About a month ago I started to experience "wheel hop" while accelerating. At first it was only at highway speeds (60+) but it continually got worse. Figured I needed a rotate and balance. This temporarily fixed the problem, but a couple days later it started back. My next thought was I had a blown strut so, I ordered new struts and while I was replacing them I noticed the spring on my passenger side front was a little deformed. I've been rolling on the eibach springs for years so I figured that was my problem as the wheel hop is coming from the passenger side. I installed new springs and struts and again, temporary fix. 2 days later I'm wheel hopping again, only while accelerating, if I let off the gas there is no wheel hop. I pulled everything back off and checked my axles and there are no tears in the boot, they're seated in the wheel hub and the transmission. Seems to be no issue with the axles, I checked all my motor/torque mounts and everything is tight and functioning properly. I'm going to check my front sway bar tomorrow morning and see if there are any issues with it. Does anybody have an insight they can pass along to help me out? This wheel hop is driving me crazy..

Cliffs:

Car: 95 Integra GSR, LSD trans

Problem: Wheel hop while accelerating, no wheel hop if no accleration

Tried to rotate and balance tires, new springs, new struts, checked all motor mounts, pulled the axles to check for issues and there were none. Next step is sway bar. **** is driving me crazy.

-veg

 

check upper control arm and lower control arm?

 

Check your motor mounts.

 

90 EX Civic - Yes, control arms are good, I replaced the bushing, ball joints and tie rod ends about a year ago. I have skunk2 camber kit and my alignment is spot on.

94 DC - I went in and hit all the motor/torque mounts with an impact to make sure they were tight and no issue.

I have a Type R tranny with LSD, could it be my LSD is bad?

-veg

 

How much power are you putting down?

Could you describe in detail what you are referring to as wheel hop?

 

I have a stroked type R, it put down 197 to the wheels. It's probably not making that much power now as that was about a year and a half ago. The best way to describe it is wheel hop. Like I was launching it at the drag strip and wasn't getting traction. It starts at around 40mph, the harder I accelerate the more violent the wheel hop.

-veg

 

Are the wheels spinning when you accelerate at 40-60+ MPH, when the alleged wheel hop happens?

Is it a chattering like vibration, or are the wheel(s) distinctly hopping up and down?

I'm a little baffled here, the only wheel hop I've ever experienced happens during a burnout, and unless you are putting down 400+ whp, I don't see the tires burning off at 60 mph.

 

How are your tires, wearing evenly? Swaybar end links? Brake rotors warped by chance?

 

It's wheel hop. The passenger side wheel is distinctly hopping. My first instinct was to change the struts as this same thing (wheel hop) generally happens when you have a blown strut. It's becoming increasingly more violent at lower speeds. I am frustrated to no end on why I can't fix the problem.

-veg

 

Tires are new, I replaced them in September, then went back and had them rotated and balanced when the issue first started. My sway bar end links visibly appear to be ok, but I was just looking at them, I'm gonna pull off the sway bar in the morning and scope it out. Brakes work great, no vibration when braking stops on a dime.

I am starting to think it's either my LSD or my axle is bad inside the boot.

-veg

 

Have you tried lifting the car while pressing the gas and watching it spin. Maybe with the wheel off? Might not make a difference but I dono.

 

Although I've never experienced the symptoms that you are describing, I think you are on the right track. If all of the suspension parts, tires, and brakes are visibly okay, you aren't left with much else.

It could be the bearings in the Axle, but without disassembling everything i'm not sure how you would check.

Do you have a Helms manual? I believe that there is a section that covers checking your LSD.

 

No, but I'm thinking it's the inner CV joint. If it's messed up the boot will still be intact. I just assumed my axle was ok because my boot had no tears or rips. The axle is the only thing I haven't replaced and the inner CV would cause my problem.

-veg

 

Dont matter if its tight or not. Bushings on the inside could be going out. If you can rock the motor by hand thats problems.

 

Is your wheel bearing going out? Have you jacked the car up on one side only and tested for drivetrain/diff/axle slack/problems (ie one wheel is on the ground and try to turn/push/pull the other)?

 

It's was the inner CV joint.. I pulled it this morning and the axle looked brand new but soon as I pulled it out of the trans it just went limp..

-veg

 

Have you replaced the oil in your tranny lately? what kind of fluid are you running? does it have the LSD addative in it? might be worth a shot to check

 

As soon as i read your title I knew exactly what it was. Lol. But its odd that its your inner cv, norrmally its the outter cv that goes first. It sucks that you let it go that far because now you cant rebuild it.. Oh well, nowadays its remaned FTW Haha

 

i would go with some driveshaft shop stage 0 axles

 

Soon as I pulled it out of the trans, I was like "son of bitch" then, I dipped into the shed and pulled out a backup. Hahahah..

I ran aftermarket axles years ago when I took this a little more serious, but I found I was always blowing diffs. It's cheaper to just stack up on stock axles and exploit the lifetime warranty at O'reilly's.. Hahaha.

-veg

 

What exactly went limp? Are you saying that the joint had too much play in it? Now that it's removed and apart, what do the bearings actually look like?

Sorry, your terminology is just not making any sense to me.

 

When looking at the passenger side axle the boot looked fine, there were no tears in the rubber. This morning when I popped the axle out of the transmission the boot was the only thing holding the axle together. The inner CV joint inside the boot was in 2 pieces. So, I went out to my shed and snagged a spare axle installed, drove up to O'reilly's and they replaced my broken one under the lifetime warrany and now it is in my shed as a backup.

-veg

 

oh snap i didnt know u can do that ^ haha do the replace it for free?

 

get some energy suspension inserts for your mounts.... that should help alot..

 

Sure, most auto retailers like autozone, kragen, o-reily don't even bother to inspect the axles to ensure they are their brand. They just ship their warranty returns back the DC and never think about it again.