butterblum

My passenger side drive axle snapped in half the other day, and I replaced it over the weekend with a $73 Carquest axle from Advance. I did not take care to torque everything to spec (nor did I torque the castle nut with the car in the ground). I have noticed a vibration that wasn't there before, and I am contemplating swapping out axles. Is there a good manufacturer for aftermarket axles? Or is there any problem with going to a junk yard?
I would prefer to spend the least amount of money possible.
I got a quote from Raxles, but they want $328 for one side, shipped, since I don't have a core to send them.
Thanks

ezone

What sort of vibration?

If you did not tighten the great big axle nut, you may have ruined the wheel bearing.


If you think it's an axle problem, have CQ give you another axle under warranty.

butterblum

I certainly tightened the axle nut as tight as I could with a breaker bar, and then indented the nut to lock it.

butterblum

I notice the vibration most at speeds >50mph. I think it is most noticeable when I change lanes (turn the wheels) on the highway.

ezone

By vibration.......do you mean:

Shake-as in felt through the steering wheel, or a noise that sounds like an airplane?

butterblum

It is not heard, it is felt. I feel it in the steering wheel, and I notice my phone, which is mounted to the dash, shaking as well.
I always have a little bit of vibration braking (not awful), but I believe that is because I never trued my rotors.
This is different and more exaggerated than anything I have had driving in a while.
Is it possible that the prior axle was deflecting while driving because it had deteriorated, and now the alignment is a little off?

ezone

I'd expect this to be related to tire imbalance (for whatever reason) .....it doesn't really make me think of an axle issue....
I really can't rule out anything from here, but I wouldn't expect this complaint to be caused by the axle.

Loose lugnuts or wheel not drawn flat to the rotor, bulge in the tire tread or excessive runout, lost a wheel weight, gained weight inside the rim (mud?), low tire pressure, etc.

Maybe...Rotate the tires (front to rear) to see if it changes the feeling? (assuming the rear tires are less of a problem than the fronts)


IMO no. You probably would have noticed some significant vibration while driving before it broke in half, if it were doing such, and the axle failure alone won't affect alignment.

Assuming you only separated the steering knuckle from the LCA by taking apart the ball joint, the alignment should not have changed between start and finish. If the steering wheel was straight/level while driving in a straight line before taking it apart, it should still be the same now.

You DID tighten that ball joint castle nut, yes?

butterblum

I did tighten the castle nut, yes.
I will recheck to make sure that everything is snug.
I noticed on my way home from work that it vibrates the most WHILE I am decelerating when I drop my foot off the pedal AFTER a hard acceleration. And I still get a little vibration when turning my wheel slightly at high speeds.

butterblum

And I also feel the vibration with my butt too, not just in the wheel.

ezone

Oooh, new info!


The change in shaking between acceleration and deceleration is sounding like the inner CV joint might have been pulled out of its cup far enough to have one of the rollers drop out of place. This is easy to do if you don't already know it can happen and pull the inboard joint too far out of its cup.


If one of the 3 rollers drops out of place and into the boot then you shove the joint back together, the other two rollers can't keep the joint and shaft centered, so the thing kind of tries to chase itself around in a circle and bind.

The butt shaking may be the engine and transmission being shoved side to side as the joint tries to spin and move while in a bind, that can shake the entire car.

Couple handy diagrams might help...picture one of the 'semispherical rollers' falling off and into the boot...

Wankenstein

Not sure the procedure you used to get the axle nut off but, on mine I used a breaker bar and a 4ft extension pipe. I had to stand on the extension pipe and my fat *** weighs 230. I used the same method to tighten.

butterblum

As ridiculous as this sounds, the joint may have fallen out of place during installation, but I just can't remember. Do I need to remove the boot and pop it back myself, or should I just swap it out at Advance Auto for a new one?

Colin42

Probably quicker and easier to swap it for a new one, provided they have another one in stock, just make sure to not overextend the new one

ezone

^Yeah, that^

butterblum

What is the best way to seat the new inner joint back into the transmission? I had a hell of a time pushing it back in, as there is almost nowhere to grab and get leverage. I ended up compressing the entire axle, making it as straight as I could, and lightly tapping the end with a hammer.

ezone

The gap in the snap ring facing straight up seems to work best for me.
Hold the cup and stub straight into the transmission, then bump it hard to get it started past the snap ring then it should just about fall all the way into the hole and lock in place.

Sometimes two people make it a go lot easier!

Colin42

I always go gap down but you've done it approximately 500,000 times more than I have probably

RIPSAW

Got a new drivers side axle for my 2007 Civic. New (not rebuilt) part from AutoZone. Not sure how they can make it at that price. Does come with a lifetime warranty as long as boot is intact, so warrant is not so hot. Machining looks perfect. It does not have the rubber damper on it like the OEM, so I was wondering if I would be able to fill it.. I plan on rebuilding the one I take off with new grease and OEM boot when I have time.

If you drive that car hard enough to snap an axle in half, you might want to check both the spline at the axle and the transmission by sliding the axle in only one side at a time and seeing what the fit fills like.

butterblum

It didn't snap because it was driven hard. Where it broke (obviously), the axle diameter was approximately 60% of the normal diameter because of rust due to chipped paint and water/snow/ice getting stuck inside the damper.

ezone

China.



The rubber damper in the center is the cause of the problem IMO. It traps water and salt and holds it there for eternity.
Dude did not have to drive the car hard. Corrosion caused the failure.

I'm in the rust belt, I see it a lot. I am seeing them break before they reach 10 years old....

It's damn hard to notice one before it happens because the damper hides the damage quite well. And few people will pay to fix something like that on the off chance it could break in the future.

On my GFs 07 Fit, at about 210k miles I spent some bucks and replaced both original axles BEFORE they broke in half and left her stranded. I only spent enough to get the cheapo axles (also new IIRC) from one of the cheapo parts stores though. No damper on those axles to trap water and salt.

The customers 07 Fit I keep an eye on (to see what hers may need next) is up to about 270k, and it broke axles a year apart around maybe 230-250k.
Last month it got an alternator (Honda reman of course)....before it stranded the driver. Lights were pulsating and voltage would go from 14-16v in about one second intervals.

I don't know if I want to have hers rebuilt, or get a reman. Not sure I'd even have the time to mess with getting it rebuilt LOL. Maybe the car will get totaled before the alternator gives up.

butterblum

I just replaced it with a NAPA axle. The vibration seems to be less, but is still there. I do know that I have some play in my inner left tie rod end (the opposite side from the axle in question).
I understand the whole argument that my suspension geometry has not changed because I haven't touched the tie rods, but is there any possibility the vibration is coming from the wheel and not the axle? Should I get my alignment checked (after I replace my tie rod end)?
Or will non-OEM axles just give me trouble regardless?

ezone

Why not take care of obvious issues first....yes an alignment would need done with the replacement.

A loose tie rod end may exaggerate a tire vibration, so yeah.

Sure.
I've been trying to go solely by your written descriptions to guess at one thing or another, and it's apparently not working very well LOL.

Have a pro drive it and see what they think.

May as well have them check for tire issues and balance (at least the two front) tires while it's in the shop.


I've had very few issues with aftermarket axles myself.


Ever used fix-a-flat in a tire?

butterblum

1) I understand the tie rod end is an obvious issue, but I don't remember this vibration before the axle replacement.
2) I have fixed two flats in the last 3 months, but they have been rear tires.

ezone

Maybe you ignored it before because it was a slow and gradual change, but now you are paying much closer attention and scrutinizing every little thing because you just had a big failure and took apart the front end.

When I said "fix-a-flat", that's like a spare tire in a spray can. Not a plug or a patch. Fix-a-flat puts a liquid in the tire and that can cause weird inconsistent tire balance type vibrations because the liquid doesn't stay in a glob as you drive, it's free to move around as the tire spins.



Just another of the sometimes unusual problems I've had to figure out in the past.

butterblum

Update:
I replaced the axle with a new NAPA axle, and I still get the same vibration. Any chance there was a failure somewhere else when the shaft broke?

ezone

Not real likely IMO.. It snaps in half and you can't go anywhere else. The ends that flop aimlessly aren't normally close enough to anything important to cause problems other than make some noise as they bang around--most of the time.
You saw where it broke, what could the loose ends possibly hit and damage?

Have a pro check it out? Take a pro for a quick drive to get an opinion?
I sure can't feel anything from here.

RIPSAW

Carry it into Costco and have them install 4 quality correct size tires with balancing and road hazard warranty. Bet all your problems go away as far as shake.