Grinding After CV Axle Replacement
Hi,<br /><br />
<br /><br />My car is a 2002 Honda Accord EX 4 cylinder with a manual 5-speed transmission with 212K miles<br /><br />I'm a single mom, but fairly mechanically inclined as I was the youngest of three girls and my daddy taught me all about cars, and I have more tools than today's "typical" male. I can do my own oil changes, spark plugs, brakes, radiator/hoses, etc. I've even changed the starter on a previous car. I've helped with clutches on trucks with crawl room below them, but this car doesn't have that so I didn't attempt that job. I got royally messed over in the process too, however, in my defense, I was sort of stuck where I was with not a whole lot of options (ie, not near home). That was about a year and a half ago and even had to put in four brand new motor mounts after all that.<br /><br />This past week, I put my car back in a "local" shop which is up the road from the school I work at as they kept telling me the noises I was hearing was from old/worn CV Axles, and when I was under the car with them, the drivers side was really "playful" and replicated the noise when I was hearing while driving. I took them the CV Axles I purchased, because well, I sort of refuse to pay their excessive mark up. The mechanic is new to this shop and has only ever done an oil change on this particular vehicle of mine. There is no crawl space under this car and it won't pull up on ramps so it's just easier to have someone do that on a lift...especially since I work full time now. Anyway, This particular mechanic had the owner of the shop call me within an hour of me dropping off the car saying I had given them the wrong part. I told him I knew it wasn't the wrong part but that he was more than welcome to call the parts shop and get them to deliver the "correct" part. He called, they delivered another part and the mechanic proceeded with the installation. I then get a call saying I need a half shaft axle because the seal was leaking really bad. So I tell him, whatever. I have to have a car and it has to run correctly, so order what you need to fix the car. All total, they had the car for over 6 hours up on the lift to replace the two front CV Axles and the Axle Seals and refill with Genuine Honda Tranny Fluid, which I also provided them. <br /><br />When I went to pick up the car the owner of the shop helped me load the "old" parts back in my car and commented on how the first one the mechanic said was wrong, was the same number as the one brought as a replacement. I bit my tongue.
I'd already paid the bill. I drove off and the first left I make I get a horrid grinding noise, so I drove up the road a bit more and used the turn around loop and went directly back to the shop and told them I didn't know what they had done, but the car drove and sounded worse than it did when I dropped it off. The owner went to the mechanic who then told me that he had heard the noise when he took it for a test drive, but it stopped when he pulled the car back into the shop lot so he thought it was just the axle "seating itself". I told him he was wrong, that it had not quit making the noise, and then he proceeded to yell at me (in front of the owner who just stood there) that I had given them a faulty part. I told him I disagreed, but that I would be back tomorrow with a replacement.<br /><br />I researched
that night online and everything pointed to the CV Axle not being seated properly, so I did NOT get another axle. I had bought NEW not REMAN'ed axles so I still feel confident that the axle is not the issue.<br />The following morning, I told the owner I wanted it gone over with a fine tooth comb, but I wanted another mechanic to do it and I wanted it back by 1 pm. He didn't necessarily agree, but he didn't disagree either. He's not a mechanic himself. Anyway, about a half hour after I dropped it off and walked to work, the mechanic that I didn't want touching my car calls to argue that it's a bad part and I told him that it wasn't a bad part, but that the noise was something different. He started yelling again so I told him to put the owner back on the phone. I told the owner that under no circumstances was that mechanic to touch my car, and that if he couldn't get another mechanic to do it, then I would take it elsewhere and he could foot the bill. He said if I felt that way, then I could just come pick up the car.....so I did two hours later.<br /><br />I then took it to another shop recommended by folks that work at my school that's been around for a good while. They put it up on a rack after test driving with me. Pretty scary when three mechanics hoover under your car pointing with their jaws dropped. Turns out the mechanic at the other shop neglected to put a bolt back in to the suspension and cross threaded the bolt going into the lower control arm before it was fully seated. So, yesterday I had both lower control arms replaced (because they had to torch the bolt off the passenger side) and since they were both original to the car, I wasn't going to do just one. Noise was not gone :-( but upon further investigation, it appears that somehow he had also screwed up my lower ball joint because the grinding noise was coming from the ball joint not having clearance and it was grinding on the brand new CV Axle. <br /><br />I've now spent an additional $850 in parts and labor due to the mechanics neglect all above the $525 I paid to have the car broken by the said mechanic plus the cost of the CV Axles and seals and oil.<br /><br />Question for you folks is this, if that doesn't take care of the noise, what do I look to suspect next????<br /><br />I was never schooled in suspension systems.<br /><br />**Edited to add ** Ball Joint is now replaced and the vibration is gone as is the bulk of the noise, but there is some play in the CV Axle, as well as some slight noise when turning to the left still and of course it's all chewed up from grinding on the lower ball joint so they are replacing that for me now.<br /><br />Anything else I need to watch out for???<br /><br />Thanks for any advice and recommendations...<br /><br />Happy Single Mom to 6 Awesome Kiddos
<br /><br />My car is a 2002 Honda Accord EX 4 cylinder with a manual 5-speed transmission with 212K miles<br /><br />I'm a single mom, but fairly mechanically inclined as I was the youngest of three girls and my daddy taught me all about cars, and I have more tools than today's "typical" male. I can do my own oil changes, spark plugs, brakes, radiator/hoses, etc. I've even changed the starter on a previous car. I've helped with clutches on trucks with crawl room below them, but this car doesn't have that so I didn't attempt that job. I got royally messed over in the process too, however, in my defense, I was sort of stuck where I was with not a whole lot of options (ie, not near home). That was about a year and a half ago and even had to put in four brand new motor mounts after all that.<br /><br />This past week, I put my car back in a "local" shop which is up the road from the school I work at as they kept telling me the noises I was hearing was from old/worn CV Axles, and when I was under the car with them, the drivers side was really "playful" and replicated the noise when I was hearing while driving. I took them the CV Axles I purchased, because well, I sort of refuse to pay their excessive mark up. The mechanic is new to this shop and has only ever done an oil change on this particular vehicle of mine. There is no crawl space under this car and it won't pull up on ramps so it's just easier to have someone do that on a lift...especially since I work full time now. Anyway, This particular mechanic had the owner of the shop call me within an hour of me dropping off the car saying I had given them the wrong part. I told him I knew it wasn't the wrong part but that he was more than welcome to call the parts shop and get them to deliver the "correct" part. He called, they delivered another part and the mechanic proceeded with the installation. I then get a call saying I need a half shaft axle because the seal was leaking really bad. So I tell him, whatever. I have to have a car and it has to run correctly, so order what you need to fix the car. All total, they had the car for over 6 hours up on the lift to replace the two front CV Axles and the Axle Seals and refill with Genuine Honda Tranny Fluid, which I also provided them. <br /><br />When I went to pick up the car the owner of the shop helped me load the "old" parts back in my car and commented on how the first one the mechanic said was wrong, was the same number as the one brought as a replacement. I bit my tongue.
I'd already paid the bill. I drove off and the first left I make I get a horrid grinding noise, so I drove up the road a bit more and used the turn around loop and went directly back to the shop and told them I didn't know what they had done, but the car drove and sounded worse than it did when I dropped it off. The owner went to the mechanic who then told me that he had heard the noise when he took it for a test drive, but it stopped when he pulled the car back into the shop lot so he thought it was just the axle "seating itself". I told him he was wrong, that it had not quit making the noise, and then he proceeded to yell at me (in front of the owner who just stood there) that I had given them a faulty part. I told him I disagreed, but that I would be back tomorrow with a replacement.<br /><br />I researched
that night online and everything pointed to the CV Axle not being seated properly, so I did NOT get another axle. I had bought NEW not REMAN'ed axles so I still feel confident that the axle is not the issue.<br />The following morning, I told the owner I wanted it gone over with a fine tooth comb, but I wanted another mechanic to do it and I wanted it back by 1 pm. He didn't necessarily agree, but he didn't disagree either. He's not a mechanic himself. Anyway, about a half hour after I dropped it off and walked to work, the mechanic that I didn't want touching my car calls to argue that it's a bad part and I told him that it wasn't a bad part, but that the noise was something different. He started yelling again so I told him to put the owner back on the phone. I told the owner that under no circumstances was that mechanic to touch my car, and that if he couldn't get another mechanic to do it, then I would take it elsewhere and he could foot the bill. He said if I felt that way, then I could just come pick up the car.....so I did two hours later.<br /><br />I then took it to another shop recommended by folks that work at my school that's been around for a good while. They put it up on a rack after test driving with me. Pretty scary when three mechanics hoover under your car pointing with their jaws dropped. Turns out the mechanic at the other shop neglected to put a bolt back in to the suspension and cross threaded the bolt going into the lower control arm before it was fully seated. So, yesterday I had both lower control arms replaced (because they had to torch the bolt off the passenger side) and since they were both original to the car, I wasn't going to do just one. Noise was not gone :-( but upon further investigation, it appears that somehow he had also screwed up my lower ball joint because the grinding noise was coming from the ball joint not having clearance and it was grinding on the brand new CV Axle. <br /><br />I've now spent an additional $850 in parts and labor due to the mechanics neglect all above the $525 I paid to have the car broken by the said mechanic plus the cost of the CV Axles and seals and oil.<br /><br />Question for you folks is this, if that doesn't take care of the noise, what do I look to suspect next????<br /><br />I was never schooled in suspension systems.<br /><br />**Edited to add ** Ball Joint is now replaced and the vibration is gone as is the bulk of the noise, but there is some play in the CV Axle, as well as some slight noise when turning to the left still and of course it's all chewed up from grinding on the lower ball joint so they are replacing that for me now.<br /><br />Anything else I need to watch out for???<br /><br />Thanks for any advice and recommendations...<br /><br />Happy Single Mom to 6 Awesome Kiddos
One thing you can do when you're going to have work done is to check reviews for a particular shop at Yelp. This can help you avoid problematic shops. It's not foolproof but it can help.
I have forked out over $800 in the last two days fixing what his mechanic screwed up.
The shop I went to this week has great reviews and comes with personal recommendations from co-workers and according to the sign in their waiting area they earned a top-shop rating from some big group in the area.
My car is now back to just a motor mount thunk.
I admit that I didn't read you whole note so forgive me if I missed something critical, but If I was you, and I was mechanically inclined, I would check out as many YouTube videos as possible from people like Ericthecarguy (an ex Honda mechanic) and Nutzaboutbolts (lots of honda fixit videos) and Chris Fix, and Scotty Kilmer and if electronic diagnosis isn't too daunting to you, Schrodinger's Box. And, buy your own tools. I have a 2000 Honda Accord (and also a 2007) and that is what I have done. I have found it is cheaper to buy tools and do the work myself rather than pay someone else. Use "cheater bars" which you can also buy to get extra leverage if you aren't really strong. Harbor Freight has cheap tools that aren't the best but they work and they have warranties so if they break you just take it back and get a new one. Or you can buy from others and still save money. All the manufacturers, even Snap On, has their tools made in China so its not like there are the differences in quality that there were once upon a time.
And, for $30/yr you can subscribe to www.alldatadiy.com and get all of the shop floor level detailed procedures of your exact car (that is the service Scotty Kilmer recommends and uses himself).
Hi,<br /><br />
<br /><br />My car is a 2002 Honda Accord EX 4 cylinder with a manual 5-speed transmission with 212K miles<br /><br />I'm a single mom, but fairly mechanically inclined as I was the youngest of three girls and my daddy taught me all about cars, and I have more tools than today's "typical" male. I can do my own oil changes, spark plugs, brakes, radiator/hoses, etc. I've even changed the starter on a previous car. I've helped with clutches on trucks with crawl room below them, but this car doesn't have that so I didn't attempt that job. I got royally messed over in the process too, however, in my defense, I was sort of stuck where I was with not a whole lot of options (ie, not near home). That was about a year and a half ago and even had to put in four brand new motor mounts after all that.<br /><br />This past week, I put my car back in a "local" shop which is up the road from the school I work at as they kept telling me the noises I was hearing was from old/worn CV Axles, and when I was under the car with them, the drivers side was really "playful" and replicated the noise when I was hearing while driving. I took them the CV Axles I purchased, because well, I sort of refuse to pay their excessive mark up. The mechanic is new to this shop and has only ever done an oil change on this particular vehicle of mine. There is no crawl space under this car and it won't pull up on ramps so it's just easier to have someone do that on a lift...especially since I work full time now. Anyway, This particular mechanic had the owner of the shop call me within an hour of me dropping off the car saying I had given them the wrong part. I told him I knew it wasn't the wrong part but that he was more than welcome to call the parts shop and get them to deliver the "correct" part. He called, they delivered another part and the mechanic proceeded with the installation. I then get a call saying I need a half shaft axle because the seal was leaking really bad. So I tell him, whatever. I have to have a car and it has to run correctly, so order what you need to fix the car. All total, they had the car for over 6 hours up on the lift to replace the two front CV Axles and the Axle Seals and refill with Genuine Honda Tranny Fluid, which I also provided them. <br /><br />When I went to pick up the car the owner of the shop helped me load the "old" parts back in my car and commented on how the first one the mechanic said was wrong, was the same number as the one brought as a replacement. I bit my tongue.
I'd already paid the bill. I drove off and the first left I make I get a horrid grinding noise, so I drove up the road a bit more and used the turn around loop and went directly back to the shop and told them I didn't know what they had done, but the car drove and sounded worse than it did when I dropped it off. The owner went to the mechanic who then told me that he had heard the noise when he took it for a test drive, but it stopped when he pulled the car back into the shop lot so he thought it was just the axle "seating itself". I told him he was wrong, that it had not quit making the noise, and then he proceeded to yell at me (in front of the owner who just stood there) that I had given them a faulty part. I told him I disagreed, but that I would be back tomorrow with a replacement.<br /><br />I researched
that night online and everything pointed to the CV Axle not being seated properly, so I did NOT get another axle. I had bought NEW not REMAN'ed axles so I still feel confident that the axle is not the issue.<br />The following morning, I told the owner I wanted it gone over with a fine tooth comb, but I wanted another mechanic to do it and I wanted it back by 1 pm. He didn't necessarily agree, but he didn't disagree either. He's not a mechanic himself. Anyway, about a half hour after I dropped it off and walked to work, the mechanic that I didn't want touching my car calls to argue that it's a bad part and I told him that it wasn't a bad part, but that the noise was something different. He started yelling again so I told him to put the owner back on the phone. I told the owner that under no circumstances was that mechanic to touch my car, and that if he couldn't get another mechanic to do it, then I would take it elsewhere and he could foot the bill. He said if I felt that way, then I could just come pick up the car.....so I did two hours later.<br /><br />I then took it to another shop recommended by folks that work at my school that's been around for a good while. They put it up on a rack after test driving with me. Pretty scary when three mechanics hoover under your car pointing with their jaws dropped. Turns out the mechanic at the other shop neglected to put a bolt back in to the suspension and cross threaded the bolt going into the lower control arm before it was fully seated. So, yesterday I had both lower control arms replaced (because they had to torch the bolt off the passenger side) and since they were both original to the car, I wasn't going to do just one. Noise was not gone :-( but upon further investigation, it appears that somehow he had also screwed up my lower ball joint because the grinding noise was coming from the ball joint not having clearance and it was grinding on the brand new CV Axle. <br /><br />I've now spent an additional $850 in parts and labor due to the mechanics neglect all above the $525 I paid to have the car broken by the said mechanic plus the cost of the CV Axles and seals and oil.<br /><br />Question for you folks is this, if that doesn't take care of the noise, what do I look to suspect next????<br /><br />I was never schooled in suspension systems.<br /><br />**Edited to add ** Ball Joint is now replaced and the vibration is gone as is the bulk of the noise, but there is some play in the CV Axle, as well as some slight noise when turning to the left still and of course it's all chewed up from grinding on the lower ball joint so they are replacing that for me now.<br /><br />Anything else I need to watch out for???<br /><br />Thanks for any advice and recommendations...<br /><br />Happy Single Mom to 6 Awesome Kiddos
<br /><br />My car is a 2002 Honda Accord EX 4 cylinder with a manual 5-speed transmission with 212K miles<br /><br />I'm a single mom, but fairly mechanically inclined as I was the youngest of three girls and my daddy taught me all about cars, and I have more tools than today's "typical" male. I can do my own oil changes, spark plugs, brakes, radiator/hoses, etc. I've even changed the starter on a previous car. I've helped with clutches on trucks with crawl room below them, but this car doesn't have that so I didn't attempt that job. I got royally messed over in the process too, however, in my defense, I was sort of stuck where I was with not a whole lot of options (ie, not near home). That was about a year and a half ago and even had to put in four brand new motor mounts after all that.<br /><br />This past week, I put my car back in a "local" shop which is up the road from the school I work at as they kept telling me the noises I was hearing was from old/worn CV Axles, and when I was under the car with them, the drivers side was really "playful" and replicated the noise when I was hearing while driving. I took them the CV Axles I purchased, because well, I sort of refuse to pay their excessive mark up. The mechanic is new to this shop and has only ever done an oil change on this particular vehicle of mine. There is no crawl space under this car and it won't pull up on ramps so it's just easier to have someone do that on a lift...especially since I work full time now. Anyway, This particular mechanic had the owner of the shop call me within an hour of me dropping off the car saying I had given them the wrong part. I told him I knew it wasn't the wrong part but that he was more than welcome to call the parts shop and get them to deliver the "correct" part. He called, they delivered another part and the mechanic proceeded with the installation. I then get a call saying I need a half shaft axle because the seal was leaking really bad. So I tell him, whatever. I have to have a car and it has to run correctly, so order what you need to fix the car. All total, they had the car for over 6 hours up on the lift to replace the two front CV Axles and the Axle Seals and refill with Genuine Honda Tranny Fluid, which I also provided them. <br /><br />When I went to pick up the car the owner of the shop helped me load the "old" parts back in my car and commented on how the first one the mechanic said was wrong, was the same number as the one brought as a replacement. I bit my tongue.
I'd already paid the bill. I drove off and the first left I make I get a horrid grinding noise, so I drove up the road a bit more and used the turn around loop and went directly back to the shop and told them I didn't know what they had done, but the car drove and sounded worse than it did when I dropped it off. The owner went to the mechanic who then told me that he had heard the noise when he took it for a test drive, but it stopped when he pulled the car back into the shop lot so he thought it was just the axle "seating itself". I told him he was wrong, that it had not quit making the noise, and then he proceeded to yell at me (in front of the owner who just stood there) that I had given them a faulty part. I told him I disagreed, but that I would be back tomorrow with a replacement.<br /><br />I researched
that night online and everything pointed to the CV Axle not being seated properly, so I did NOT get another axle. I had bought NEW not REMAN'ed axles so I still feel confident that the axle is not the issue.<br />The following morning, I told the owner I wanted it gone over with a fine tooth comb, but I wanted another mechanic to do it and I wanted it back by 1 pm. He didn't necessarily agree, but he didn't disagree either. He's not a mechanic himself. Anyway, about a half hour after I dropped it off and walked to work, the mechanic that I didn't want touching my car calls to argue that it's a bad part and I told him that it wasn't a bad part, but that the noise was something different. He started yelling again so I told him to put the owner back on the phone. I told the owner that under no circumstances was that mechanic to touch my car, and that if he couldn't get another mechanic to do it, then I would take it elsewhere and he could foot the bill. He said if I felt that way, then I could just come pick up the car.....so I did two hours later.<br /><br />I then took it to another shop recommended by folks that work at my school that's been around for a good while. They put it up on a rack after test driving with me. Pretty scary when three mechanics hoover under your car pointing with their jaws dropped. Turns out the mechanic at the other shop neglected to put a bolt back in to the suspension and cross threaded the bolt going into the lower control arm before it was fully seated. So, yesterday I had both lower control arms replaced (because they had to torch the bolt off the passenger side) and since they were both original to the car, I wasn't going to do just one. Noise was not gone :-( but upon further investigation, it appears that somehow he had also screwed up my lower ball joint because the grinding noise was coming from the ball joint not having clearance and it was grinding on the brand new CV Axle. <br /><br />I've now spent an additional $850 in parts and labor due to the mechanics neglect all above the $525 I paid to have the car broken by the said mechanic plus the cost of the CV Axles and seals and oil.<br /><br />Question for you folks is this, if that doesn't take care of the noise, what do I look to suspect next????<br /><br />I was never schooled in suspension systems.<br /><br />**Edited to add ** Ball Joint is now replaced and the vibration is gone as is the bulk of the noise, but there is some play in the CV Axle, as well as some slight noise when turning to the left still and of course it's all chewed up from grinding on the lower ball joint so they are replacing that for me now.<br /><br />Anything else I need to watch out for???<br /><br />Thanks for any advice and recommendations...<br /><br />Happy Single Mom to 6 Awesome KiddosOK, wow your Ish sounds so familiar. I had a company a few years back that totally kept muffing up my axles. Even corporate national just wanted to give me my money back. Anyway, before you spend money on your lawyer; file a complaint on BBB in your area. Does not cost anything and might get that shop "in line". Worth a try.
Ya know all it takes is some muscle to tap those axles in so that they are secure. Hope that bit of info helps single mom...
First to say I am impressed Mom.... and silently in love now... ahhh ya gotta a lil grease on that cheek.. whew! got hot in here all of a sudden.
OK, wow your Ish sounds so familiar. I had a company a few years back that totally kept muffing up my axles. Even corporate national just wanted to give me my money back. Anyway, before you spend money on your lawyer; file a complaint on BBB in your area. Does not cost anything and might get that shop "in line". Worth a try.
Ya know all it takes is some muscle to tap those axles in so that they are secure. Hope that bit of info helps single mom...
OK, wow your Ish sounds so familiar. I had a company a few years back that totally kept muffing up my axles. Even corporate national just wanted to give me my money back. Anyway, before you spend money on your lawyer; file a complaint on BBB in your area. Does not cost anything and might get that shop "in line". Worth a try.
Ya know all it takes is some muscle to tap those axles in so that they are secure. Hope that bit of info helps single mom...
BBB is on the list, as is a google review...and Facebook too~~
The Lawyer is sort of free....I pay 20 a month, but I can get any sort of letter written whenever I want it. I have a company on retainer so I can call them with all the stupid crap my ex pulls....LOL.
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I admit that I didn't read you whole note so forgive me if I missed something critical, but If I was you, and I was mechanically inclined, I would check out as many YouTube videos as possible from people like Ericthecarguy (an ex Honda mechanic) and Nutzaboutbolts (lots of honda fixit videos) and Chris Fix, and Scotty Kilmer and if electronic diagnosis isn't too daunting to you, Schrodinger's Box. And, buy your own tools. I have a 2000 Honda Accord (and also a 2007) and that is what I have done. I have found it is cheaper to buy tools and do the work myself rather than pay someone else. Use "cheater bars" which you can also buy to get extra leverage if you aren't really strong. Harbor Freight has cheap tools that aren't the best but they work and they have warranties so if they break you just take it back and get a new one. Or you can buy from others and still save money. All the manufacturers, even Snap On, has their tools made in China so its not like there are the differences in quality that there were once upon a time.
Thanks for the info on whom to follow on video. I have pretty much ALL the tools I'd ever need. Neighbor guy across the street drools at my tool cabinet. I have two good sets of older craftsman tools, and lots of other fill in pieces. I have pry bars and breaker bars and torque wrenches, etc....even impact tools if I need them are available.
All that said, I don't have a garage or a carport to work under, nor do I have another vehicle to drive while I piddle with this one right now. I also don't have a lift and some of these repairs would be 100 times easier working at face level or even slightly overhead. I do have a 1998 Suburban parked in my driveway with a very leaky intake manifold gasket, which I will tackle this fall and get it rebuilt (or do it myself) hopefully before cold weather sets in this fall/winter. I sooooo miss my truck! However, home repairs (replacing siding) take precedence when I do have a working vehicle, so that project has been shelved for a little while.
Seems like it has hit the mileage that I am going to be needing to do A LOT of tweaking out issues, so thanks again for the directionals to the various video gurus! :-)
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