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This is an UPGRADED EA888 balance shaft design that will resolve the problem with the seizing plastic sceen.
EA888 Gen1 and Gen2 ONLY!

Looking for a balance shaft delete on VW/Audi EA888 engines? This is the right way to do it.

Instead of removing the shafts (not possible because the water pump is driven off the intake-side balance shaft), our kit performs a sleeve-bearing delete / hydrodynamic oiling delete: we replace the failure-prone, pressure-oiled bushings with sealed C3 ball bearings and block the bushing’s oil feed. You keep the shafts (and water-pump drive) but delete the weak link that causes low oil pressure and catastrophic failures.

The problem we’re solving (why “delete” is needed)

EA888 Gen 1/Gen 2 (1.8 & 2.0 TSI/TFSI) engines use two chain-driven balance shafts running in pressure-fed sleeve (plain) bearings. Oil reaches those bushings through tiny plastic/mesh screens in the balance-shaft housing/tubes. With age/heat/debris, the screens clog or deform, starving the bushings. A starved or worn bushing becomes a large internal oil leak back to the crankcase, so hot-idle oil pressure nosedives; in bad cases the shaft seizes, which can cascade into timing and bottom-end damage.

Why Gen 3 isn’t affected the same way: EA888 Gen 3 (06K/06L parts families) revised the balance-module: the shafts use rolling support (needle/ball) and an updated oiling layout. There’s no comparable micro-screen / plain-bushing leak path, so the Gen 1/Gen 2 failure mode doesn’t apply.

Which side seizes more?

Forum reports show both sides can fail. The intake-side (water-pump drive) is more commonly reported because that shaft sees added belt load and is the one many techs inspect first—but the exhaust-side can seize too. Treat the pair as a system.

Our fix & upgrade: C3 Ball-Bearing Conversion (Balance-Shaft Sleeve-Bearing Delete)

We machine the balance-module to accept three sealed, high-temp C3 deep-groove ball bearings between the aluminum housing and each shaft, then positively block the original pressure-oil feed to the bushing journal.

How this upgrade works (and why it’s better):

• Deletes the weak link: No more micro-screens to clog/melt, no hydrodynamic sleeve to starve.

• Stops the internal oil leak: Worn plain bushings act like a hemorrhage in the lube system. By blocking the bushing feed you remove that leak path and stabilize hot-idle/system oil pressure.

• Gen-3-style robustness: Rolling bearings (with C3 clearance for heat growth) handle the load without depending on gallery pressure.

• Zero compromise on function: The intake-side shaft stays and still drives the water pump exactly as stock. Timing, ancillaries, and belt runs remain unchanged.
  
  
• NVH: Rolling elements have less fluid damping than sleeves; on EA888 this translates to negligible/benign cabin change—typically inaudible.

Whats included this order:

•  One set of balance shaft. (Intake & exhaust side) Both units are fitted with C3 ball bearings.
•  No plastic screens, not plastic sleeve and no user manual is included!

Fitment — EA888 Gen 1 & Gen 2 (06H-family balance modules)

Typical OE repair-kit refs: 06H 198 205 A / 06H 198 205 F (and supersessions). Not for Gen 3 (06K/06L).