balance shaft?

Hey all- I'm in the middle of replacing the LIM gasket, and noticed that the balance shaft has some end play in it. I can easily move it along its axis- how much end play is this thing supposed to have? And is it a hard fix?

I think that might be the cause of a sort of rattling noise I've been hearing. I thought it was the supercharger coupler, but that was prisine. I changed it anyway since I had the part.

OK, duh, I just looked in the service manual. It says the end play is supposed to be 0.203mm or 8 thousandths. I'd guess it's right at that, or maybe a little more.

Anyone ever had this issue?

Ive never looked really looked into it.

A lot of guys (myself included) just remove the gear. You do have to remove the timing cover to do that, though

How much vibration does that add?