Axle/Transmission Problem -- Videos Included -- Experts, Please Help!

ASSISTANCE Stock Engine-Bay Components
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NEW VIDEO/SOUND
Up until tonight I have been going fairly easy on the throttle, I decided to try my luck with an Italian tune-up and went for a couple good hard WOT pulls onto the highway through 2nd and 3rd. Once I get going the wobble and sound goes away (possibly because I’m just ripping and my turbo sounds like an airplane taking off and I can’t notice it). Turns out it went well and nothing went wrong or broke but the problem is still the same. Next I decided to try and get a better video of the sound when it is most pronounced and I did have some success.

In the following video I had a hard time picking out the particular wobble sound with my laptop speakers, but then I threw on a decent set of headphones and it’s very clear. Hopefully one of you can help me identify the cause.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxOyS4ZIBUs

It kinda feels like its coming from right under my left foot. The front left LCA bushing is slightly torn, that couldn’t make this big of an impact could it?

UPDATE

I replaced both axles with new non-reman cardone ones, then replaced the intermediate shaft with a DC shaft and DC driver side axle, took it in for a wheel alignment and everything was pretty much perfect already and all the suspension components are tight and in decent shape. The motor mounts appear to be in good condition and when I try rocking the motor back and forth there is very minimal play (the upper driver side mount shifts a couple mm side to side).

For the most part the problem occurs only when I am accelerating in first or second gear from about 3k rpm to about 6k. I don’t seem to get any sort of wobbling or clunking when moving at a constant speed or during high speed acceleration. The problem is more pronounced when going uphill. Also, it doesn’t seem to be as bad when the engine is cold.

This particular problem of mine started about a week ago when I made the mistake of not slowing down enough to go over some pretty hairy train tracks.

The crash of my front subframe onto the ground was pretty gruesome and almost right away I was left with a kind of clunking sound that only occurs during acceleration.

I cautiously got the car home, got it in the air and took a good look around too see if I could identify the problem. It looks to me like the passenger side axle is the culprit as it appears to be wobbling on the end that goes into the tranny.

Maybe this the result of what was an old differential that was starting to go bad and the impact jarred it to the point of no return?

It’s a 92 Integra GS with a turbo LS/VTEC and the original YS1 transmission.

The horrible sound only seems to occur during acceleration, under load.

In car acceleration (difficult to hear the sound in question, I will try and get a better video later).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqo2Q8Uj-pE

Thanks for any help or input you can provide!

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putting you car in the air and running it will not do you any good you need to have a load on the axles for them to shake… I think its the axles.

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Axles or… carefully inspect the front subframe, brace, and radius arms for any damage if you bent any part of the subframe assembly ioot could cause clunking you describe

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I added a vid of a short bit of moderate acceleration but the sound is quite difficult to pick out of it, I will try and get a better one later.

I’m really hoping that it’s just that passenger side axle that might need replacing as I am on a starving student budget at the moment and can’t afford the cost/time of dealing with a new tranny. When I look closely at the axle spinning in the tranny it seems to be pretty uniform (and comparable to the other side connected to the half-shaft), whereas the boot on that side of the axle seems like it is not perfectly straight.

I took a good look at all the suspension components and everything seems to be where it should.

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Is the noise accompanied by vibration? If so, is the vibration speed dependent or is it associated with acceleration (load). Is there any clicking while turning? Vibrations while turning? How many miles on the transmission?

The vids of the axle doesn’t scream at me that it’s your problem - but that doesn’t mean it’s not. The one other thing that comes to mind is the input shaft bearing in the trans.

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[QUOTE=Colin;2292199]Is the noise accompanied by vibration? If so, is the vibration speed dependent or is it associated with acceleration (load). Is there any clicking while turning? Vibrations while turning? How many miles on the transmission?

The vids of the axle doesn’t scream at me that it’s your problem - but that doesn’t mean it’s not. The one other thing that comes to mind is the input shaft bearing in the trans.[/QUOTE]

Yes, there is vibration and the vibration does seem to be directly associated with acceleration. Vibrations during turning only occur while accelerating (not like a CV boot sound). Transmission has approx. 130,000 Miles.

Input shaft? Is that the same as the intermediate shaft?

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No, it’s not the same. The “input shaft” bearing is a bearing in the Trans case. I’d replace the axles and to from there, often with stuff like this you simply need to replace the cheapest / most likely culprit part until you determine what was wrong.

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I see, well I sure hope that isn’t the problem.

Also, it seems as if the problem doesn’t occur when the car is cold. It only happens after it has warmed up. Maybe this narrows down the problem?

After reading through many similar threads on various forums, I feel like there is a good chance it might be the inner joint on the passenger side axle that is the culprit. Anyone else had this problem before?

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See first post for updated info.

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That sucks you’re still trying to figure this out :frowning: I wish I had some input, other that what’s been said it’s really hard to give any more advice without being able to hear/feel first hand. That video really doesn’t help unfortunately. It’s just super hard to get a good recording of stuff like this. I went thru the same thing diagnosing a ticking. Turned out it was a rod bearing and I put a rod thru the block :frowning:

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Yeah I really need to try getting a better recording of the sound. A rod through the block eh, that must have been a real bitch to deal with. I’m thinking worst case scenario for me is pulling the transmission out, really hoping it’s something less labour intensive than that though.

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New video posted.

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I can hear the sound now, unfortunately still no insight from me :frowning: I haven’t had a bushing that caused this problem, but a friend of mine had some sort of vibration due to a torn LCA bushing with his EG. So, it might be the same on the DA - or maybe not since the two have different suspension designs.

Maybe post some pics of the damaged bushing(s)? I’d go thru and check all of that, including the radius rod bushings. If the bushings are original then you should just replace them anyway, one of the best things you can do to a DA IMO.

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Next time I get the car in the air I will take some pics.

Anyone else have any ideas about that sound?

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I know this wont be the issue but sounds almost like the exhaust is hitting something, or even a charge pipe

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You know what, I think your right. When I impacted the front crossmember it must have shifted the whole thing (which was already very close to the downpipe to begin with) just enough so that when I reach a certain RPM its making contact and creating that noise. I’m hoping that the shaking is also due to the crossmember/radius rods being slightly out of whack. I will be finding out in a week or two when I install the new traction bar I ordered. Hopefully that will solve this annoying problem and I can move on to dealing with other repairs and maintenance.

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I’m a bit late, but indeed I could see that noise being related to the crossmember…

When I installed my 4-1 header and notched the crossmember, the clearance wasn’t enough and I had a metal clunking sound coming that was indeed dependent on throttle load. Take a peek and see what your clearance looks like.

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[QUOTE=unified112;2301322]I’m a bit late, but indeed I could see that noise being related to the crossmember…

When I installed my 4-1 header and notched the crossmember, the clearance wasn’t enough and I had a metal clunking sound coming that was indeed dependent on throttle load. Take a peek and see what your clearance looks like.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that’s what I was trying to say in my last post. There is very minimal clearance and the downpipe seems to be hitting it. The traction bar setup should give me more than enough clearance.

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check the lateral bars make sure they’re on tight with no play.