1991 Honda Civic LX

Basically I am all out of ideas on my suspension problem...I have owned the car since 2007 and I have literally rebuilt the entire suspension and the problem continues...If you think you got what it takes to solve the mystery then im all ears...I don't need noob guesses anymore since this is a 4 year old problem and tons of money have been dumped into guesses.

The Problem:
When your driving and the steering wheel turns to the left there is a clicking sound and nasty interior rattle that is felt in the steering wheel and on the floor board...It gets really worse when there is extra weight and passengers in the vehicle...When you turn to the right its not there and when you give the car gas you can feel it but when you lay off the gas you can still feel it when you jerk the wheel to the left while driving.

Replaced:
new rack and pinion w/rack end bushing (oem)
new front crossmember (oem)
new wheel bearings (timken)
new upper and lower ball joints (moog)
new inner and outer tie rods (moog)
new axles (oem)
new radius rods and bushings (moog)
new shocks (koni)
new coilovers (ground control)
new front lca's (moog)
new sway bar end links (moog)
new upper uca's (moog)
new motor mounts (anchor)
rebalanced wheels
alignment set

Only two parts I haven't replaced yet are the subframe and the sway bar.

 

don't think it's the sway bar or subframe. looking at your list of parts, i believe it's in the transmsission.
i know it's a guess, but i don't think anyone online can say for sure what's wrong.

 

i had the same problem and it was my differential in the transmission replaced it and it was good

 

same problem i had with my old dx transmission...im running a new si transmission...same problem...!!!

 

did you get your axles from a honda dealership or remans? ive gone trough remans because half of them are junk, and the cv joints click the way that you described as soon as i installed them. im sure you considered this but it doest hurt to double check.
also, was your car ever in an accident?

 

rebuilt my old oem axles and no accidents...!!!

 

Chorizoo,
I know this doesn't help much.

but im stumpted as ****,.

 

Tranny sounds most likely.

I know you said you replaced the swaybar end-links but, did you replace the swaybar bushings? What about the sub-frame bushings?

 

all them parts have been replaced and its not a tranny problem...what would be the symptoms of a trashed rear motor mount...!!!

 

Trashed rear transmission mount would only be forward and backward and should be more accelerating and deacceleration of the engine. Not saying it's not the problem, but it can easily be checked by rocking your engine around front, back, and side to side like air ride. Just out of curiosity, have you gone back through to be sure all your bolts are tight? Including the rear crossmemeber?

 

my friend had that issue when accelerating in a corner.

Damn scary noise.

It was two things.

1. rear transmission mount (trashed)
2. radius rods bushing trashed as well as the bolt loose.

When you replaced all the front end stuff did you get an alignment?

 

well if it's not the tranny then i say it's your rebuilt axles. especially since you re-used some parts. swap them out with known good ones. mounts would not cause directional clicking.

 

before i rebuilt the front suspension i had old axles with the same problem...got some oem axles and had them rebuilt same problem...radius rods and bushings were replaced same problem...all bolts were triple checked yesterday nothing loose...alignment was done after all the suspension was done.

noticed that the rear motor mount is also trashed as in only thing holding it is the main bolt while all the rubber is torn...the mount does move front to back and swings from right to left...is there a easy way to swap it out without having to drop the subframe because the rear bolt seems impossible to get to.

 

You need a couple of long extensions, a swivel, and some luck. lol

 

 

What about the steering rack linkage that attaches to the steering column? If one of the bolts is loose or something is sticking out it could be catching and clicking when you turn left. I didn't catch if the noise you are hearing is more from outside or inside the car or both lol.

 

I personally use a 3/8" drive long extension or two and the sockets that have the swivel built into them. Works fine everytime... If you don't have them, a angled wratcheting combination wrench is preferred but a standard one will suffice. Most of the time you can't get a standard swivel and socket in there unless maybe you use 1/4" - haha... I have gotten 3/8" to work one time in a pinch after I hammered it on there... Regardless it's tight no matter what you do.

 

man, then it does sound like what i had, but it was my front mount that caused it. your inner cv joints are shot. because of your engine rocking back and forth.

pretty sure your car pulls to one side real hard at 65mph, huh. makes it scary to drive fast in the rain also? feels like your one wheel is going to shoot out one side?

when you get that mount fixed, you're going to have to re do your axles.

 

axles are fine...driverside mount was thrashed and replaced along with front mount...and no it doesn't pull to the sides either...!!!

 

you say the axles are fine, but have you changed them or rebuilt them to see if they still make the sound? do that, see if for the first mile if it sounds like the problem is gone, then after that mile see if the sound comes back.

because this really does sound like what my problem was. i really thought it was just the fact that i bought cheap autozone axles, but it was just the fact that my broken front engine mount was causing my engine to rock back and forth causing my inner cv joint to malfunction. have since replaced the front mount and the driver side axle, sound is gone.

i know it sounds like insanity, but even if you change that mount, you're still going to hear that clicking, because the axle is shot. then you're going to go crazy and then just want to get rid of the car.

 

its not a clicking sound as in a bad cv axle its when im driving in a straight line and jerk or move the wheel to the left then it feels like im rolling on rocks with a nasty vibration on both the driver and passenger floor board...if i turn right while driving or jerk it to the right it doesn't do it...every bad axle i have ever had only clicks it doesn't send earthquake vibrations throughout the car.

this has been an ongoing problem with three different sets of axles installed since 2007...when im driving alone its less noticable but once the weight of passengers or cargo is loaded then its a pain driving especially if someone sits in the passenger seat...gonna spend $$$ again and see if its the rear mount but im not gonna count my blessings on it being the problem...btw the frame is not tweeked and never in an accident.

 

does it vibrate to the point where it feels like your wheel is going to shootout/fall off? feel like your tranny is going to puke out your axle?

when you changed the axles, did the problem go away, and then come back?

 

ever stood by glass while a earthquake hits and starts to rattle...thats what it feels like...vibration in the wheel and in the floor boards...hell vibrating throughout the whole damn car

 

Have you ever considered this option? Lifetime warranty too. I bought my mounts in 2006 and Tim replaced my bushings a few months ago at no charge. Took ten minutes while I waited in the lobby.
http://www.innovativemounts.com/Prod...ductCode=19151

 

^too late for that...i already wasted money on a new driverside and front tranny mount and installed them both...aint no lowballer gonna give me my money back if i try to sell them...besides aint no guarantee that is my problem