scubacamper

1993 Accord LX, Auto trans.

When I press the gas, the car vibrates on acceleration but only if I barely press the gas; if I press it harder, the vibration appears to go away.

I sure hope this isn't because one of my balance shafts is off by 1 tooth...I'd really hate to take all that crap apart again... :/

Is it possible a CV axle could be causing this issue?


Also if I'm cruising along, sometimes I'll feel the vibration, but it's almost like it goes in waves. Does the auto transmission "swing" from one axle to the other during cruising (spin one axle for a few moments, then switch to the other)? If this were true, it might explain having one bad axle, causing vibrations only part of the time...

Raf99

Sounds axle related. Same issue the TSX had with wearing of the boot on the axles. If you are going uphill and press on the gas you'll feel it more.
If it was a balance shaft you'd feel it all the time.

MAD_MIKE

What happens at part throttle cruise speed? Do you feel a slight pulsing or bucking?
If your balance shaft was off the vibration would be constant and increase with engine speed.
Possibly, but again if the axle is bad the vibration tends to increase with vehicle speed.
No. There is a differential, like in all FWD transmissions, that will allow power from the drivetrain to be put out to both front wheels equally when both wheels have equal traction. Only time there is a difference in speed between the two wheels is during turning(due to the different radii of arcs per wheel) or if a wheel loses traction.

scubacamper

Wow mad Mike, that's some incredible information! (And exactly what I was hoping for) Thanks!!

Upon closer evaluation, it seems more like a combustion issue - almost like it's missing a cylinder or the timing is off... Unfortunately, I'm no expert so I may be just "spit-balling" here.

The issue presents itself each time the gas pedal is slightly pressed, but "seems" to go away if I press harder on the gas.

MAD_MIKE

If this happens at part throttle/light cruise, and the car has over 100K miles, and you have no record of when the EGR ports were cleaned. I'm going to say that your EGR ports are probably in need of some attention.

On your car you will most likely need to replace the EGR plugs after removal, there is a FAQ writeup at the top of the page and the correct port plug kit(from Honda) to clean and reseal the intake.

scubacamper

I was thinking that too but about 2 weeks ago, I removed the entire intake so I could replace the intake manifold gaskets. While I had it disassembled, I thoroughly cleaned the intake holes and also cleaned out the EGR & EGR passages (new gasket on EGR upon reassembly).
Cleaning the EGR passages: I did not remove all the plugs but instead removed the one on the very end (pointing toward the driver's side wheel well), removed 1 more on top near the opposite side, and ran a couple different solvents through the passage, followed by some bore cleaning brushes (gun cleaning kit).
I don't believe I did as thorough of a job (mainly because I didn't want to go buy the replacement plugs) as I could have but felt it was adequate.

MAD_MIKE

Only way to guarantee that the ports on each runner are clean is to pop those plugs and clean them out. The carbon that builds up in those ports is not soft soot that can be blasted away with cleaner, you will need to physically clean those ports out and make sure they are fully opened.

scubacamper

Bummer. :/
So you're fairly confident that'd be worth my time?

MAD_MIKE

If the car has over 100Kmiles, no record of the ports being cleaned, and you are getting pulsing/chugging at part throttle then yes.
The main feed port and EGR valve area rarely become plugged. It is the individual runners/ports that become plugged and cause the problem.