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05 EX-L shaking bad at all RPMs

4.4K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  JCsHonda  
#1 ·
This started in January while driving to VA from FL. All of a sudden the car started shaking bad. It almost felt like a tire was loose on the studs and about to come off.
I can grab on anything under the car and try to shake it and nothing seems to budge.
I have recently also rebuilt the engine from the block up from a previous years road trip where the head gasket blew and it warped my heads.

This shaking only happens when accelerating but goes away completely when you coast (in or out of gear) The tires are brand new and have been balanced perfectly along with an alignment.
The only time the shaking sort of dies down is at 70mph+. Anything under while on the gas makes it shake BAD. I REALLY hope its not the motor mounts because they are more than expensive (thanks Honda)

Any thoughts on something else it might be? Ball joints? wheel bearings? Most of the shaking seems to come from the drivers side wheel area if that helps...

Please someone help.
 
#3 ·
I can grab on anything under the car and try to shake it and nothing seems to budge.
I agree that CV joints are a good place to start looking. Torn boots, excessive play, etc.

Are the wheels tight?
You said that nothing budged when you shook them, so hopefully the wheels are tight. But are the wheels properly seated? That happened to me recently and it made the entire vehicle shake like crazy! If you do the rotation that Otto888man suggests, as you take off the wheels be looking to see if any of them are improperly seated.
 
#4 ·
The drivers side CV boot is torn and it puked its grease everywhere but its still tight and doesnt move with a tug and pull. I also rotated all the tires and it didnt do anything. Ive had that drivers tire on/off about 4 times since January when I have time to look into the issue.
Guess I should change out the CV and go from there. I hope that would do it.
 
#5 ·
Guess I should change out the CV and go from there.
The next thing to look at now I think is the ball joints. Just shaking the tires and other things from under the vehicle is not a good check of the ball joints. If I were you, before I spent money/time on CV's I'd check them out or have them checked.

Generally speaking, you need to raise the front wheels off the ground just enough to get a large prybar of some kind under the wheel and lift it whilst looking at the ball joints for play. You'll need another person to help. Get on YouTube for some videos of how to do it and what to look for.

If they are okay, and all else is ruled out (bad strut, play in rack, etc) then I guess CV is next most logical thing.

Keep us posted.
 
#11 ·
I honestly couldnt believe it because the old shaft didnt have play in it that I could feel by pulling and tugging.
I can tell you what though, those guys at Honda REALLY dont want that axle nut coming off. I had a 3 foot breaker bar and a 5 foot piece of steel pipe and I still had a tough time breaking it loose after using PB blaster.
 
#16 ·
Yes, heat will usually help with stuck bolts/nuts. However I'd be careful with heating up the front axle because you'll also be heating up your hub. You have the wheel bearing in there and it has the wheel speed sensor in it and you also have the abs sensor in the hub as well. Not saying don't heat it, but consider that there are things around it that might not be heat friendly.