Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

1. 6 months ago I installed new napa axles due to torn boots on the old ones. Acceleration was smooth throughout with the old axles. With the new axles, there was a vibration at a certain rpm range whilie accelerating (like 4500-5000 or something). This vibration is not present while reving in neutral. After 6 months, it didn't go away, so a few days ago I took back both axles and got a new set under warranty. The problem is still there indicating that there was nothing wrong with the old ones. Could alignment be the problem? I don't know if an alignment is necessary after axles swap, but I assumed not because I never touched the tie rods. If alignment is not necessary and probably not the problem, what other things can you guys think of? It's worth mentioning that I replaced my LCA and UCA bushings recently with energy suspension.

2. I refilled my A/C with R134a and it works pretty good. I'm not a big A/C guy even though I live in the desert, so I'm not sure if the A/C units is supposed to turn off and on constantly. Because it sucks driving stick with this power fluctuation. Is it normal?

Thanks in advance.

skipbarber

iTrader: (34)

any time you take the suspension apart and put it back together, you must get it aligned. even the smallest differences in how things go back together once taken apart can severely affect alignment. That being said, poor alignments are rarely the cause of rolling vibrations. It's likely that you have something loose, or worn, such as a ball joint or tie rod end or it could even be an indication that it's time to balance your wheels. Take the car to a reputable shop that does alignments, any good alignment tech will be able to spot vibration causes.

honda uses cycling clutch thermal expansion valve a/c systems. it's normal for it to turn on and off. if it stayed on, condensation would freeze on the evaporator and block air flow from the blower motor.

hope this helps.

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the info. How can the LCA ball joints simply wear out due to an axle swap? Maybe it was the rust in the taper that was making it so it doesn't vibrate? Whereas now I have grease in there so the fit isn't as locked together.

Another thing I didn't mention is that my AEM brakes didn't come with shims. I didn't install the old ones because one was broken. Currently, the pads are on the brink of needing to be swapped. Perhaps there is play in the pads causing them to vibrate/slap against the rotor at certain rpm. Probably not.

So you're sure that an alignment won't do anything? As for balancing, I guess it's been a little while. I'll try that first as it's free.

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

I still suspect the axles though. Maybe the shafts aren't true and they wobble when spinning which transfers to the wheels. There's this rubber thing on the stock civic axle shaft which the napa axles don't have. Maybe that reduces/nulifies wobble somehow.

I've still got my old civic axles. The CV joints need to be replaced on both. Can I get the CV joints by themselves and rebuild it? Any recommendations where I should get them? Rebuild axles from majestic cost like 250 for a set. But I would rather rebuild mine.

Update: Lol, majestic charges 226 bones for one new CV joint. -_- They have some CV joints on ebay. Hmmm...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-OUT...Q5fAccessories

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

Okay, I just balanced and rotated the tires. No difference. Tires are all even, no inner or outer wear. I think it's the axles like I said. I will take care of it some time in the future...

skipbarber

iTrader: (34)

pad shims, or lack thereof, wont cause vibration. Aftermarket axles don't come with the vibration isolator you see on the OEM axles, however, they aren't needed. The only time ive seen aftermarket axles vibrate have been when they aren't properly installed, like the ends not being inserted fully into the transmission, etc. The isolator is just something honda puts on their axles to cover their asses. and like i said, almost always the cause of vibration will be a worn ball joint/tie rod, wheel bearing, or out of balance wheels. With less likely causes being poor alignment and blown struts/shocks. The fact that youre on your second set of axles and still having this problem, leads me to believe they're not the problem.

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

Whether you are right or not, I just ordered a couple axles from Raxles, which is what I should have done originally. I'm not a big fan of Chinese components and I simply don't trust the NAPA axles, which I was reluctant to put in originally. Raxles are rebuilt OEM axles using OEM and Euro parts. According to the guy below:

http://www.preludeonline.com/f114/pr...-axles-214114/

http://forums.mazdaworld.org/index.p...3&#entry380503

I will post back when I do the swap.

skipbarber

iTrader: (34)

interesting. post up when you get them. Im interested to see if they have the isolators on them.

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

They do, even on the passenger side. My OEM's didn't have one on the passenger side. He mentioned that there were 3 reasons for vibration: Harmonic damper, surface grinding the teeth, and I think the last one was the shaft not being straight, but maybe it was something else. Marty called the Napa axles "10 dollar axles." I have read many times that after 1 year, even the new ones are prone to go out.

Yeah I will post pics and stuff. I paid 310 all together. They used to be 119 per axle, now they are 129. The guy is located in Florida so that's why it was 50 shipping. He puts a pre-paid ups label on the box to ship back the old axles. From the research I've done on Raxles, nobody has anything bad to say about the product and definitely not the service. I will hope for the best.

bmnot

I can vouch for Raxles's quality. I have a '91 Civic (in great shape). The right-side half-shaft (axle) that was previously installed was a cheapo replacement that caused bad vibration while accelerating at around 30 MPH. The vibration was so bad that my mechanic had at first thought the engine was missing (not firing on all 4s). I did some research, and found that Raxles was the best solution. I ordered the part from Marty, installed it, and wow, what a difference. Now my car runs great, no vibration, grinding upon sharp turns etc... I'd heartily recommend Raxles. You can see the quality of Raxles axles -- well built, clean, no nicks, no rust etc... I'm betting that your car will run much better now with the Raxle.... :-) (I am in no way affiliated with Raxles, but am just a very happy customer of theirs!)

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

How long have you had the raxles? Are they still holding up?

Yeah, my car doesn't vibrate as bad as yours, but it still sucks accelerating because I always have to keep it below that vibration RPM. The stock axles, even though both CV boots were torn AND they were clicking on turns, well they were still smooth as silk when accelerating. Now normally I wouldn't let my boots bust, but when the car was bought, the boots were in tact. A few weeks later, 1 goes and then the other. Grease everywhere! Live and learn.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

I thought ES bushings can cause slight vibration due to tightness.

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

Yeah but I was experiencing this before the ES bushings.

bmnot

I installed it last month. I do appreciate that time dictates durability/reliability of a part, but all I can say is "so far so good," which is much more than I could say with the previous cheapo axles that were bad from the get go. At least with Raxles, they put in new CV joints and don't regrind (as per their website) and use good grease etc.

Based on my observations, the difference in quality between a Raxle and those other cheap-o ones is like night and day. The "re-manufactured" cheapo axle I had in before even had rust on it right out of the box when I got it... whereas the Raxle was shiny, no scratches, solidly built and well packaged (shipping). Marty was great to deal with too. I wouldn't hesitate to buy Raxles again, if the need were to arise. As they say, you get what you pay for, and to go cheap will cost you more in the long run, so one might as well buy quality to start with!

97EK

As far as your AC compressor is concerned, it is normal for it to cycle on and off. However, if it is cycling on and off rapidly or in quick succession, it is very possible that you have over-filled the freon. I made the mistake of having a local mechanic recharge my A/C and he over-filled it to more than twice the required level. The compressor kept engaging and disengaging very rapidly with lots of engine fluctuation/surge when driving.

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

No, nothing that serious. I filled it up myself over a weak ago with a recharge kit and it works like it should.

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

Okay, so, I got my axles today and installed them. I was nervous to test drive it, but the problem is completely gone. I'm really happy with the way acceleration and high rpm feels.

The axles came painted with a black paint. I'm happy about that because I thought it would be blued steel like the crappy NAPA axles, which means it will rust right away. Some Raxles do come blued, but it I think it depends what shape the reused parts are in like the shaft. The trany side joint is bead blasted nicely, which indicates it's a reused OEM part. The CV joint housings and the shaft are reused OEM. The cv joint is made by GKN under the name Lobro. GKN is listed under Majestic Honda under the axles section, so it may be OEM. I have read that Toyota uses GKN. GKN has it's HQ in Worcestershire, England.

The boots feel thicker than stock. They feel really nice and the bands going around them have a good locking system, made in Japan, perhaps OEM. I'm not sure where the boots are made as I forgot to look, but it's obvious that he spared no expense on this important part. The boots are filled with Amsoil synthetic grease. Both axles come with a harmonic damper. The dampers look and feel like nice quality and are custom made for Raxles, as it says Raxles on them.

Both axles slipped into the trany with the same force, quite easily. I just had to use the rotor as a battering ram with one light push and both slipped right in. Nothing else to tell about installation.

I can't really think of anything negative to say about them. The shaft on mine was pitted because it was a reused part, but it's trivial and expected. The black paint hides it obviously. All-in-all, you're getting new axles essentially with only the non-crucial parts being reused, or parts that have been measured to see if they are in spec have been reused. They came very well packaged, included a UPS return sticker, directions to a local UPS store, and a free pocket knife which I threw in my glove box. The price of the axles was 314 all together but the axles themselves go for 129 each. He didn't charge a core charge, but if I weren't to return the old axles, there is a 160 dollar core charge on top of that.

Good stuff.












Keywords:
Raxles review, raxles honda civic, raxles axles, raxles CV joint

bmnot

Cleft -- Great photos and info on your experience with putting in the new Raxles. Thanks! It's a real eye opener as to how a pair of quality axles can make all the difference! No more vibration, clicking etc. In my opinion, it should be criminal for those lesser companies who sell re-manufactured axles as being "acceptable" when in fact they are pure junk axles. If it wasn't for Raxles, I have a feeling my car would still be having bad vibrations!

skipbarber

iTrader: (34)

I stand corrected! good job, I will certainly keep this in mind next time I run into a problem such as this. Thanks for your follow-up.

Cleft_Asunder

iTrader: (1)

Well, there is remanufactured axles from Honda. Majestic honda sells them, so that's another way to go. I would rather support Raxles though.