DBL ROW timing chain and balance gears

[PanthaVS]

I'm curious, ive been searching everywhere on the net for a good photo, posts etc... and come up empty handed...

Exactly what stops you from fitting the double row timing chain and keeping the balance gears...?

Duh... space i know... but what if the balance gears where machined/lathed a bit thinner?

My reasoning... all this talk about vibration at 1700RPM... at 100km/hr... the engine revs at... you guessed it... 1700RPM.

and considering my driving is 90% on the freeway at 100... it is kind of an issue for me...

and what about making up a spacer to go between the timing cover and block... say a 3mm spacer and then use 2 gaskets? (cover, gasket, spacer, gasket, block)

the issue i see there, is how much clearance is there between the harmonic balancer and the timing cover? (dont want the harmonic balancer rubbing)

so yeah...

Thoughts please....?

[seq4x4]

Why do you want the double row?

[padrickz88]

Everyone always talks about the dreaded 1700rpm vibrations but to be completely honest, I have no vibrations at that rpm and I have a double row with the balance shaft removed....

I'm pretty sure there is no way at all to keep the balance shaft and go double row.... (well from everything I have read)

Best part about putting in a double row, is no more tensioner and stopping the annoying balance shaft bearing noise that happens alot :P

[acarmody]

I have a double row and haven't got any vibrations.

[cander24]

Nope! Not possible at all to retain the balance shaft. There just isn't the room. If you do a search i've posted some pics of this not all that long ago including blocking the rear oil feed if you remove the shaft all together. In my experience any vibration that occurs is more like 1400 or so, but is so very minimal i think you'd get worse vibes from a stuffed engine mount. As for spacing the timing cover out, this won't work. The crank and cam gear both go back to a machined shoulder and naturally just spacing out the timing cover doesn't bring them out with it. Spacing the amount you've suggested would also misalign the threads for the sump bolts into the bottom of the timing cover.
Are you looking to fit an aftermarket cam?
Cheers

[PanthaVS]

Nope! Not possible at all to retain the balance shaft. There just isn't the room. If you do a search i've posted some pics of this not all that long ago including blocking the rear oil feed if you remove the shaft all together. In my experience any vibration that occurs is more like 1400 or so, but is so very minimal i think you'd get worse vibes from a stuffed engine mount. As for spacing the timing cover out, this won't work. The crank and cam gear both go back to a machined shoulder and naturally just spacing out the timing cover doesn't bring them out with it. Spacing the amount you've suggested would also misalign the threads for the sump bolts into the bottom of the timing cover.
Are you looking to fit an aftermarket cam?
Cheers

Thankyou for actually adressing my question instead of just giving me the normal "why would you do that?" reply.

Good points about the lower sump bolts and recessed gear.

I can see where you are going with the cam question... and if i was to use an aftermarket cam, then the "lumpy" idle would mask the vibrations, if any, that i may feel at 1400rpm.

[Trikky]

if you really want to keep the balance shaft but still want to go with a better timing chain, you could use the crow cams CS6VS as it is a singe row timing chain so you can keep the balance shaft but it gets rid of the failure prone tensioner

really the double row chain is only needed if you go a big cam that puts more load on things