EJ8_Man

My searches have produced a lot of conjecture into my acceleration shake problem. So I will try HT with my problem.

Vibration occurs under load, in any gear, fairly consistently, from 30 - 40 mph. The lower the gear the higher the frequency the vibration, meaning it shakes more violently and at a higher frequency in 3rd then it does 4th. It's more of an annoying shudder, that causes the doors to rattle, and the steering wheel to vibrate. Basically this happens at any RPM range from 30 - 40 mph. 0 - 30 is smooth, 40+ is smooth.

Car:
99 EX Civic with a 99 JDM B18C-R S80 JDM ITR LSD Transmission

What I've done to correct the issue:
New Axles
New wheel bearings (rear)
Checked for play in front wheels - there was none
Bushings replaced (this caused the shaking to be more pronounced probably due to tighter fitting bushings doing a better job at transferring energy)
Tire's rotated

I did notice that with the power steering belt disconnected the shudder went away, but I like power steering.

The motor was rebuilt a year ago. The vibration happened before and after the rebuild.

Transmission rebuild time? What do you guys think? The synchros are dying slowly anyway so there's already motivation for a transmission rebuild.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Tires balanced? Alignment?

EJ8_Man

maybe, the tires are fairly new. I'll try taking them in for balancing

Fliptard

I have this issue in a 97 hatch, GSR with LS trans. only thing I've pinned it down to is the trans bearings

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

could be axles on their way out..
warped rotors will also cause a vibration

beecee18

bent/unbalanced wheels,
seperated tires,
possibly engine balance/trans shaft issues,
axles,
halfshaft???

Former User

Bad power steering pump or rack?

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

Why didnt you replace the front bearings?
Id lean towards Marc's assessment in the wheel weights and alignment.
Simple to check out and rule out.
Since you are in So Cal id give James at Synchrotech a call and see what they can do for you for tranny parts or have them do the work for you.
http://www.synchrotech-transmissions.com/

jbpnoman

I'm going to disagree on the transmission assessment. You said the vibration goes away when you remove the power steering belt. Does it completely disappear, or just become negligible?

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

Bad pulley bearing huh?

EJ8_Man

Thanks for the replies, you guys are bad ***.

I'll try to address all the comments:

The power steering pump could be the issue. I used a B20 pump during the install, and it didn't exactly fit without modification. After some drilling and strategic washer placement it lines up correctly with the crank pulley and spins true. I have a B18B pump I could try, and will give that a shot.

I didn't replace the front bearings because they are okay, I had a rear bearing making noise so I replaced both sides.

I'll schedule an alignment and wheel balance as soon as I can.

The Half shaft could be the issue, I should have replaced it along with the axles, but didn't, due to not having a replacement. Axles are new however. During my research I saw a post stating that this could be caused by the Differential Bearing going out. Finding a replacement half shaft is turning out to be difficult

Brake rotors are new, along with all the brakes. Braking is smooth.

This is entering "just take the damn thing apart and start replacing ****" territory. Alignment and balancing will be the cheapest and easiest thing to do first. I'll start there

gzes

Motor or trans moumts could be bad they cause vibrations also. Get the rotors turned and an alighnment

EJ8_Man

Motor mounts are good. Rear transmission mount is reinforced with urethane inserts, torque mounts are also reinforced. Upper drivers was replaced with billet/urethane mount, Upper transmission is good.

Rotors have 500 miles on them. Turning rotors always results in warping, I always swap them out with new ones.

94CivicSi

iTrader: (1)

New axles or remanufactured axles? I've had terrible luck with re-mans on Hondas and VWs from a variety of different sources.

I had the same problem after swapping my EJ8. The worn stock axles that came with it were really bad. The re-mans I tried were only a little better. I got my hands on some used DSS Stage 1 axles and it was better still until they spit all the CV grease past the low quality boot clamp. I rebuilt them with RedLine CV2 and pretty eliminated the shaking. 30,000 miles later though, it is starting to come back a bit.

I'd suggest a set of Raxles. Like DSS, they machine joints from new stock rather than filling and re-grinding joints from old cores. Unfortunately, they cost about 3x as much as re-mans.

I've tried everything else described here. Different intermediate shafts. New intermediate shaft bearing. Different sets of wheels and tires. New tie rod ends. PSP connected and disconnected. Different alignment specs. Only the axles ever made a difference.

I will say that solid mounts make the problem worse IMO. The stock gusseted mounts are designed to absorb that kind of vibration.

EJ8_Man

They are Cardone re-manufactured axles. The interesting thing is the previous axles had the same behavior. They were new, made in China **** axles. This could all be the result of crap axles

Fliptard

could a power rack with no play (that i can find) that doesn't have the pump hooled up cause vibration? I have a hose between the 2 lines with oil in there to keep it lubed as well...?

Fliptard

mine usually happens a little after take off up till 3rd, vibrates my door panels like hell. I did replace a wheel bearing and it helped alot, other than that, my whole front end is all tight. Wheels and tires are good as well.

beecee18

Alignment..... NO

Axles..... Im gonna start by assuming they are rebuilts, with that being said if you have seen not only the process of the rebuild along with the facilities that perform the rebuild you would still inspect them. You must treat most rebuild parts like used when troubleshooting.
If they are brand spankin new I'd still inspect them

Half Shaft..... I have never seen one go bad expecially on nat asp cars without forced induction like torque levels. IMO another no, but if it does end up being that I will donate one.

Trans...... very unlikely. IMO no

Slightly altered PS pump...... Would be the first thing I do, along with inspecting your steering rack thouroughly.
From you stating that the belt removed nets a change in the symtoms, and the fact that there was massaging to it before used would put this at the very top of the list no doubt.
I would also donate a B-series PS pump if needed

beecee18

And by all means NEVER do this.

EJ8_Man

Worth a shot, I have a B18B pump from a recent motor replacement, and I'll give that a try. It's stamped P72, I doubt I'll get lucky and have the bracket mate up with a PR3 head. I'll let you know how it goes.

EJ8_Man

I might enjoyed it

beecee18

If you need any B-series bracketry for the pump let me know and ill shoot it your way,
That is the correct PS pump.

EJ8_Man

Thanks man

EJ8_Man

An Update:
I replaced the B20 P/S pump with a B18B pump. The B18B pump still does not line up with the ITR P/S bracket, so I ended up using washers as spacers again to make it line up correctly. The B18B bracket does not line up with the PR3 head, so I couldn't use it. The steering wheel shake from 30 - 40 is still there but about 1/2 of what it used to be. Much less/better. I think what I need is a B16 or ITR P/S pump to try out.