i need help.

some background, before we get started:

my car: 1993 civic dx coupe
motor: 2000 B16A2 w/ S4C tranny, ITR LSD
mounts: hasport solid mounts
axles: autozone 94-97 delSol VTEC axles


okay, here's the deal:

i developed a vibration in the steering wheel back in june. it's from about 65mph and up, and varies in intensity - sometimes it's bad and sometimes it chills out for a minute.

also, not only is it transmitting vibration through the steering wheel but also through the floor/pedals.

i had my tires balanced...they were OK. when i rotated my wheels/tires to rule out a bent wheel, the vibration got even worse. my wheels had seen some serious track and street time in the past so i just decided to buy a new set of wheels (i needed new tires anyway). so i bought some 15x7 kosei K1s w/ 205/50/15 falken azenis.

first test drive: vibration is worse. i have them re-balanced at another shop, and they tell me that they were off, and they should be "perfect" now. test drive: much better, but the vibration persists....

i'm getting irritated at this point.

i got the car up in the garage and the following checked out fine:

- ball joints
- tie rod ends
- wheel bearings

i checked my axles, and noticed no tears in the boots, but my inner joint boot on the passenger side axle is leaking (badly). i repacked the boot and put a new band on, but the joint is not happy. so i figure...bingo, i have a bad inner CV joint.

i call raxles and speak with marty. really nice guy. he has a set of axles specifically for my application, so i ordered a set.

they arrive and look spectacular. i'm pumped at this point. i install them and go for a drive: not only is the 65mph+ virbration WORSE, but now i have a bad vibration on hard acceleration, in every gear. so i figure, one of the new axles is bad, or they're the wrong length for my car. OR my intermediate shaft is bad.

i had noted some bearing play in the intermediate shaft when i removed my old axles, so i ordered a new intermediate shaft and install that. no change in status.

so i remove the axles and installed the old ones. the vibration on acceleration is now gone again (as expected), and the 65mph+ vibration is back to where it was.

so, what gives? i know my passenger side inner CV joint is going bad, but what else could possibly be causing this problem??

thanks in advance for any suggestions. i'm baffled at this point. also, to note...i've been in touch with marty @ raxles about this the whole time (since i ordered my new axles), and he's stumped as well.

peter


Modified by R1020 at 8:43 AM 9/19/2006

 

i have a variation of this problem. after troubleshooting for quite some time, a friend (honda master cert tech) and i have hopefully tracked it down to the spring not seating properly.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Turbo(less)DB8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have a variation of this problem. after troubleshooting for quite some time, a friend (honda master cert tech) and i have hopefully tracked it down to the spring not seating properly. </TD></TR></TABLE>

i have 2.5" ID hypercoil springs, and there really is no way they could not seat properly given the flat mounting surfaces on top and bottom.

i forgot to include some info - not only is it transmitting vibration through the steering wheel but also through the floor/pedals.

thanks,

peter