Hey everyone. Let’s talk about worn inner CV buckets.
If your car has a vibration only on acceleration that gets worse with speed there is a good chance that you have worn inner CV buckets. Let me illustrate this common problem with my old set of worn axles.
Here is an axle from my S2000 club racer . This is the side that connects to the wheel and this is the side that connects to the differential. Each axle has two CV joints or constant velocity joints and their purpose is simply to maintain constant rotational speed as the angle of the joint changes. The inner CV joint has this tripod joint and each leg of the tripod has a bearing. The bearings ride along the inner CV bucket walls. Over time these bearings will start to create a groove in the CV bucket walls. This groove becomes a problem when the ride height changes since the tripod joint will sit at a different depth inside the CV bucket. In this new position, it is possible for the bearings to move in and out of the groove and eventually cause pitting on the CV bucket. This is why people commonly experience this problem after lowering their car. I suspect that this can also happen over time as springs settle and bushings wear.
The good news is that there are several ways to fix this problem.
1. The most common solution is to install half shaft spacers. These spacers sit between the CV bucket and the differential and force the tripod joint deeper inside the bucket so the bearings sit in the groove that they used to sit in.
2. Another common solution is to swap the CV buckets from left to right and vice versa. For whatever reason the pitting first occurs on the driver’s side CV bucket so it is possible that the passenger side CV bucket can still be in good condition when symptoms first arise. Swapping the CV buckets allows the bearings to sit on a fresh surface.
3. The last option is to replace the axles entirely. I only recommend this option for the most severe cases of vibrations. I ended up having to do this on my CR with 140,000 miles after I was unable to fix the vibrations after installing half shaft spacers and performing the CV bucket swap. I swapped in a used set of low mileage axles and the problem went away immediately. To give you an idea of how bad the vibrations were I was unable to drive more than 60mph on the highway, it was terrible (lol).
I hope this video clarifies this issue for s2000 owners out there. If you’ve solved this problem yourself, comment down below with the solution that worked out for you.
){kind=link}
When I bought my car, it had 1 oem axle (driver) and 1 after market axle (passenger), it was causing vibrations.. After I swapped both with after market axles, it caused more vibrations from 40-50 mph under hard acceleration.. I just installed the half shaft spacer and that didn’t work. Someone on s2ki said it won’t work on after market Axles and it’s only meant for OEM axles. I’m going to install used OEM axles and use the spacers. First I’m going to check the differential bushings.
I only get some Vibration when I takeoff then goes away thank you good video
I'm having the same issue with my h swapped ek civic. I am having to have to replace my axylus every year. But this video has definitely given me some idea of what to look for
–
I think I have a busted spider gears, as both wheels stop spinning at same time when jacked up. Thoughts anyone? Thank you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD9bHlGqUCc
i had this vibration on stock ride height, slightly worse after dropping the car an inch.
I will be buying spacers and hopefully that fixes it
Great video description. This happened on my Volvo xc60 after lowering it. I just replaced the driver side, have to do the passenger next to eliminate all vibration, but this has helped tremendously. Thank you
I don't own a Honda, but your inner tripod joint information was helpful in diagnosing a problem on a 2008 VW Rabbit (using tripod joints).
I've got the same problem on my audi a6 quattro. Changing axles every 6 months or so, still inner cv joint fails. Dont have any clue why its happening…
Would this make a squeal sound, I really don’t have vibration but it squeals when engine breaking and switching gears
i have an awd stinger that is experiencing vibration after lowering under acceleration….sucks, havent drove the car since december because of it.
Nice video. I never had a vibration issue even after using 3 different coilovers of various ride heights over the years. But I guess someday I may have to a CV bucket swap at some point.
Thank u for this vid. This explains why I started suspecting my inner CVs to be bad right after changing from 17" to 15" wheels
A4 b6 wagon 272 000miles on clock i guess mine are finally giving up after my every day hard driving i am surprised they lasted me all these years with no issues
Where can I buy new bucket for my axles?
My car have a clicking sound when I accelerate hard example from a full stop at a traffic light and if I am to press hard on the gas the will be a clicking sound. Is the problem this CV joint thing?
Same problem with my car.. However i am unable to find that whether its the driver side inner inner axle or the passenger side inner axle? Please help…
my car dosnt vibrate, the only thing i noticef on rough roads, i hear noise below.. So how can i fix this.. need advice!! new subscriber here.. tnx
can a bad one also cause strange noises ? Like a mixture between bad Wheel bearing, tire noise and clunking ?
How difficult is it to remove the axle? I recently started experiencing vibration and it's only getting worse
Worked for me, thanks
Ok, do you have the video what type of viberatiin. Mine kinda grinding sound start at 20 mile in hour a d goes higher. Checked the bearing nothing wrong, i can feel sound on my feet when im driving. Cx9 2011 has 92k
Is it possible to put a spacer between the hub and axle to push the tripod bearing into the cup to reduce the wobble?
Raise the car. That is actually the only solution. There are no others.
@DIYGuys first off i'm beyond thankful that i came across your videos! and I am even more grateful someone with another S2000 is making repair/diagnosis videos, and making damn good ones too! Your Half shaft spacer video saved my life when my S started to get that famous vibration not long after being lowered. I've got a question about some more vibration. As of the last month it seems to have this vibration, not a violent vibration, but definitely noticeable. But it seems to come on like almost exactly right at 35-36 mph and will then smooth back out over 40. Have you or anyone who reads this, have this happen before? Sometimes it will feel like it vibrates again around 65-70 but if i give it gas it feels like it smooths back out again.
It's not only on acceleration. In a manual car if you don't put the clutch in when letting off the gas it will do the same thing because the motor will be slowing the car down so it puts stress on the axle also.
same thing happened on my TSX after lowering it, but bc its FWD its the passenger side inner joint that needed replacing. Cant switch the buckets on FWD because one side is female and other side is a male. I used a new oem bucket for my repair and that was 6yrs ago. The wheel vibrations are back and wheel balance didn't fix anything. I suppose you can also rebuild that bucket with a junk yard oem axle from a same model car that wasn't lowered?
thanks a bunch!!!
If you swap the cv bucket from driver to passenger, won't the passenger side be screwed up now? I feel like there's something I'm not getting…I think I'm going to try and swap them, so I hope you can reply!