In the final stages of assembly of a F22B2 engine for a 1996 Accord and am hesitant to continue because the balancer belt front balancer shaft alignment marks do not line up exactly. In the attachment it shows what the alignment looks like in two (2) positions. The first is close to the alignment mark (~11:58 o'clock vs 12 o'clock) and the second is after I moved the pulley a tooth. It seems like the exact alignment would be somewhere in between.

As a little background, here is what I have done so far. The timing belt has been set and tensioned and the alignment marks on the oil pump and the camshaft match up after numerous rotations in the CCW direction. The timing belt tensioner was also locked in place while installing the balancer belt.

Next for the balancer belt
a) The rear balancer shaft is locked in place with a screwdriver through the maintenance port. The screwdriver can be easily removed and reinstalled at both positions
b) The drive pulley is locked at TDC via the timing belt.
c) The belt was installed taut from rear balancer gear down to main pulley and then to front balancer shaft pulley.
d) I then rotated a tooth and performed same as noted above for position #2
The only way I could get the marks to line up was if the belt was taut from rear balancer to front balancer but then the tensioner had no slack to pull up and two much slack at the other areas so this is not correct. Unfortunately I don't have a record of what it looked like before the engine was disassembled.

Are the marks close enough to be within the design margin, or will this cause a vibration issue when the engine is running? All comments would be appreciated.

 

I don't think you should lose sleep over it. The alignment of the balance shaft, even if its not completely correct, isn't a life-or-death issue for the motor like the timing belt. At worst, you will get a tiny bit of vibration. Some people take off the balance shaft belt entirely.

Is the belt tensioned by the tensioner in that picture?

 

My vote is for position #1. If that balance belt tensioner is going to get a little more tension at final adjustment it should be even closer to the mark.

 

In the photo I just placed the tensioner in the position that it would normally sit, since it made removing the belt easier when I was testing the different tooth positions. I did have it tensioned previously and it didn't really move the alignment groove a whole lot from what I have shown.
I'm surprised that some don't install the balance belt at all. Anyway, I appreciate your response as I'm looking for guidance from those that have done this before. I was hoping that this wouldn't be a "show stopper". Maybe being this close won't be an issue.

 

I concur. IIRC when I did the belt the balance shafts were not spot on initially, but after doing the crank rotation and final tension adjustment it works out.

 

the balance shaft has 2 pulleys. when the belt is on the teeth of the belt aligns the marks, in between like u said