that wouldnt cause the vibration, at least i dont think.

I REALLY think you have a balancer shaft misalignment issue here.

in that very fist pic, there is a small pulley onthe lower right hand corner. on that pulley there is ahash mark that is supposed to line up with that white arrow on the block. If it's not lined up you will get vibrations around 4k rpm. Also it's very easy for this to get misaligned as the balancer shaft is coutner weighted. if you took the belt off the shaft, the pulley will rotate 180 degrees under it's own power because of the counter balance.

if you have the stock cam gears just reinstall those, if the vibration contiunes, it's not the cam gears.

 

As I said when you first started posting about this, it is very easy to "think" everything is lined up with the balance shafts when it is not.

 

the vibration would not be caused by being 1 tooth off. i ran 1 tooth off for about 500miles got really bad mileage killed a cat and rear o2 sensor from running so rich. no strange vibrations though.

 

the more i read the more i fear im going to break something in my car

 

Hello again Zeus, I remember you telling me this before, but this guy looked it over and over 5X, and he said all the marks are lined up! I will personally go over there and help re-set the cams, and look myself at the hashmarks.

He told me he has worked on these motors for 30+ years, and can set these in his sleep. I have to trust him on this, and I will visually check myself tonight!
Thanks again Guys, you are helping me out with great info! And of course helping the rest of us out also. cheers to you!

 

Might wanna re phrase that quote as these motors have not been around 30+ years
I second the idea that one of the balance shafts is out of time....and it is probably the oil pump shaft...it can easily be 180 degrees out and the LOWER timing marks will still line up....the only way to do it is to stick a screwdriver in the plug at the front of the block to determine correct timing...
Also, 1 tooth out on the cam gears will NOT cause vibration
My 2c
Andrew on Noise's sign in

 

^^^^^^ Sorry bout that I'm back

 

My bad on the 30 years, he just meant for a long time! Thanks a million Andrew, for your help today! I was there tonight, the "marks" lined up, we re-set the cams to 0/0, which improved the idle significantly! On the way home, I still felt the vibrations, and the mechanic said he will check the balance shaft on sunday, he is sure that is the problem as well! I owe you all a Steak Dinner, if we ever cross paths. (Andrew, you know we will meet real soon, so you can dyno my Alky kit!) I will report my final findings on Sunday, after we "flip" the balance shaft.
Again, thanks to all!
kevin

 

That's why you need to research even the smallest upgrade to the nth degree. And the same goes for who will do the install(s). A stock Evo is a very well balanced car that does a lot of things really well while remaining a (key word ->) civilized street car. Almost every mod you make will be a compromise in one way or another (though mostly you will swap power for civility). You just have to decide if you can live with the results.

l8r)

 

This may be a bit off topic, but STAY AWAY from cam gears. I've had years of experience using aftermarket cam gears, and have seen way too many cars fubar their valve trains from a cam gear moving/slipping. I will never buy another adjustable cam gear again.

Some of you may say, threadlock them, blah blah blah. It's your car and your choice.

 

You will never beat that into this crew's head... I've given up...

 

As I'm sure your mechanic knows the marks can all line up perfectly but still have the oil pump out of time. You have a 1 in 3 chance to get it right. All the problems your having sound exactly like when people started doing t-belts on the old dsm's and getting the balance shafts out of time.

 

No, you shouldn't give up on "this crew", your information is very helpful! My original mechanic told me to change my timing belt at 30K miles, due to the increase in HP. I did change it, but the original mechanic didn't do it!. I would tell the original mech. about the vibrations, and he said it was because of the HP. Zeus, you were the first to mention this balance shaft issue, and when I relayed this info to Original Mech. he said NO WAY! If I look back, and he was the only one to work on the car (except for the timing belt), he would have no reason to believe the balance shaft would "flip"180 degrees off! if nothing was done but putting the go-faster parts on it. I believe you were correct the whole time, and I kept screaming BALANCE SHAFT, and would get no where. I was over the car like a castmember on CSI, looking over the whole job last night, looking at the marks, asking questions etc...

I thought all would be well, the marks were where they should have been, etc... I was sure when I drove home, the problem would be gone. I am upset it wasn't. But going back to when it started, if I had an open minded Mechanic, not an egotistical one, maybe my problem wouldn't have lasted so long. I will go back to the shop today, and get the oil balance shaft "flipped" and be down the road with a vibration free ride again!

A good thing I learned from this, is to Keep 1 great set of hands under the hood, as the more hands, different people who work on your car, the greater chance that One hand wont know what the other is doing! I hope to report later that you were right, as I am sure this is the case.

Thanks again.

 

Here is another concept I dont get: If the marks are lined up, (which they are), you can still be off 180 degrees? Wouldnt that mean the "Marks" would be at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock? I will take your word on this, and have relayed it to the "new" mechanic, and he is in agreeance. We are on it!

 

180 degrees is just an example....the DP will need to be removed and a screwdriver will need to be inserted in the plug at the front of the engine to determine timing...
the engine will then need to be turned four full turns before the marks and the oil pump will all return to this position again together