Hey guys I have a 98 prelude base with a new h22 euro-r swap with LSD trans. I have put three different axles in on the driver side and still have this vibration/ shaking issue upon acceleration, it even does it when I am trying to drive it up my driveway. The reason why I have tried three different axles is that the first two I broke the boots off trying to get them in, and I just really thought that the axle looked like it had a bit to go in more so I tried pounding it in there with no luck. All the axles I have tried go in way too easily and barely require much pressure to get it in.
The shaking and noise mostly happens when I am going from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd gear, then it goes away. I am just chasing my tail on this one, I have a put in a newer driver-side front knuckle and am about to put on a new outer tie-rod end today and see if that gets me anywhere. I do have new wheels and tires on the car but they are balanced and have no issues. I should probably also be trying out an alignment from my local Americas Tire and see if that helps the issue go away. I have also tested my suspension components and ball joints everything on my driver-side is tight and looks to be good. The only thing I can think of it being is the axle or a bad intermediate shaft on back of the block, also all my engine mounts are good to go. Please help me with any ideas if you guys have any. Thanks

 

where is the sounds of the moving parts coming from?

 

check tie rods and ball joints. those alot of times are effect by acceleration.

 

By moving parts I mean by my axle and knuckle and the half shaft that the axle goes onto. I just replaced both outer tie rod ends with no luck of the shaking/vibrations subsiding. I went under my car and shook the axle where it connects to the half shaft and it does have little play in it. I don't get why because the axle is locked into place and the half shaft is a known good part. Maybe I should replace the lower ball joint and see if that helps, but there isn't any play in that joint, so I am really chasing my tail here. The best way to explain it is its like a shimmy when driving and then goes away when going faster then 25-30 mph.

 

alignments wont cause a vibration. check your half shaft for bearing play or maybe loose bolts on the half shaft mount. loose engine mount bolts can cause some serious vibration.

 

To properly check the ball joints for play, the suspension needs to be loaded. Sounds like you are just throwing random parts at it... And you definitely need an alignment after changing your tie rods...
As far as installing the axles, it takes very little effort to slide them in so that is normal.
You could try loosening all your engine mount bots and torquing them to spec in sequence. They engine may not be sitting as it should, and could cause a vibration.

 

Yes I will try to check for loose engine mount bolts and go from there. As far as the half shaft goes the bearing seems to have no play in it at all. I will also loosen my motor mounts and re-torque them to the proper specs. I will also try to get an alignment this week. But for right now it sounds like it has to be an axle issue or mount problem.

 

I also wanted to throw it out there that I do have my old h22a4 half shaft and my euro-r shaft next to eachother and they are the exact same part. I really just need some help on this half shaft axle issue. I have tried the same brand new axle on the two half shafts that I have and yet the same outcome the axle slides on with ease and locks into place, but I don't get why I have play in the axle when I know for a fact its all the way on. Its the tiniest bit of play so if I could get any help on this issue id be thankful for it.

 

There is always a little bit of wiggle room with slip in axles.

 

Man nothing against Honda but if the whole wiggle room thing is true which I believe it to be on these cars, they should have designed a better axle with absolutely no wiggle room, with a bit longer half shaft end so the axle could slide up more on to the shaft and the wiggle room would be eliminated . I just don't remember having any wiggle room on my ek civic, but this cursed prelude has been a pain in the neck ever since I bought it.

 

i wouldnt call it wiggle room but there has to be a clearance so it will sit in place without pressing.

 

Agreed 100%, it isn't wiggle room, because when I do lock it into place and hear the ring inside click I try to move it more into the half shaft, and I can hear the shaft end hitting the end of the axle on the inside. It sounds like I am just going to have to live with this issue I am having, unless the new lower ball joint and re-torquing my half shaft bolts and engine mounts fixes my problem.

 

Maybe wiggle room is the wrong word, but grab the end of the axle in the trans on any car and you can move it around a little. If its super loose, that's a different story.
Also, when the snap ring locks in place, the half shaft is bottomed out in the axle so it's very likely you can hear hear it touching the end when you try and push it on more.
What are your bushings like? they will cause vibration, changes in handling during accel and decel, and noise if they are badly worn.
What noise are you hearing? You haven't described it at all.

 

You prob already tried this but put a bar in there and try to rock your engine. Get on the front bumper and jump. Make sure tires are spinning freely.

 

Please educate me how you check for ball joint play with the suspension loaded on it? Because if its loaded you won't be able to feel the play in it

 

Put car on jack stands, and jack up on the lower control arm near the bj. You don't need to jack up a lot, maybe an inch or two (you dot want the full weight of the car on the jack). If your wheel is a clock, shake in and out at 12 o'clock (upper bj), and 430 (lower bj). To check up down play in the lower bj, while the jack is still tere, use a big pry bar between the bottom of the tire and the ground to pry up on the tire. Side to side checks the inner and outer tie rods.
Hope this makes sense/helps.

 

Honestly, if you take the car in for an alignment, they should be checking all parts related to suspension for integrity before aligning it. They are experts on checking this stuff, so they can probably catch something that others may not notice, and should find your issue.

 

Have you checked the cv joints on the axels? perhaps the bearings in them are shot.

 

Thanks to all who have posted in on this matter. I have checked and torqued my engines mounts and they are good to go, and my outer tie rods were just replaced so no issues with them. I have crawled under my car to check both axles and wiggled them as hard and fast as I could and yet they are locked into place without any huge movement, and my axles are brand new only 15 miles on them. As far as my lower ball joint goes on my driver side front knuckle I will be replacing it very soon and see if that helps. My bushings are just plain old, cracked and shot to sh*t so I will have to replace them on the radius arm, and the stabilizer links. When I drive the noise is only sometimes and its when taking off I swear it sounds as if the driver side axle is bottoming out hitting the end of the half shaft. My steering is great when driving easy and steady, but when I get on the gas a bit or taking off it feels just kind of bland and not the tightest all the while having this shimmy feeling only on the driver side though.

 

have you checked the radius rod bushings and shim washers? if the bushings go then they will make noise upon acceleration and decel and cornering also.

 

Yes I have checked those bushings and they are crap so I will have to replace them asap. I just got done at the smog shop and my car PASSED with flying colors pretty excited with that seeing is how I have a jdm euro-r in my lude, but now it is freaking loud as if an exhaust leak just sprung up out of no where. I also lost some of my coolant while driving it around to the shop and back home. There was a slit in the heater hose that goes from the back of the block to the heater core I believe. I tried fixing it and it looked to be good and now it has leaked again. But my main concern is my engine it sounds like a damn motorcycle when taking off now. I will have to check and see what the hell happened. I also had an acura tech do my oil pump and water pump and t-belt when the engine was out of the car and now there is oil on the oil pan and oil pump timing cover. I will post a pic of what I am seeing.

 

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6323/img052ay.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/3210/img053eh.jpg
this is the oil drip that I am seeing, this is just bullshit and shotty work ethic from this Acura tech, this has been the worst work he has ever done for me and now I am probably just gonna have to pull the oil pan off and scrape off the old Honda ultra flange gasket and redo- this mess. Sorry guys I hate oil leaks and coolant leaks of any kind especially on my new engine swap.

 

sounds to me like the engine is not straight in the engine bay. If its not in straight it will cause the axles to be out of line. they will shake when shifting the coolant line could have been cut by the engine moving wrong as it torques. check to see if both axles are at the same angle ft to back

 

Never-mind guys I figured it out...this is what happened and what I was hearing my timing belt shredded to half its original size and now I have to figure out why or what did this....maybe my timing covers were rubbing the belt or something was not on correctly, and just to be clear I have got to ask are all h22 timing covers no matter what engine they came from are the same? Also I just remembered that my mechanic who did my timing belt he re-wound the button on the auto-tensioner, I wonder if he messed it up and the tensioner just broke loose or stopped working all together. My bottom cover is the h22 euro-r timing cover and the top is from my old h22a4 engine and so is the engine mount, hence why I had to use the timing cover in the first place..here are the pics of it:http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/3571/img056wb.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7210/img057wm.jpg

 

Anybody have any feedback on my new problem? I will be ordering a new tensioner, and timing belt for now.