Balance shaft removal tomorrow

1990 TSi AWD:

So today I found my B-shaft belt BROKEN and soaked with oil. Since I had to replace an axle boot and oil pan gasket anyway I decided to do the b-shaft elimination. I have been reading the vfaq on it and searching around tuners and here about it but i have a question or two...

The VFAQ says to loosen a crossmember and drop the engine down so the shaft clears the frame. I just simply don't understand, but I haven't yet taken the oil pan off to actually see what they mean. If someone could just explain it to me i would appreciate it.

Also, does the oil pump sproket come off easier once the cover is unbolted and taken off? And do I use RTV for both sides of the new gasket or just one side?

And NO, the timing belt didn't skip! I can't tell you how glad I am to have found this before it really got tangled.

Thanks in advance

The balance shafts are over a foot long. It will hit the frame rail before it comes all the way out, hence the need to drop the motor below the frame rail until it clears and can be pulled out.

The oil pump sprocket would probably be easier to get off with the front cover off the motor. I usually put the shaft in a vice so I can get the nut off the sprocket, since they are linked by the oil pump gears. I don't think you'll gain anything by getting the sprocket off with the front cover still on, but I've never bothered to do a bashaft removal job with the motor still in the car.

When using a new OEM gasket and clean mating surfaces, there is no need for any RTV. One other thing I'll point out is that the front cover bolts don't get much torque at all, I want to say 16-18 lbs. You'll need the gasket for the front cover and oil filter housing. The oil pump does not use a gasket. If the motor has high mileage I would just replace the whole front cover and oil pump assembly if money wasn't a problem. Otherwise you could just do new gears if the wear on the cover and oil pump cover isn't bad. At the very least I would replace the seals (crank, oil pump sprocket).

Another tip I should offer is that you can simply leave the front bshaft in place and don't use the belt. Then you don't have to ass around with removing/installing block off bearings to cover the oil holes. As long as the bearings in there are still good this is a good option, especially with the motor in the car IMO. Then you just need to get the rear shaft out so it can be replaced with the mirage (grooved) stubby shaft.

Thanks for the awesome reply Kevin, I took a look at the frame rail and saw what you meant. I found this posted on tuners by a wiseman, sounds basically what you were talking about, here is the copy/paste of it:


The cheapest way is to just buy the stubby shaft (~$12) and pull the rear (oil pump) shaft off and replace it with the stubby shaft. Then just cut the belt for the front shaft and put washers on the back side of the front balance shaft sprocket and tighten it down so it doesn't move.

Otherwise you have to punch out the front 2 bearings and punch in the new ones so the oil holes don't line up.

Either way blocks enough of oil flow to the shaft. I've done both ways and both cars are running fine with higher oil pressure.

Are these washers really necessary?

I'm not sure what the purpose of the washers is, I've never used them. Maybe he didn't want the shaft to be able to rotate? I don't see what harm that would do, and since it is not balanced it wouldn't be able to do a full revolution anyway.

Another thing to note, be sure you keep the front bshaft tensioner pulley instaled, or replace it with a shorter bolt. That bolt hole goes into a high pressure oil passage ;) And it also holds the cover to the block in that location. I use a little ultragrey RTV on the threads for good luck.

Yep, It already has Grey RTV from when i did it before and i have a tube left over, of course it will all be used for the oil pan...Wish me luck.

Thanks again! You saved me 29 bucks to just buy the stubby shaft and not the whole kit.