Hi... new to the forums here... Lifetime Honda driver, first time Odyssey owner... First thing, yes, I'm a girl, but not a dumb one. My go-to is usually my Uncle, who's owned his Honda shop of 30+ years, but I can't get in touch with him, he's currently on vacation. Now that that's out of the way, here we go...

A week and a half ago, my boyfriend bought a 1995 Odyssey, from a retired Honda mechanic. He assured us that there were many new parts on the front end, everything except upper ball joints. We crawled underneath to verify, everything looked very nice. Now, my boyfriend is very busy with work, so I'm the research department of the household.

Three days ago, we had a no start/no spark. I pulled the distributor cap, it was ugly! Got new cap and rotor, sanded the tip of the coil, and noticed that the old cap's gasket was not installed properly. It was smooshed and partially hanging out of it's "track", which is what I suspect let moisture inside, and lead to the wear of the cap and rotor. I installed everything (properly!) and the Silver Bullet started like a beast! I get on the road, and we noticed the tranny slipping. Checked fluid on level ground with engine off but hot... not showing on stick. Pancake size spots in driveway, not good. We filled it up, went for a ride, shifting nice again. Re-check fluid, full, smells fine, no particles in fluid, etc. Still leaking. Ugh, not happy. We are leaving a trail of fluid leading to our driveway! I was able to get a hold of my Uncle that day, and explained everything, adding that a few days earlier, I thought I heard a CV click and felt a wobble, but it quickly went away, and I thought it was me, overthinking the new car and being too critical. I will never doubt myself again! Uncle said it sounded like a pass. side axle seal leak. Hmm, ok. I went to google. I read that people have had some difficulty installing the CV joint, and getting it to lock in completely, and seat properly. Ok, hmm, it made me think of that distributor cap gasket. While we were driving last night, there was the knock, bad, BAD knock, knock, knock. The steering wheel wobbled, the whole van wobbled so bad, my jeans were shaking. I hit a bump with the pass side and the knock and wobble went away, and we're riding smooth and straight. I don't like this one bit. I know Honda's, and this is just WRONG. Now, I can't get in touch with my Uncle, so I've come here. I would like opinions and suggestions, but here's what I think... My best educated guess, is that the CV joint was installed wrong, and that axle seal is leaking. Again, I think back to the dist. cap gasket I found. I'm thinking that the CV joint wasn't seated properly, and it took 250 miles before the damage was done, and showed itself, and now, that axle is loose in the tranny and coming in and out, intermittently causing the knock/wobble, and the constant trans. fluid leak. We will be putting the van on ramps either later today or tomorrow, so I'm trying to get ahead of the game. I'm going to make sure the parts are available locally before we tear things apart, in case we need a whole new axle, which I think we will. Am I right? Am I on the right track? All input is appreciated Thanks!

 

I just had a problem with a 5th gen accord where I put the passenger side axle in, but not all the way. The second the axle got loose from the final drive, the car stopped moving at all I just heard funky noises. And it's very obvious when it's loose, if you jack it up, you will see the spline shaft between the axle's big metal round part and the final drive. You're not supposed to see it, it should be inserted and stay inside the final drive. So I suspect the axle isn't going in and out. Once it's out, it stays out. Perhaps someone else here knows more about the seal or potential problems there. You can always pull the wheel off, and pop out the CV axle with a screwdriver, and inspect the area with a light. It is normal for a small amount of fluid to come out when you take the axle out. If there is damage, perhaps you can find a replacement part?

 

I checked the fluid again today. It lost about a 1/2 qt in roughly 60 miles. Nice size leak. I don't think the axle is coming completely in & out, but it feels like it's just enough to make a difference. Sometimes when making say, a 90 degree left turn, you hear a knock/pop from the pass. side (we think) and then when you straighten out that's when the wobble happens. I drove about 10 miles today, and it did it once. But only for a few hundred feet, then the wobble disappeared and it rode perfect again. I just don't get it. We're looking at it tomorrow for sure. Until then, I stuck my camera underneath and snapped a few pics. I'm gonna see if I can see anything.