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Gearbox Half shaft play?

waj1974

waj1974

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Location
West Midlands
Car
Honda Accord i-ctdi
Guys,

I have already got advice from Fahad but can some of you also confirm the problem.
My driver side half shaft or gearbox shaft call it what you want, the shaft that comes out the gearbox then attaches to the driveshaft, has play in it and I was wondering is this normal or should it be solid???

Honda Accord 2.2 CTDI EXECUTIVE
 
Not that car mechanics are my speciality, but I would think there are certain tolerances and movements allowed (otherwise stuff would shatter under the strain).

The actual amount will depend from application to application.

I doubt it would be much though - and I would expect it to still be a fairly solid feel (if that makes sense).
 
Waj, as discussed I don't know the specific amount of allowed play but I suspect there is some - but not a lot.

If you are getting steering vibration and you've eliminated the wheels/tyres as a probably cause then this could really be the cause mate..
 
yeah i think so too, as i said i got a salvage drive shaft and the output shaft was tight, no play but the driveshaft itself could be faulty as i was getting the vibration through the steering wheel, may keep the output shaft and get a new driveshaft and attach that to it...
 
waj1974 said:
yeah i think so too, as i said i got a salvage drive shaft and the output shaft was tight, no play but the driveshaft itself could be faulty as i was getting the vibration through the steering wheel, may keep the output shaft and get a new driveshaft and attach that to it...
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Just replaced my driveshaft for the same reason. There was a fair bit of play where they mated together. Was told by the mechanic that the metal on the splines of the output shaft is harder than the driveshaft it mates to. This means that the driveshaft femail end wears first. New driveshaft fitted, problem solved.
 
Ok so I took the salvage yard driveshaft and output shaft back, the guy was ok gave all my money back, thank god..so I buy a new motor factors driveshaft and they fix the original output shaft into gearbox with the new driveshaft, took it for a drive and the steering wheel vibrates still...mechanic says its the tires, at this point I lose it and say the vibration only happened after you install the driveshaft, bloody grease monkeys...
 
So.. you need a new gearbox output shaft by the sounds of it?
 
ok guys, the update, the car was diagnosed by honda as needing a half shaft, so i bought one from the salvage yard which was £100 but it also included the driveshaft, one piece. It was on a 54 honda accord with 39000 rear end damage so it was guaranteed working.
The garage fitted the driveshaft but im now getting a slight judder/shimmy only at low speed/high load.... i can feel the judder through the drivers seat, but as i said when going uphill its more noticeable...it wasnt there before the driveshaft was fitted, and i have asked the mechanic and he says well it only goes one way...

Now the garage fitted it straight into the gearbox, no grease on either ends of the shafts, so guys has anyone got any information on the installation of the driveshafts because i cant find any information on installation in the workshop manual anywhere...

I cant think why its causing a judder at only low speed and when it goes over 30/40 mph nothing....
 
Waj, has your DMF ever been replaced?
 
Don't Know mate, but I'm ruling dmf out as this only happened after the drive shaft was fitted
 
Ah ok.. you sure one of your wheels hasn't buckled? Maybe try swapping front to back, won't cost anything and it could just be a coincidence..
 
yeah did that yesterday with my mates type s all 4 wheels changed but still the problem persists, will get to the bottom of this soon
 
has your car been 4 wheel alligned? i presume you have had the tracking checked but was it a lazer alighnment set up?
 
didn't all this start after that part failed in you car. The symptoms most people have had with driveshaft is a wobble between 55-65. Which side was replaced, and was the hubs damaged in that incident? Can't remember what happened.
 
without trawling through previous posts..............why was one of the driveshafts replaced in the first place?.....
 
The Reason was that the ball joint snapped, it took the passenger side drive shaft out the gear box, replaced that, all is fine that side but the driver side is now playing up...
 
update, took it to honda and the mechanic drove it and within a minute said its the driveshaft out of balance thats causing the vibration, so i agreed to have the driveshaft and the half shaft replace.

Well been driving it for a couple of days now and its been very smooth but i have noticed when going uphill today in 2nd gear low speed the car still vibrates, feel the vibration in the drivers seat :eek:

im convinced it only does it under load in 2nd gear so i cant really make out what it can be now, i havent contacted honda as yet.. what you guys think :huh:
 
Hi,

i'm new here and have been trying to cure exactly the same problem for months now: judder most often felt when accellerating in 2nd gear through 1500-2000 rpm, particularly up hill. Occasionally in other gears and when cruising at Motorway speeds in 5th. So far my excellent local garage has changed both half-shafts. The first pair were returned to supplier under warrantee because the problem persisted, but its still there with replacement pair. For tother reasons the car has had all clutch components replaced, differential reconditioned, and the intermediate bearing that supports the right driveshaft replaced. So the inboard shaft on the right side (between gearbox and that bearing) is the only drivetrain component not replaced. Garage is out of ideas and can only suggest a) replacing the inboard shaft, even though no wear/play is apparent, or B) using genuine Honda parts for the two driveshafts already replaced. Has anyone found a solution yet?
 
Hi Harry,

I've had the same problem with you. I recently had the total drivers side shaft (including the inboard shaft) replaced and it's almost better. I say almost because I can still feel a very slight judder, but I did replace it with a second hand shaft so I can't be 100% sure if it was ok before it was fitted. But its definately a lot lot better. Try the inboard shaft and see if that fixes, and let us know how you get on.
 
nodrogs said:
Hi Harry,

I've had the same problem with you. I recently had the total drivers side shaft (including the inboard shaft) replaced and it's almost better. I say almost because I can still feel a very slight judder, but I did replace it with a second hand shaft so I can't be 100% sure if it was ok before it was fitted. But its definately a lot lot better. Try the inboard shaft and see if that fixes, and let us know how you get on.
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Has anyone got to the bottom of this 2nd gear 2k revs vibration yet? I have had the same problem for the last month and cannot find the reason. Before this fault I have already had a new clutch, DMF and offside driveshaft fitted 7mths ago. When this vibration started I replaced the N/S driveshaft with a new one as it did have some play in it. The vibration is still there! Can't afford to keep throwing parts at the car and praying it will go away. My local garage are really good, but they are stumped as to the cause.
 
John, have you had the half shaft (between gearbox and outer shaft) our support bearing changed? As I said above, after changing the drivers side entire shaft it almost sorted it. But it was a second hand part so there may have been some wear in it.
 
Hi Stephen
I am just in the process of getting another new Offside driveshaft just in case it has developed a fault in the 14k since I last renewed it. At the same time I have ordered today from Honda a new support bearing so that they can both be fitted at the same time. If the driveshaft is at fault, it will be a warrenty claim, as it has only been on the car for about 9mths. It does seem to be a vibration that only happens at a road speed of 20-25mph. I think I can just feel it in 1st gear. Easily feel it in 2nd and if I put it into 3rd at a very low speed and accelerate, feel it a little in that gear as well. If it is happening at a certain wheel speed and not engine speed, I can only think the problem must be in part of the connection between the gearbox and wheels. If when I fit these new parts it is still there, goodness knows what it is! I will keep everybody updated when parts are fitted.
 
John, the exact same symptoms as mine. But just to clarify, there is a "half shaft" and outer shaft on the drivers side. I have a feeling that this might be the half-shaft (think its about £300ish new). I've heard it suggested that it can be caused by the gearbox and shaft fittings being made of a different grade of material and causing very slight wear on the shaft, not enough to be noticed.
 
Hi Stephen
Yes I did ask Honda about the price of the half shaft and then picked myself off the floor when they told me. I just hope it is not that shaft. Maybe I should ask around breakers to see if there is a low mileage one around at reasonable cost.
 
John, your local dealer should be able to swap shafts with a known good car to identify which shaft is at fault, you just pay for the labour. I'm getting to the stage of buying brand new and be done with it. If you can verfiy the milage from the breakers then yes, although you'll likely not get just the half shaft, it will be the entire thing including the outer shaft and support bearings. When I reserved mine, the guy said there was 40k miles, when I picked it up they told me 60k...
 
Hi Stephen
I know what you mean on breaker parts, you never know for certain the mileage. My local garage is not a Honda one, so a swap is a problem. Could not find the halfshaft secondhand anywhere, apart from a 113k car. My mileage is only 89k, so surely any possible wear in mine has got to be less than the one at the breakers. Got the bearing from Honda, aftermarket new driveshaft from a good supplier and the car is now in the garage getting the parts fitted. I am told by mechanics who know better than me, that there is little chance of the half shaft being the problem in itself. Even the guy at Honda said that. Where the driveshaft splines into the half shaft can wear, but it is usually the driveshaft femail end that wears out, due to the halfshaft being of harder metal. I just hope it is a faulty driveshaft I had fitted 8mths ago that is causing the problem. Anyway, should get the car back tonight and I will get back with an update later.
 
ROAD DETECTIVE said:
Hi Stephen
I know what you mean on breaker parts, you never know for certain the mileage. My local garage is not a Honda one, so a swap is a problem. Could not find the halfshaft secondhand anywhere, apart from a 113k car. My mileage is only 89k, so surely any possible wear in mine has got to be less than the one at the breakers. Got the bearing from Honda, aftermarket new driveshaft from a good supplier and the car is now in the garage getting the parts fitted. I am told by mechanics who know better than me, that there is little chance of the half shaft being the problem in itself. Even the guy at Honda said that. Where the driveshaft splines into the half shaft can wear, but it is usually the driveshaft femail end that wears out, due to the halfshaft being of harder metal. I just hope it is a faulty driveshaft I had fitted 8mths ago that is causing the problem. Anyway, should get the car back tonight and I will get back with an update later.
Click to expand...
Well the update is- the car is just as bad as before. So in the last week it has had two new driveshafts and a new support bearing for the halfshaft. The mechanic says there is no wear in the halfshaft itself and now it's all together, both driveshafts are nice and tight. I even tried swopping wheels from front to back. Has anyone heard of the DMF causing this sort of problem? It did have a new one before last xmas though. I would have thought DMF imbalance would happen at certain engine speed. This fault is happening at a certain road wheel speed, in 1st and easily felt in second gear. This car is really trying my patience, as well as my bank balance!!
 
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