I have an '88 Accord coupe. DX model, Automatic, 170,000 miles. The CV joints were clicking when going around corners. Replaced the left side half shaft. The clicking was still there. Replaced the right side half-shaft.

Lowered car off of jacks for a test drive. Got about 3 blocks from home at a stop sign. Car was in gear, speedometer showing about 15-20 mph while car is sitting still. No drive power to wheel. If I put the car in "park" it was like throwing the car in Park while going 20 mph down the road so the transmission is engaged internally but is not connecting to the drive shaft output somehow.

I can jack the front of the car up, rotate the left wheel to get the differential engaged on the left side and the car will drive. Upon going around a corner that changes the differential to driving the right wheel same no connection to the right side drive shaft problem and 15-20 MPH showing on the speedometer while sitting still.

I thought maybe the half shaft was incorrectly sized and was pulling out of the transaxle but upon checking (and even replacing the half shaft again) that is obviously not the problem.

It's evident that something came "undone" in the transaxle when I replaced the right half shaft. I have replaced the half shafts before in this car without having this problem. Are there any tehnical gurus in the audience that can tell me what happened and where to go to from here. I hate to spend a bunch of money on a car that isn't worth that much to begin with. HELP!

 

Are you sure you have the half-shafts pushed in all the way with the retainer rings locked in place? It sounds like they aren't in all the way.

 

Yes, half shaft pushed in til the retaining clip locks into the transaxle. Forgot to mention in my original post that the wheel cannot be turned after installing the driveshaft with the transmission in the Park position. This indicates to me that at least initially the driveshaft is interacting normally with the transaxle. It is only after driving a short distance that the half shaft seems to "disengage" with the transaxle.

After I installed the second half shaft and the transmission became "disengaged" I double checked that the half shaft was still fully seated in the transaxle. It was. There was no indication that the half shaft had slid out of the transaxle. It was still fully inserted in the transaxle AND I could freely rotate the right wheel with the transmission in Park.

 

One of the replacement axles could be bad. Not unheard of...If not its time to pull the trans and find out what is broken in your diff.

 

Afraid of the "broken thing in the transmission". Economics don't favor putting another $500 + in a 20 year old car but it's pretty inert taking up space in my garage right now. Quite a quandry.

 

I'd have to agree with 1grex. If you have the wheels off the ground and can rotate one wheel freely but not the other and its not binding in the wheel hub then I'd have to say its your differential. Good luck.