Thread: QR25DE 02 Altima. Balancer bottom portion broken.

Hello everyone.

I am new to this. I recently bought a 02 Altima and have been driving it for about 7 months. The problem that I have is that it used to rattle when in Idle. Lift the car up and checked where the rattleing was coming from and suspected the oil pan. Removed the lower portion of the oil pan and discovered that the oil screen was full of debris and also the Balancer had a big chunk missing. I was trying to find the lower portion of the balancer so I could replace it. While web browsing here and there I came across the JWT's replacement and it sounds logical, but then I also came across a thread that mentioned that the Balancer is just a waste in the QR25DE. The thread mentioned cutting the chain and leaving the balancer in place and that it wont affect performance or the engine. So should I cut the chain and leave the Balancer with the big chunk missing or should I remove it and place a JWT's? What about eliminating that system completely?

The answer to your question is somewhere on this forum....where? Well, I'll leave that up to you! Good luck!

Get the JWT BSR and get rid of the BS assembly. That way you have the opportunity to clean up your oil pan area for any debris that might become a problem later down the road. Good luck.

Ive seen many balance shafts break and throw chunks of metal into the oil pan. Removing them or cutting the chain will only increase the reliability of the engine and gain u approx 7whp. There will be a slight increase in vibrations, but definitely worth it.

JWT sells a balance removal kit that you can find as low as $85, but if you cant do it yourself the labor will cost quite a bit (several hundred $$ depending on the shop) or we have writeups on here that show how to do both chain cutting and removal


edit: ps theres also the added benefit of being able to use an additional qt. of oil to keep ur engine running beautiful

We talked about this a little, but get the BSR kit if you wish. For your use, which seems like an unmodified daily driver (although I don't know), you don't need it. As long as the entire oil pan is cleaned out, you can leave the BS with a piece missing.

You could even remove the piece, and be done with it. Now you will require about 1qt more of oil per oil change.

The final option is to put the JWT kit in, which helps keep the oil from sloshing around, mainly if you're into taking corners fast or that kind of thing. The kit is not needed, and if you want to do this as cheaply as possible, just clean the mess up and seal the plan back.

If you remove it, you're looking at more work, and an additional $3-9 every oil change. Lol

Originally Posted by WifesCar

The answer to your question is somewhere on this forum....where? Well, I'll leave that up to you! Good luck!

No need to be a dick about it! You're a newbie here too & was a total newbie at some point in your S14 build....FELGGUTI01 everyone else replies seem to be good options, the choice is yours. Good luck & welcome

I just ordered the JWT's so it will arrive tomorrow and I will keep you guys updated on the progress. Thanks a lot to everyone that replied. Lets see how this one goes. I'm a rookie student mechanic so this is new to me, but learned about this problem on Altimas. Experience is what makes a good mechanic.

Im personally glad u got the kit, if u just opened her up cleaned the mess and sealed her shut, its very possible the "mini camshafts" in the balance shafts(thats what they look like) would just break more and do more damage....bottom line, this will change your car, for the better. You'll definitely notice the change, especially when u need to pass a car 3k rpms and higher. If you dont do your own oil changes though, make sure the shop knows it needs like 5 1/4qts of oil...not the 4 1/4 or whatever the exact number is

Nice ride dude

MY car fits 6qts of oil without the BS. You should fit at least 5.5qts, usualy 5.75

I normally put in 5.5qts but from what I remember, 6 qts was too much, and I believe our car is suppose to have like 4.2 qts (according to manual) and with the bsr youre only suppose to add 1 additional qt.

Just check the dipstick everytime you fill her up I wasn't trying to be a dick, I was merely hinting at the search option. It's hard to interpret one's emotions over the interwebz. I try to help people on forums the best I can. I just don't like clutter and I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. Anyways, moving on....

Originally Posted by FELGGUTI01

I just ordered the JWT's so it will arrive tomorrow and I will keep you guys updated on the progress. Thanks a lot to everyone that replied. Lets see how this one goes.

Good to know, now order a liteweight pulley....you'll love the extra horsies they add together!

Originally Posted by kktohot

Ive seen many balance shafts break and throw chunks of metal into the oil pan. Removing them or cutting the chain will only increase the reliability of the engine and gain u approx 7whp. There will be a slight increase in vibrations, but definitely worth it.

JWT sells a balance removal kit that you can find as low as $85, but if you cant do it yourself the labor will cost quite a bit (several hundred $$ depending on the shop) or we have writeups on here that show how to do both chain cutting and removal


edit: ps theres also the added benefit of being able to use an additional qt. of oil to keep ur engine running beautiful

I cut the chain last weekend, and left the assembly in, and vibrations are barely noticeable. Definitely better acceleration, less load on the engine is really what it feels like....

thats exactly what it is, you free up hp lossed. Similar to putting a lightweight flywheel on, you dont gain more hp, youre just able to put more to the ground

What's up? The Job is done. Removed the Balancer Shaft and had a hard time installing the kit, but I eventually did it. A scare moment where I restarted my Altima. The Vehicle was idleing poorly and shutting off. Thanks to my scanner, I hooked it up and it was the MAP sensor. Luckily I had an extra one from my 00 Altima. I removed the Chain by rotating the Crankshaft and afterwards putting it at TDC. It was a very easy job, but since I removed the Upper Oil Pan it was a hassle installing it back. Thanks to everyone that replied and helped out. I appreciate it so much. Thanks.

[QUOTE=snoopSER;416315]Good to know, now order a liteweight pulley....you'll love the extra horsies they add together![/Q

Which Pulley should I replace? Do you mean the Crankshaft Pulley?

Awesome. Let us know if you have more questions in the future

the only real pulley available anymore is the crank pulley (its next to the oil filter). You wont feel any gains from it....would be the difference similar to when you turn ur a/c on while driving. but its cheap and an easy install.

Glad to hear you got it all fixed....and yeah theres 1 damn bolt I hate when doing that job.

Thanks to all.