Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

I have an h22A in my eg. I recently decided to take care of a few maintenance items including a leaky Vtec solenoid seal, water pump, t-belt etc. I bought the KStuned manual tensioner and installed it, Works great!! During the reassembly, I elected to leave the balance belt and all associated hardware off the motor. This included the adjusting bolt (that runs through the T-belt tensioner), BS tensioner, BS tensioner bracket, and spring bolt. Once I finished and started the car, idle was EXTREMELY rough and I noticed that my oil pressure light would come on for short intervals after revving the motor. I have ordered an oil pressure gauge but in the mean time wondered if any has had this same experience. I searched and have read several post about removing BS belts but have yet to run across anyone that has had this bad of a vibration or shown signs of low oil pressure. Maybe I missed something during reassembly? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

Seem this 100 times on H and F motors. You either need to leave the balancer shaft connected or you need the eliminator kit to do it right or you will kill the motor from lack of oil pressure.

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

So, just removing the belt causes this? I was under the impression that if the shafts remained in place, the oil pressure would be fine. Does anyone have an actual explanation of what happens to the oil pressure when the shafts are not spinning (due to the belt being removed)? In other words, where does the pressure go? Does the rotation of the shaft keep the oil from easily traveling through the BS passages? BTW, I will be putting the belt back on until I buy the eliminator kit, but still curious about the function.

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

Anyone have any more input??

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

if the balance shafts themselves are still in the block and the rear gear housing is still in place (you'd have oil going everywhere if not..) then you shouldn't have reduced oil presure. the pressure drops when the shafts are removed completely and the oil feed orifices aren't plugged up.

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

I have my balancer belt off of my f22a1 block and it does not lose oil pressure and it doesn't vibrate as much as i thought I even have the f20b vtec head and vtec cracks every time. Maybe your oil pump is going bad.

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

I have done numerous cars with the belt removed and shafts still in place without problem. I think you have something out of time or a bad oil pump.

I am a bit concerned when you say that you took out the pivot bolt on the tensioner, that has to be there to keep the pulley straight. Also, how much tension did you put on the timing belt?

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

Update, I reconfirmed timing. The side cam marks line up, I'm within the upper cam mark limits and I even double checked the timing mark on the flywheel. All good! I probably over tightened the belt initially but have since loosened it up a bit. Getting the correct tension seems to be a tricky task.

Why does removing the pivot bolt concern you? It does not make contact with the TB tensioner, only runs through the center of it. The big tensioner plate is what keeps the TB tensioner in line, NO????

I found the oil pressure problem. My friend was lifting the motor with the oil pan and the board slipped. He forgot to mention that and I didn't notice because it didn't cause much of an indention. Although it did manage to crease the pan right below the strainer, just enough to block oil flow. Problem solved, now getting 18-20psi at idle (60 when cold).

As for the vibration, I rechecked everything and still have the same issues. I am also getting a "rod knock" type sound between 3,000-4,000 rpm. Last night I pulled the main caps and checked the rod bearings. All were within "new" spec limits and there were no signs of excessive wear. I will be replacing them regardless since they are already out of the car.

Only other thing I can think of, is if the mounts have somehow become misaligned and something is rubbing. Once again, there are no apparent signs. I currently have the Place Racing mounts installed but will be swapping them for my Hasport mounts within a day or so.

Ant other comments/ideas?

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

Bump.....

Re: Balance shaft belt removal / low oil pressure?
 

Cool glad you found it. But still do the balancer shaft removal kit from Bisi. I have seen F motors go boom from not doing it right.