kind of gives a slight ticking noise (not quite the same, but I cannot shake it up and down 1600 x's a minute. I know that the balance shaft timing (double the crank RPM) could make it sound like valvetrain noise. Remember, the sound is not a "clunk or rattle" its a ticking noise. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

I've never seen a balance shaft bearing fail as of yet since there really isn't any load/pressure on it besides the weight of itself. Is it possible that the "washer/spacer" that goes between the sprocket and the block wasn't put back in when things were worked on? I don't know the extent of what was taken apart but best of luck to you. Keep us updated.

 

There is no spacer, there should be no movement.

I have seen MANY balance shafts fail.

Sounds like you found your problem. Probably caused from the timing belt being put on too tight.

David Buschur
www.buschurracing.com

 

Well at this point I'm praying it was from the timing belt being too tight and not an oiling problem that starts somewhere else. Though I do believe it was caused from the belt, and the Balance Shaft eliminator kit I ordered from Buschur earlier today will fix it. Hate set backs like this that waste money ... could be a new clutch to put me in the 11's . I am happy that I got to take 4 steps foward and 1 back, instead of 1 forward and 4 back.

 

Any updates?