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ok. so today i started noticing a popping noise coming from the front drivers side tire area while turning my steering wheel. i did the typical check for any play in the tire by shaking it. there is play which means tie rod end right?
but the problem comes here. i just changed this same tie rod end a few months ago. whats going on here? can someone help me please?

 
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You may have to go further into investigating. Sounds like that might be the case, though. You might be better off actually taking the tire off and grabbing the TRE and trying to somewhat rotate them like you're unscrewing them. If there's any play, they're shot. It could possibly be a bad axle as well. While you're doing your tie rod end check, check the boots for any leaking grease. My axles went and the boots were perfectly fine though, so you can never be sure. Mine made a pretty bad noise when they went though. Lol. Keep us updated. Check all you can. Ball joints too. It's all in the same vicinity, so it shouldn't be an issue to check it all out.

 
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gonna sound dumb. haha. but are the rubber boots on the axle supposed to be seperated. or should they be one peice

 
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It should look like this:

The boot should be attached to the axle like that. If it separated, then you're gonna wanna get a new one.

 
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well then. i think we may have a bit of a problem...

 
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also. with the boots being torn would it be a bad idea to just replace the cv axle assembly?

 
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if the boot is torn, usually the joint is already bad.

 
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It would be safer to replace the entire axle because there could be contaminants from the road already working on the joint. If it's popping, it's probably beyond repair. When I drove mine, that was the noise it made before the car actually started driving funny. You can get rebuilt axles for a decent price and return the old ones.

 
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Lol .Same post one right after the other.

 
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yeah we've had some pretty bad snow lately so there's been alot of salt which is probably the leading factor in all this. but its been starting to shake at around 70-80mph. and seems like its drifting a little bit, but then again the winds have been pretty high so that may explain the drifting

 
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Replace the axle its easy, only about $60 if you do it yourself.

 
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alright. thank you. i'll pick up an axle and tie rods in the next couple days and report back with the outcome

 
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Get a pitman arm puller as well for the lower ball joint separation. They're like ten bucks.

 
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ah damn. i already picked up the parts before i saw that. its ok though. i dropped it off at the honda dealership that my girlfriends mom works at so i get the super employee discount haha

 
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Oh nice. Good stuff man. Not gonna tackle it yourself?

 
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not this time. normally i would. but its something i have no experience in and its about 13 degrees outside at the moment. so im keepin my *** inside

 
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Lol. I feel ya. I had a space heater when I changed mine. Working in the cold is not fun.

 
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i dont even have a space heater. or a big enough garage for that matter

 
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Yeah if you catch the torn boot quick enough then you can just replace the boot but that rarely happens because people obviously don't check those regularly. Best option is to replace the whole thing, which shouldn't be too much as was mentioned.

 
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Also should be mentioned that not all models/years have replaceable dust boots.

 
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Good point. Plus the labor you'd spend on one might as well be spent on replacing the whole thing.

 
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I ended up replacing the whole assembly on both sides. Only 200 in parts and 70 in labor so I'm not too upset about that. Just the fact that I don't get it back til Monday. But thank you all for helping me figure everything out

 
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$200 for parts and $70 for labour is very reasonable, happy we could help.

 
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ok so heres an update. got my car back on tuesday. new cv shafts work great. theres so much more torque to the front wheels now. but now for some reason when im on the highway and i get to about 75 to 80 mph it starts shaking really bad. im thinking it needs an alignment maybe, but any other possibilities. tie rods are good by the way. they tightened all the bolts and checked the grease fittings.

 
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That's a possibility. You might want to get your wheel balance checked though.

 
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definitely check your wheel balance.. i dont think tie rod will do anything with the vibration but wheels for sure.. you might have a bent wheel, who knows!

 
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im hoping its not a bent rim. but its possible. we just started getting temps in the 50's after being below freezing for so long theres potholes everywhere now.

 
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Yeah.. hope its not a bent wheel! lol but sometimes it could be the tires too, if theyre getting worn out theyll give you a vibration

or check your wheels.. if there is a mud on the wheels that could be too or snow if you get any lol

 
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try to clean wheels and then balance them. The new axle could have diff weight distribution than an old and beaten axle anyways.

 
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Heh. I didn't even think of that....