I was changing the oil pump seals on my 96 accord 4cyl vtec and in doing so, I broke the small metal pin on the front of the rear balance shaft (where a washer and the oil gear go on). The pin stuck out 1/8" of an inch and the washer has a indentation in it to slide over where the pin used to be and the gear that goes on after the washer also has a groove cut into it to where it could sit on top of the metal pin.

I spoke to a parts guy at the local dealership and he didn't think the pin was real important and thought I could simply drive part of a cotter pin in the shaft (where the old pin used to be) and call it a day.

The bolt that attaches the washer and gear to the shaft gets torqued to 18ft lbs, which doesn't seem like a lot.

So..how important is/was that metal pin, can/should I tap in some sort of replacement? I would buy a replacement pin but there isn't a part # and it appears the only dealer option is to buy a new rear balancer shaft ($150-$200). I'm real hesitant to start putting the timing side parts back on and buttoning it up until this is resolved.

Any thoughts? I'd attach a picture, but I'm too new to post attachments.

 

Got it all figured out. Spoke with the shop foreman at the dealership, apparently I snapped the (very necessary) rolled pin that goes in on the front of the balance shaft. The guy gave me a few rolled pins to see if they work and fortunately one did. Thanks for looking!

 

That timing side on these F engines can be very mysterious and intimidating at first, but once you work on one yourself you really see its simple and not complicated.

That's just my experience with them. By the way how did the car run without the balance shaft belt? I am thinking of eliminating mine to reduce drag on the crank.