Help Diagnosing Drivetrain Failure
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Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Columbus, Ohio, USA
Help Diagnosing Drivetrain Failure
A few months back, I had a bit of drivetrain trouble and I'm still struggling with how/why it happened. I would really appreciate some input on what you guys think might have happened. I will try to describe the scenario as best I can. TIA!
I left work at the end of the day and maneuvered out of the parking lot to leave in my '01 DC2 GSR. The drivetrain consists of a stock transmission(w/40k miles) other than a Quaife LSD, ACT XXR6 Clutch, and Drive Shaft Shop Stage 4 Axles(discontinued, but good for 700hp).
I was cruising on the freeway and had done a couple gentle 3rd-4th gear pulls on wastegate spring pressure(about 15psi; 450whp). I did one more very gentle pull(about 50% throttle; shifting at 6k), accelerating normally through 3rd, and the moment I shifted to 4th I heard a relatively quiet scattering sound and had absolutely no throttle response in any gear. My initial thought was that my clutch disc had fallen apart.
After getting the car up in the air, I noticed that the passenger side axle had broken at the outboard joint. I was flaired that I had dropped a bundle on these axles and they had failed under such light circumstances. I pulled the axle and took the boot off to inspect the inevitable carnage within, and found that nothing was damaged. All that had happened was that the snap ring clip that holds the joint together had come off and the joint had simply separated. I was relieved but boggled as to why it had happened.
I took the axle to a local driveshaft repair shop and had it rebuilt, and installed it back into the vehicle. My heart sunk again as I went to go for a test drive and realized that the rebuilt axle had not fixed the problem at all. The car would not move in any gear. I pulled the transmission and the clutch looked undamaged. After taking the transmission housing apart, I saw that the ring gear had a few random teeth missing and the pinion gear was completely stripped.
I cannot fathom how those gears would have become so damaged under the relatively light conditions I described above. Also I think it's very unlikely that it's just coincidence that I had the driveshaft and gear failures simultaneously. But how can they be related?
I have a suspicion as to what I think happened, but it's just a guess and I'm going to hold off on sharing it for a little while so I don't influence your opinion on what happened. Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated!
Tulo
I left work at the end of the day and maneuvered out of the parking lot to leave in my '01 DC2 GSR. The drivetrain consists of a stock transmission(w/40k miles) other than a Quaife LSD, ACT XXR6 Clutch, and Drive Shaft Shop Stage 4 Axles(discontinued, but good for 700hp).
I was cruising on the freeway and had done a couple gentle 3rd-4th gear pulls on wastegate spring pressure(about 15psi; 450whp). I did one more very gentle pull(about 50% throttle; shifting at 6k), accelerating normally through 3rd, and the moment I shifted to 4th I heard a relatively quiet scattering sound and had absolutely no throttle response in any gear. My initial thought was that my clutch disc had fallen apart.
After getting the car up in the air, I noticed that the passenger side axle had broken at the outboard joint. I was flaired that I had dropped a bundle on these axles and they had failed under such light circumstances. I pulled the axle and took the boot off to inspect the inevitable carnage within, and found that nothing was damaged. All that had happened was that the snap ring clip that holds the joint together had come off and the joint had simply separated. I was relieved but boggled as to why it had happened.
I took the axle to a local driveshaft repair shop and had it rebuilt, and installed it back into the vehicle. My heart sunk again as I went to go for a test drive and realized that the rebuilt axle had not fixed the problem at all. The car would not move in any gear. I pulled the transmission and the clutch looked undamaged. After taking the transmission housing apart, I saw that the ring gear had a few random teeth missing and the pinion gear was completely stripped.
I cannot fathom how those gears would have become so damaged under the relatively light conditions I described above. Also I think it's very unlikely that it's just coincidence that I had the driveshaft and gear failures simultaneously. But how can they be related?
I have a suspicion as to what I think happened, but it's just a guess and I'm going to hold off on sharing it for a little while so I don't influence your opinion on what happened. Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated!
Tulo
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