RxRC

Hey guys,

Got a 2004 with a 5-speed mt with what seems to be a front end vibration. I can hear it as well as feel it in the steering wheel. Weird thing is it's only around 30mph. It does not change when I push in the clutch and coast so could I rule out the motor mounts?

Would a drive shaft do this? The car has 160k and I've owned it for about 25k. No record of the diff fluid ever being changed either.

BigBerz

Wheels balanced? I would check that first.

Berz out.

burnoutboy

iTrader: (22)

I just lost a drive shaft on my 99. It was a harmonic issue that was most prevalent around 40 MPH. It felt just like a REALLY badly balanced wheel.... right up until it broke LOL. Then it definitely felt like a prop shaft LMAO.

Jack the car up at all 4 corners or put it on a lift and have someone "drive" it up to about 30 where the vibration is bad and check the prop shaft for noticeable vibration. Alternatively you can check for excessive slop inthe u-joint at the front when parked.

PRO TIP: ANY slop in a prop shaft u-joint is excessive.

RxRC

Okay. Prop shaft=drive shaft?

I haven't done anything with the awd system on this CR-V. I bought it with 135k and minimal service records.

Benny Honda

My wagon started doing this when I had a friend replace the broken Honda axles with NAPA upgraded ones. I haven't had time to fix it, but the only thing that was changed were the axles and there was no vibration before. It seems to do it at higher RPM's. Most noticeable about 30mph.

Benny Honda

Wheel balance wouldn't correct itself in neutral. My car does the same thing. Going down hill I can speed up, maintain speed with vibration and slip it in neutral and vibration disappears. Rolls smooth at same speed.

Crap. Misread your first post. If it vibrates in neutral we are in different boats. My bad.

RxRC

Interesting. I do need a drivers side axle. I've had a torn boot for months and now it's starting to click.

RxRC

Update: New axle and no change to vibration. Shop said possibly other axle maybe? Or we could remove rear driveshaft and see if that changes anything.

Freefallin99

Either the other axle or driveshaft.

RxRC

Well, the rear driveshaft is sitting in the corner of my garage now and and there's not much change in the vibration. And the rear u joint is real bad in the removed driveshaft too.

So, it looks like i have to try the front, passenger side axle next. I really hate replacing parts when I'm not positive they're bad, but it's got to be the culprit. Can't drive the car this way, it's that bad.

Might just get a new aftermarket one from ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/370843042923...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT instead of the rebuilds all of the shops seem to use. Thoughts?

nallerplys

You need to change these, i had the same problem you have... Drive Shaft Repair Kit Dorman 933-405 fits 97-11 Honda CR-V | eBay

You can try to dismount the propeller shaft and i think your problems are gone emediatly, then change the set i mention above and mount the shaft again

RxRC

Read post #10. Car has no rear driveshaft, still have vibration.

Tomorrow we are replacing the passenger side cv axle.That's got to be it. So both front axles will be new and rear driveshaft removed.

nallerplys

My bad, sorry. Need to read the posts more carefully. On my CR-V 1998 it was the U-joints making the problem.... I hope you find your problem soon to get a smooth running CR-V again.

OOPS! One thing and another; Did you check your tires VERY carefully?? its possible you have a bad tire wall

Engine mounts: its a common thing on a Gen 1 that the lower engine mounts can be in a bad condition, i dont know how it is on your Gen 2 but the 2 models are similar in many ways.

RxRC

Okay, picked up the CR-V today after they installed new, aftermarket, passenger side cv axle. Still shakes. Really bad under acceleration, not so much while cruising.


So.... We have two, new, aftermarket front cv axles installed and the rear driveshaft removed. And it shakes pretty much the same. Not sure which way to turn but I'm really getting pissed. I've never owned an Acura or Honda that didn't drive smooth and straight.


It's 8 degrees F out but I just might go lift up the front of the vehicle and run it a bit in second gear to see what I can see. Not sure how accessible they are but I would like to take a look at the motor mounts as well.

Occidentalis

Were you able to resolve this? I had a similar problem, researched it and found aftermarket CV axles sometimes have a poor replica of the little metal alignment clip that sticks into the transmission. A few cases had success with using honda parts or better brands of aftermarket CV. If your vehicle hasn't ever had motor mounts changed, I'd consider those first before replacing parts you already replaced.

RxRC

Here's your update!

As suspected, it was the CV axles. We had to use oem parts. Sorry folks.

The good thing was the shop found a low mileage 2006 and we bought those for $100 a piece. It's butter smooth now. But unfortunately, this is a major issue for these vehicles. I could never spend $1000 to have new, oem axles installed.

Now, I still have the oem rear driveshaft laying on my garage floor. It had a bad u-joint to compound my vibration issue with the front axles. Thought about ordering one of these and seeing how difficult it would be to install.

Occidentalis

Thanks for updating. I hope you were able to return the aftermarket axles for a full refund (and an apology). I had to go remanufactured through Honda Village for both of mine. You got a killer deal. It was $550 shipped for both, $140 of which was refunded when I sent the old parts back (core charge).

RxRC

I did get a refund for the aftermarket axles.

I don't know if I got a great deal. They were used parts from a salvage yard.

You can bet I'm going to watch those boots now. I'm scared of one of these going bad now. Never gave front axles much of a thought before owning this CR-V. Always just threw cheap aftermarket axles in whatever I had and they worked fine.

Occidentalis

I'm worried about the CV boots on mine now too - extra strain with the 2" lift.

I wonder if something like this would work/help for our application?

High Angle Inner CV Boot - Products - Off Road Solutions