Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Project-Zero: 2.5L Duratec balance shaft delete

Why do this?

  1. The ATR low profile oil sump won't fit on the engine with balance shaft assembly in place.
  2. The balance shaft assembly weighs 20lbs, removing it saves on over all weight and removes rotating mass allowing the engine to rev higher, faster.
  3. You might get a few horsepower back without the parasitic drag induced by balance shaft assembly.

Will this hurt the engine or lead to premature wear?

No.

What parts do you need?

You need a balance shaft delete kit.  In no particular order, pick your poison--they all work the same way.

How do you do it?

Removal is straight forward. Remove the oil pain to gain access to the balance shaft assembly. Four bolts hold the balance shaft to the bottom of the engine where it engages with the crankshaft via a large sprocket.  Wind out the four large bolts and the unit lifts out of place easily.



After removal, the oil galley that feeds high pressure oil to the balance shaft must be plugged using a delete kit.  Delete kits are inexpensive and available from a couple of different suppliers.

Kit installation is the same for all of them.
  • Lube the plug o-ring, then stick the plug in the oil galley.
  • Apply red loctite to the retaining bolt, install bolt and torque to spec. (18 lb/ft)


Reinstall the oil pan per factory service manual procedure.

Notes

  • I went with the Massive Speed Systems kit because I was also buying their lightweight under-drive water pump pulley anyway.
  • Don't be a dumbass like me, I didn't have the necessary oil pick-up tube handy to install the new ATR oil pan. Now I have to wait for parts for to be shipped back to me.




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