Intermediate Shaft

[G. Wiffington]

Intermediate Shaft...<-I think this is the final culprit to which is making a loud vibration noise/feeling underneath of the driver's side feet.

I have went through two CV Axles & they both have no effect on the noise that is being made. The noise/vibration only happens under certain loads. Surprisingly, when I go uphill the noise stops completely..? But, going 30MPH on a completely flat road it's really loud. (honestly kind of scary like my CV Axle is gonna break.)

But, I think I have ruled out the CV Axle as the culprit of the noise/vibration/problem & think that it is the Intermediate Shaft itself that is going bad. Probably the bearing inside the shaft that the CV Axle spins with.

I want to just completely replace the Intermediate Axle with an OEM from Majestic Honda which is ($271.72) with shipping & handling. Or cheap my way out & pull one from the JunkYard. But, I said from the beginning when I purchased my car that I would not allow any type of cheap junkyard parts on my car because I do not feel safe nor do I trust junkyard parts.

I think I want a brand new OEM Intermediate Shaft.

[Rilas]

I pulled my intermediate shaft from the junkyard for my auto to manual swap. Granted it took me about 6 or 7 cars to find one that was still in good condition. But the one I grabbed has no play in it at all and is smooth as butter out on the highway. You should save some cash and spend a little time in yard looking first in my opinion. A little time could save you a lot of cash, which could then be spent fixing the other issues with your car. You can find them on any Accord 90-01 that is a manual, Acura CL 97-99 on the 2.3 manual, 92-01 Prelude manual, I think that is all the cars that would have the same intermediate shaft.

[G. Wiffington]

Yeah, I hear that man. I was thinking about looking in a local yard first
but, I really don't like using used parts because in the long run they might not last.

I don't mind spending the money especially if it is from Honda & I know the part is brand new.

Ahh, I don't know..I am just tired of hearing a loud ass vibration noise that seems to be coming from the Intermediate Shaft. I just have a gut feeling that's what my problem is.

[G. Wiffington]

1993 honda accord EX 188,300 miles

**I do not drive hard or street race so that is not a cause of my problem with the Intermediate Shaft.**

Well, I said screw it & ordered the whole new Intermediate Shaft
assembly along with a new Oil Seal for the outter housing of the Transmission from Honda Village. https://www.hondavillageparts.com

Here are the part numbers:

44500-SM4-020 Part # 18 : $225.32 Shaft Assembly

91205-PL3-A01 Part # 15 : $9.36 Oil Seal (35x56x8) ARAI

If this new intermediate shaft does not eliminate the loud vibration/noise from under my feet then I have to punch myself in the nuts lol.

Here is the link to where my complications began. http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=208169

I have been through a remanufactured Duralast CV Axle and now I am currently using a brand new Duralast GOLD with the same issue. I know I heard about people having issues with Autozone axles but I really doubt that they would cause the EXACT SAME sound. At the EXACT SAME speeds. I know this is an issue with a spinning part because as I give more throttle I can hear/feel the noise/vibration get stronger & louder. (Which is why I believe it is the Intermediate Shaft.) But, it is not coming from the transmission side so I can rule out the differential being the culprit..(for now lol).

My issue is that under certain loads, on the driver's side, underneath the gas pedal I can feel & hear a VERY LOUD vibration noise.

The noise/vibration can be heard/felt at various speeds. For example, the noise/vibration persists around 30MPH in 3RD Gear. Also, it does the same noise/vibration at around 45-50MPH in 4TH or 5TH Gear. Sometimes if I feather the gas pedal I can mask the noise/feeling from coming.

I know it is deff where the CV Axle & Intermediate Shaft meet. This is what leads me to believe that it is the bearing inside of the Intermediate Shaft that has gone bad..maybe when I first switched out the original CV Axle, putting a new axle into an old Intermediate shaft is what disrupted the bearing inside the Intermediate Shaft. There is also some play where the axle & shaft meet so that right there is a flag to me that the bearing has to be worn out.

Here is another link from 93twodoorLX & I believe I have the same exact issue. http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=195048

I will also follow up on this post once I install the new Intermediate Shaft since people do not know how to do a follow up post after a determined issue with a part. Especially since for the Intermediate Shaft there are so many "dead end" posts with no results.

[masospaghetti]

I went through 12 aftermarket axles that were all bad out of the box before I got a pair of Raxles, which solved my problem. They all had the same vibration issue. I'm not sure if it's the same as yours. Mine would vibrate under moderate to heavy acceleration, especially around 2-3000 RPM.

I tried Surtrack, Duralast Reman, Duralast Gold, Cardone Select, and a local rebuilder. They must all be using the same defective parts. Maybe they are all using bad CV joints that are coming out of the same factory in China, i'm really not sure.

Unless the splines are worn out on your existing shaft you could also look into replacing the bearing on your old shaft. I did this on mine and it wasn't difficult (although I may have required a press, I can't remember). Even if you need a machine shop to press in the new bearing you will come out way ahead in cost. Prices from Rockauto.

SKF SC0889 {#91057SH3000} Ball Bearing $24.79
SKF 15512 {#91260SK7013, 91260SK7014} Grease Seal $13.27
SKF 16924 {#91262SH3000} Grease Seal $14.86

But for sure, don't assume you have good axles because they all have the same symptoms. There appears to be some severe lack of quality control with the axles for our cars.

[Fleetw00d]

I was still running the original intermediate shaft in my 90 LX at 331,000 without issue when I installed a F22A6 engine; I went ahead at that time and installed a lower mileage intermediate shaft. If you bought the new one, go ahead and install it. Buy a new bearing for the old one and keep it as a spare (or send it to me!).

[G. Wiffington]

I was still running the original intermediate shaft in my 90 LX at 331,000 without issue when I installed a F22A6 engine; I went ahead at that time and installed a lower mileage intermediate shaft. If you bought the new one, go ahead and install it. Buy a new bearing for the old one and keep it as a spare (or send it to me!).

Lol shit i'll send it to you no problem once the new one comes in.

[G. Wiffington]

I went through 12 aftermarket axles that were all bad out of the box before I got a pair of Raxles, which solved my problem. They all had the same vibration issue. I'm not sure if it's the same as yours. Mine would vibrate under moderate to heavy acceleration, especially around 2-3000 RPM.

I tried Surtrack, Duralast Reman, Duralast Gold, Cardone Select, and a local rebuilder. They must all be using the same defective parts. Maybe they are all using bad CV joints that are coming out of the same factory in China, i'm really not sure.

Unless the splines are worn out on your existing shaft you could also look into replacing the bearing on your old shaft. I did this on mine and it wasn't difficult (although I may have required a press, I can't remember). Even if you need a machine shop to press in the new bearing you will come out way ahead in cost. Prices from Rockauto.

SKF SC0889 {#91057SH3000} Ball Bearing $24.79
SKF 15512 {#91260SK7013, 91260SK7014} Grease Seal $13.27
SKF 16924 {#91262SH3000} Grease Seal $14.86

But for sure, don't assume you have good axles because they all have the same symptoms. There appears to be some severe lack of quality control with the axles for our cars.

Yeah the axles can really be various qualities. & it's not like I drive hard at all. I never launch it, speed, or do any of that stupid crap other people do. I try to baby my car if anything because I care about it.
That is awesome that you replaced your bearing in your original. How hard was that? I wish there was a DIY on that.

[masospaghetti]

It's not hard but you do need a press.

There's two circlips that you need the circlip pliers for. The shaft is pressed out of the bearing, and then the bearing is pressed out of the housing.

[G. Wiffington]

It's not hard but you do need a press.

There's two circlips that you need the circlip pliers for. The shaft is pressed out of the bearing, and then the bearing is pressed out of the housing.

Yeah, that's what stopped me from doing it myself. I do not have a press. I imagine it's something around the difficulty of installing the wheel bearing & hub which was pretty simple.

[G. Wiffington]

So, I finally installed the brand new Intermediate Shaft & the difference is a lot better. My car, as well as the ride feels a lot more solid.
When I took out the original shaft, the bearing had a lot of play in all directions. When comparing to the brand new shaft, the original was very, very easy to spin by hand (almost like it just ready to fall apart also, very loose to the touch). The new shaft felt a lot more smooth & solid when spinning it by hand. Also, the new shaft did not have any play like the original.

After installing the new shaft, I can say that I have not had the extreme/serious vibrations under acceleration all the time. The acceleration is a lot smoother instead of the shudder & vibrations that I was feeling before I installed the new Intermediate shaft.

But, for some reason I can still hear a little shudder/vibration sound very slightly. Not as bad as before!!! It is only for a split second then disappears. It sounds just like the vibration noise from before but, it only lasts a mere second & not all the time. The sound can be heard at 40MPH then goes away. But, the sound is nothing compared to how it previously was.

Maybe after all the trouble it was a combination of both a bad bearing in the Intermediate Shaft plus using a Duralast CV Axle.
The brand new Intermediate Shaft definitely helped reduce the vibrations I was hearing & feeling greatly! I would say that the new Intermediate shaft helped me a lot.

In the future I have a plan to try an axle from Raxle! I would like to see what that vibration damper is like!

[G. Wiffington]

UPDATE: well what do you know..the vibrations are back!!!

Another update: I bought an Axle from Raxles.

The vibrations are back like they never left! This is driving me crazy. Almost
to the point where I don't want to drive my car.

New Intermediate Shaft from Honda + a CV Axle from Raxles = vibrations still exist. (no as bad but, still happens randomly)

The vibrations are not as serious from when I had the Duralast Gold CV Axle and the stock Intermediate Shaft but, still there a little bit.

& come to think about it, the ORIGINAL set of CV Axles never made any noises, the boots were just destroyed which shot grease everywhere.


It's crazy..around 40MPH it makes the noise & I can feel the vibrations.
Or not even 40MPH but just random speeds.

I have no idea..maybe since I have a the stock struts & springs they could be sagging causing the CV Axle to bind??

Or maybe the stock engine mounts are sagging as well causing a binding
issue in the CV Axle??

But, the crazy part is that I did have the same exact type of noise coming from the passanger's side a while ago from when I replaced the ORIGINAL CV Axle with a
remanufactured Duralast CV Axle. Then, I replaced the remanufactured CV Axle on the passenger's side with a Brand New Duralast Gold & I haven't had any problem since!!!

What is wrong with my driver's side!?!?I just hope it isn't the tranny going up.

Sucks man!!:

[oni_cb7]

Sounds like the same issue my buddy had.

Ended up going through three different aftermarket axles. All had the same issues in varying severity.

His issue was fixed by biting the bullet and buying OEM Honda parts.

GL

[baracuda]

motor mounts will in fact cause that vibration and a lot of noise as well. I have had bad motor mounts before that caused and axel to start to click. However my 4th gen prelude had a massive mount failure were the motor was just resting on the body cause bad axel vibration, noise and felt like my cars transmission was going to blow up. more then worth while to pull them one by one to inspect them.

[G. Wiffington]

I only replaced the front strut mount not too long ago but not the others.

I did put new aftermarket wheel bearing for both sides, maybe the driver's side is failing?

I just hope it is not the differential.