Toyota Repair: 2001 Camry Balance shaft assembly, balance shaft, shaft assembly

Question
Hi,
I'm in the process of rebuilding the motor on my 01 Camry.  It's a 4 cyl, 5SFE motor, 40K miles, standard trans.  The manual suggests checking the backlash of the gears between the crank and the balance shaft assembly.  I don't have the dial indicator the check this.  Am I making a huge mistake by ignoring this adjustment?  Is there another way to check it, say with feeler guages?

Thanks,
Don

Answer
The balance shaft gear clearance is extremely critical but if you have the old shims and did not replace the block or the balancer assembly then using the same shims when reassembling should be no problem. But keep in mind that there are timing marks that have to be aligned correctly, the factory manual has the instructions.