[149 Pages Report] A balance shaft is designed to rotate and vibrate in a way that reduces the vibration produced by an engine. Balance shafts are commonly used for engine refinement. Four cylinder engines use a tow shaft, which turns in opposite directions on either side of engine’s crankshaft.

In a straight-six engine and flat-six engine, the rocking forces are naturally balanced out, therefore balance shafts are not required. V6 engines are inherently unbalanced, regardless of the V-angle. Any inline engine with an odd number of cylinders has a primary imbalance, which causes an end-to-end rocking motion.

Reasons to remove your balance shaft Because the balance shafts rotate at twice the engine RPM, their bearings can take quite a beating. It’s also relatively easy to exceed what the balance shaft bearings are capable of handling once your start increasing your rev limit.

Overview. Balance shafts are most common in inline four cylinder engines which, due to the asymmetry of their design, have an inherent second order vibration (vibrating at twice the engine RPM) which cannot be eliminated no matter how well the internal components are balanced.

A single cylinder engine produces three main vibrations. Nearly all single-cylinder crankshafts incorporate balancing weights to reduce this. While these weights can balance the crankshaft completely, they cannot completely balance the motion of the piston, for two reasons.

You can tell from the front timing cover, if it’s rounded then it’s non balance shaft, if it comes to a flat V shaped top it’s a balance shaft. Your vehicle can go either way being it’s a 1992.

There are also simple, cheap ways to increase horsepower for your 4.3 V6.

1. Replace your air filter. The air filter gets dirty over time and restricts the flow into the engine.
2. Install a performance chip or reprogram your current computer.
3. Change you gas to a higher octane.

1992

Year of manufacture. Locate the GM 4.3 engine serial number on the left (remember, engines are always viewed from the rear; if the engine were in a vehicle, the left side is the driver’s side) front bank under the cylinder head. Record the last two letters of the number.

These engines frequently last beyond 300,000 miles with minimal issues beyond regular maintenance. However, making it to 300,000 miles will likely require some non-engine repairs and maintenance, such as suspension components. The vortec 6.0L engines are known to outlast the rest of the truck by miles.

The v6 will spin up quicker than the V8 but the V8 will have a faster top end. The V8 will give us more pulling power.