yes you can remove the balance shafts without any problems, but you have to be prepared for the lumpity lump cause the chance that you will ever get it to idle, is slim, Don't ge tme wrong it will hold an idle but you will make ppl think that you have one hellacious cam. But the 15 horse increase just maight make it be worth it.. and 6-9 ft.lbs .. figure the engine is whipping around a nonbalanced shaft to balance the engine..

 

my laser has a 2.5 out of a 1989 daytona and the balance shafts are gone if you remove them make sure to plug the oil hole going to the aluninum housing.Chysler put these in because when they went to the common block they as i call it grandma-ed it which turbos went to TII specs and they used a smaller turbo the mitsubishi TO4 for faster spool up and then added the balance shafts to make the 2.5 idle smooter.thus now we have a grandma car take the shafts out free 5%-10% gain in power may not idle as smooth but why do we add big cams in V-8's then don't idle smooth either but there is a gain in power.one other thing make a windage tray for your oil pan to keep oil from sloshing on to the crank and get ready to hold more oil in the pan if you have a 2.2 get the oil pan off of the 2.5 it is bigger than the 2.2 and it will hold one quart more!!!One other thing if you you want use a head from a 2.5 it has a roller cam but don't use a cam from a non-roller head valves are shorter and the cam caps in the 2.5 have slots in them to squirt oil on the followers.

 

Most of the heads from the 2.2l and 2.5l are the same... I have 3 shadows, my 93 has the 2.2l, my 91 conv. has the 2.5l, and the other 91 is being parted out but the head i got from the junkyard came off a 2.5l (I have the block from the junkyard aswell) and they all have the same head on them. Numbers match and everything.