masospaghetti

I got under the car just a few minutes ago. I noticed the following.

1. The amount of angular play between the intermediate shaft and driver's CV joint seems excessive. I've posted a video of it here (sorry about the quality, hard to hold it steady):
2. There's no radial or axial play of the intermediate shaft itself.

3. There's a little bit of axial play in each CV shaft. It seems like the axles should be completely locked in by the axle nuts, but they were tight to about 200 ft-lbs. EDIT: There IS radial play in both inner CV joints.
Thoughts?

DCFIVER

Looks normal.

Still sounds like you have bad axle(s). Exchange them for a different, BRAND NEW, brand.



If you suspect the tires,rotate them front to rear and see if there is any change. Old ,cheap, tires will also cause a vibration....

accordturb96

yea mine is about the same too, bent rims can as well

KcAccord

I agree with this guys replace the axle but not a reman one you get more problems with them like you are right now and make sure the bearings are still good, if that dont work they you might as-well get another car because this one is possessed .

masospaghetti

I replaced the jack shaft with another used one with no change. This tells me that the jack shaft is probably not the issue.

I tend to agree that the symptoms point to bad inner CV joints but I have already replaced them - twice - with two different brands, although both were remanufactured.

The inner CV joints do have some play in them (holding the axle shaft in one hand and the inner joint housing in the other, I can feel it click back and forth just slightly). For comparison the nice folks at Napa let me feel a new CV joint, and the new CV joint they had was definitely tighter with no play at all.

I'm trying to rule out everything else if I take these axles back since its a local rebuilder, its not like returning an Autozone part. I suspect the local rebuilder didn't "rebuild" the inner joint at all given how it feels.

Thanks for the feedback everyone...bear with me...i'll get to the bottom of it and hopefully it will help someone else out too

DCFIVER

The CV joints can be fine and the issue can be with the shaft itself.
I have just spent 3 hours TODAY chasing a vibration issue on a CR-V. I pulled both axles and there was zero play in the joints(not what I expected) So replaced one axle,no change,replaced the other side and that fixed it. For the life of me I could not point to the fault with the old axel,but it was obviously bad.....

holmesnmanny

I would pull another intermediate shaft(or another name is half shaft) from the junkyard.

But can you describe the vibration in better detail ?

masospaghetti

I did try a junkyard intermediate shaft and it didn't feel any different.

It feels like the whole car is shimmying when accelerating hard. It's smooth when cruising.

I took the car to the shop that rebuilt the axles and they agreed the axles are bad, and they are going to warranty them out.

They also pointed out that my passenger side lower ball joint is bad - I'm kind of ticked about this one, since its not easy to replace it, and I spent extra to get the Moog Problem Solver ball joint just so I would never have to do it again. Not sure how a Moog ball joint fails in less then 300 miles, but its definitely bad.

They also think my rear motor mount is soft so I will replace that also.

holmesnmanny

I just bought two Moog lower ball joints myself and one of them was completely binded up out of the box.

masospaghetti

That's discouraging. I'm going to try a Honda OEM ball joint.

What other brands are trust worthy, if Moog is not? Mevotech? Beck/Arnley?

accordturb96

I would definitely use the oem on those. Ive had the aftermarket ones snap in half while driving..Not moog but similar. Moog can actually be more than the oem ive noticed

MAD_MIKE

MOOG BJs for our cars can be disappointing to find a matched pair.
There are US built, Japan Built, and Mexican built units. All of which have different qualities.
Japan units look like OEM(usually have a red label)
US are smooth but typical MOOG grade.
Mexican units are like MOOG grade-ish but the boot is not the best of quality.

holmesnmanny

Stay away from Mevotech at all costs. All they make is junk.

Thanks for the info mike.

dadandtyler

I'm wondering what you found to cause your vibration issue. I have the same. I've replaced both left and right axles twice with new from two different companies. any thoughts?

holmesnmanny

Number one cause and to replace first is the rotors.

dadandtyler

Both rotors have been replaced. Tire issues ruled out. Not sure y you would say rotors as this only occurs during acceleration between 20-30mph. Three different shops day they see nothing wrong. One shop was the dealer.

Someone out there, surely, found a remedy.

djkurious

How does the ball joints and sway bar links look?

masospaghetti

Normally, when I replaced a part and the issue remains, I rule the part out. However, I am still not convinced these axles i'm getting are any good.

The severity of the vibration changes when I change axles, which tells me its still an axle problem.

I've replaced literally all suspension parts, bushings, and ball joints and had them inspected by two different shops. All motor mounts have been replaced, and the dogbone has a Energy suspension insert that should eliminate almost all torque-induced motor movement.

It seems very common for cheap aftermarket axles to vibrate under acceleration based on other comments on the forum.

I'm about to install an axle build by Raxles on the passenger side and I will see if it makes any difference. Unlike reman axles, they use new European CV joints installed on the OE axle shaft, instead of grinding the original CV joints. If this doesn't take care of it, think I can finally rule out the axles.

rockycat

Just talked to Raxles and if you do not have original axles there is a 100 dollar fee extra. You will be with out a car for a while as they rebuild your original axle and send back to you.

MAD_MIKE

masospaghetti

Mike, I've tried 3 Cardone Select axles.

They were an improvement over the remans but still definitely not acceptable (I am picky, admittedly).

My first impressions of the Raxle is good. The build quality appears fantastic and it came with the vibration damper on the axle shaft, unlike all of the others. I will report back with more driving impressions. So far, I have only replaced the passenger side axle with the Raxle, the driver's side is still Cardone Select.

The cost of the single axle was $159 with core, $219 without, plus shipping. Not cheap, but if it really fixes the problem, 100% worth it.

dadandtyler

Haa anyone tried honda axles and was the success?

slowcivic2k

Apparent axle vibration can have many causes:

1: Incorrect engine position. This can mean worn mounts (felt during acceleration), Incorrect engine position, (caused by mis-located suspension parts IE sub-frame, etc), or excessive vehicle lowering which will affect the angle at which the joints do work.

2: Poor quality rebuilt parts generally include a boot kit, and can cause vibration if the rolling elements are not properly fitted to the joint, or if the shaft is not balanced. Usually apparent at higher speed loaded situations.

3: Loose/worn dynamic suspension components. Even if the front end feels tight, the bushings and ball joints can create clearances under load that can contribute to early wheel hop and axle vibration.

4: Exhaust leaks cause enormous amounts of noise, and in many cases feel like axle hop due to chassis resonance.

5: Aftermarket parts that stiffen the driveline in any way from factory will contribute to vibration. This means engine mounts, suspension bushings, etc.

6: One cars equipped with low profile tires and rims, excessive hardness of the tire and rim itself can manifest axle vibration more prominently.

7: Even engine output can affect vibration. It is a 4 cylinder after all.

There are many more apparent causes, yours may be a combination of the above, or a single issue alone. You need to tell us when this issue started, and what was done before it began. These two facts alone will guide you to a solution 95/100 times.

masospaghetti

Absolutely I agree, whatever was done to cause the issue is normally the culprit. In this case, the car had the issue when I bought it, so I was starting from scratch.

As for an update about the vibration, I now have 2 Raxles installed and the vibration is 100% gone. Acceleration is completely smooth. The difference is really remarkable. Next time I am not going to waste my time on these cheap, crappy axles.

I also replaced my transmission mount (DEA brand, new) with an Anchor mount. I know when I installed the DEA mount I had to slot the holes to get it to fit - this was true on the transmission mount, and the driver's side engine mount. This made me suspect the mount might not be quite right. The new anchor mounts feel tighter than the DEA ones and actually fit on the first try. Call it placebo effect, but regardless:

1. The Anchor mounts look identical to the OEM mounts, down to the casting markings; it appears they are using OEM tooling. DEA mounts use a different casting
2. Anchor's mounts included new hardware and the holes were properly drilled and spaced. DEA's mounts did not have new hardware and required modification to fit
3. The Anchor mounts are basically the same price as DEA mounts, so you would be insane not to get them

Anyhow - For anyone else having this issue with vibration - I would wager its because your axles are cheap aftermarket replacements. My experience with Raxles has been top notch and I fully recommend their service.

DCFIVER

Right. Good job.