Balance Shaft Removal.

If you are worried about the BS belt breaking and screwing up the TB then just remove the BS belt! There is no harm in doing that.

Mistu uses the term "silent shaft(s)" when referring to balance shafts. The bal shafts compensate for the torque burst applied to the crank each time a cyl fires. The crank accelerates slightly in the direction of rotation and the engine block reacts by moving slightly in the opposite direction (of crank rotation). The vibration you feel is the motor moving each time a cylinder fires.

The silent shafts "dynamically" compensate for the torque bursts so the block doesn't effectively move. This is true only for a certain engine load and rpm though; usually at highway cruising speeds with moderate load. This is so because the balance shafts have a fixed mass and diameter so they can't change their effect with the engine load (just rpm).

More than you wanted to know but I have nothing better to do right now!

If you want to save your $ for gas, just remove the front BS belt and fagetaboutit.

Rick