Engine Balance Shaft ruined

[polarduke]

I recently posted the topic about the timing being off 180 degrees.

Well, I took the car to the Mitsubishi dealer to get it retimed, just in case.

They looked at the engine and have informed me that the balance shaft that runs through the engine is ruined and that the bearings on it are bored out (or they have bored out the engine, I'm not sure) and this is causing a sizable oil leak.

The only option, they tell me, is to put in a used engine for about $3000. Of course, that's ridiculous because the car is only worth $3000.

So my question: As we continue to drive the car in it's current state (it runs a little rough, but not bad), is this problem something that will eventually cause the car to die, or will it just continue to run a little rough throughout it's normal life span. It currently is at 92,000 miles?
How much longer can we expect to be able to drive the car?

Thanks!
Jeff

[manybrews]

the engine actually has 2 balance shafts... and no matter which one is failing, it will destroy the engine in no time at all.

i find it odd, though, that they say one has failed. although i have seen this happen, when they fail you usually KNOW IT! it makes so much noise that you think the engine is gonna blow up.

however, if its the "independant" balance shaft which is failing (which it probably is, as its almost always the one that does fail), you may be in luck.. that shaft itself neither drives nor is driven off anything important, so it could be unhooked and left idle. youre gonna get a lot more vibration out of the engine, but it should be safe. However, if its badly worn you WILL lose a lot of oil pressure, limiting the lifespan of the rest of the engine.
if its the "captive" balance shaft theyre talking about, youre basically screwed, as its driven off the oil pump.

find out as much info as you can.

there are also balance shaft eliminator kits, but i HEARTILY recommend against those, as they are all pretty awful.

[polarduke]

Thanks for the info.

I guess I need the engine replaced now, because after I picked it up from the dealer last night, it wouldn't hold any oil. It just leaks out in no time at all.

The dealer will replace the engine with a used one for around $3000. Is that a reasonable price, or should I look elsewhere? What is a reasonable price for that job?

Thanks!
Jeff

[paulbunyan]

I saw some Galants at the junkyard. How much you willin to pay for one? Hell, if you live near me I'll even install it :-)

paulbunyan

[JiP]

Uh why dont you just pull out the both shafts you dont need them they just dampen engine vibration. You'll actually save yourself possible problems in the future cause youll get rid of the second timing belt which can snap and wrap itself around the main timing belt and kill your engine. And you'll rev a tad faster because theres less mass on the crank. I plan to pull mine this summer.

The leak could be from one of the seals on the front case.

[manybrews]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JiP)</div><div class='quotemain'>Uh why dont you just pull out the both shafts you dont need them they just dampen engine vibration. Â*You'll actually save yourself possible problems in the future cause youll get rid of the second timing belt which can snap and wrap itself around the main timing belt and kill your engine. Â*And you'll rev a tad faster because theres less mass on the crank. Â*I plan to pull mine this summer.

The leak could be from one of the seals on the front case.</div>
have you ever driven a car like this?

its AWFUL. the car shakes so much its nearly undrivable. not only that, but the balance shafts are an integrated part of the engine... its not designed to run without them.
aftermarket hacks have developed "kits", but they are only hacked together fixes by backyard mechanices.
besides, if the shafts have already cut into the block, theres no way to seal the oil feeds anymore, and he will lose 50 percent of his oil pressure if the shafts are removed (if not more).

by the way, the balance shaft failure rate is nearly 0 percent over the last 10 years for all mitsu cars.
they will easily last longer than any other part of the engine, if its taken care of (but fail just like any other part if starved for oil).

[JiP]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>besides, if the shafts have already cut into the block, theres no way to seal the oil feeds anymore, and he will lose 50 percent of his oil pressure if the shafts are removed (if not more). Â*

by the way, the balance shaft failure rate is nearly 0 percent over the last 10 years for all mitsu cars. Â*
they will easily last longer than any other part of the engine, if its taken care of (but fail just like any other part if starved for oil).</div>

I agree. But as far as removing the shafts on a functioning engine, I have rode in one and the ride was nothing intollerable. Besides comfort doesnt mean as much to me as going fast is https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif I also plan to throw on some prothane engine mount inserts which I have just waiting for the damn warm weather to come in. And you can remove the balance shafts using all mistubishi parts from dealer.

[jiul]

Well, I took off everything that was needed to replace the water pump and replaced the bugger.
Now I have to put the timiong belt back on and I have a ..err..small problem. Apparently to make sure that the oil pump sprocket is properly aligned there is plug that needs to be unpluged and then I'm suppose to stick something in there and make sure that it goes in a litle over two inches.
Can anyone tell me where exactly is this plug? Is it on the block itself?

Also if anyone can give me pointers on how to remove that crankshaft timining pulley bolt I would I would appreciate it. I've been fighting woth it for a few rounds now and the darn bolt won all of them.
Thanks

[JiP]

Its on the block, towards the bottom on the back side. Sometimes its a bitch to remove so smack it a few times with a hammer loosens it up.

Buy chiltons! it shows you where it is and how to do it.

[jiul]

K thanks Jip

[IllestGalant]

I picked up a junk yard block with 45,000 miles on it for my friends galant. we swapped it with his old engine on the weekend in my driveway and it only cost him about 700 when all was said and done. it currently has 73,045 on it and it is sill running great!