Does it only vibrate on acceleration? Do you feel the vibes on both sides? Was anything done before this happened? Except for the tire balancing? I would suggest to replace only the side that is vibrating. No you will not save labour by replacing both sides. Unless the boots from both sides are leaking. Aftermarket parts have different qualities or level. I have replaced many CV shafts , some are from the Aftermarket with no problems. Odometer reading? Let me know.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it only vibrates on acceleration. I seem to feel the vibration on the driver side only (but I'm usually a driver so it may not be correct). Nothing was done before this happened, but I do remember now that it had a severe front-end shaking twice when driving a highway speed (70-75MPH) about two months ago. That may be when the axle(s) got bad. It has 135k miles.

 

Just be sure you buy good quality aftermarket brand.

 

What would be brands you recommend?

 

I used cardone (new) axles recently in my DD civic and no issues so far. I bought them from amazon.

I would also recommend changing the axle seals.

good luck

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I've read that some users on this forum recommend that brand. Where do you buy axle seals from?

 

If its only doing that while accelerating, yes it could be the CV but you can check. Look at the axles - are the boots torn? Does it make a clicking sound at low speed while turning? If yes to either of those then it is the CV. If it doesn't do it while at speed and in neutral or coasting, again, its a good bet.

My suggestion would be that if one side is gone, it would be a good idea to do the other side. Reason being that if you do just one side, and the other took some damage from trying to pull the car while the one side was toast, you'll end up paying to do it anyways. You don't save any money per se, just aggravation.

 

Thanks for the input. It does not make a clicking sound turning at low speed but I did not have a chance to check whether boots are torn (I'm planning to bring it to a local mechanic to check it out).

How likely would it be to damage the other side of the CV axle while changing the damaged one?

 

Also Cardone axle is available in NAPA. Might be good to check there so that if you need to exchange etc it is local.

 

Other possibilities than the CV joints and tire balancing:

- motor mounts
- EGR valve
- bushings from control arm and sway bar etc.
- bad spark plug (but should give you a CEL)
- bent rim
- harmonic balancer (crankshaft pulley)

 

Thanks for the suggestion! I mentioned above but the Ody had a serious front-end shake twice a couple month ago while driving on a highway at 65-70MPH speed. This shaking did not appear immediately but it may be related to this symptom.

Shaking is mostly felt in the area where my feet rest and not in the steering wheel and it's only felt at accelerating mostly at around 45~55MPH. Could it still be one of the things listed above?

 

There is enough talk of the failure of the crankshaft pulley on this site to check on it ASAP before it ruins your engine.

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/65718-2005-crankshaft-pulley-failure.html

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/192178-power-steering-pump-pulley-failure.html not power steering pulley in this case as title says

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/152534-vcm-long-term-reliability-6.html This one talks of the VCM being the culprit of premature failure of the crankshaft pulley.

 

Loose bolt somewhere not so obvious? Everything might look ok but might be one of the bolts at sway bar bushing bracket, subframe, LCA etc might be loose. My previous postings in this forum... going though shaking and vibrations, it was the pass side LCA front bolt. I had it up on jacks, shook/hit everything, and checked bolts. Pass side lower caliper bolt was also gone. BOTH of these never came out in ANY mechanic checks because it looked ok.

Ok, mine was greasy everywhere... if you have a much cleaner chassis might be easier to spot. This check might be worth a look in about 45 mins to 1 hr. Again not to check your torque specs but for any looseness.

 

Was this resolved?

I am having a very similar issue in my -05 between 55-65 MPH, about to order some replacement axles.

 

We just helped someone fix their problem with CV's. Showed up as bad vibration on acceleration. A manual check of the CV's gave no indication of any play, looseness, or problems. Owner replaced CV on drivers side and problem is fixed. So, the give away that's it's a CV seems to be the vibration upon acceleration only.

http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/207153-05-ex-l-shaking-bad-all-rpms.html

 

It has been partially resolved. I ended up buying a remanufactured Cardone CV Axle from NAPA for $80 for driver side only and had it replaced. My mechanic recommended replacing both sides but he said only one side should be bad but could not tell which one is bad so I made a bet on the left side and I got lucky on this one.

After the left CV axle was replaced, the shake at 45-50MPH has been gone (it was mostly felt from where gas/brake pedals are located). However, I have steering wheel shakes (in much less severity) at around 65-75MPH now.

I guess I need to balance the tires again after CV axle is replaced? Or would 4-wheel alignment help?

I'm not sure if what you're describing is from the bad CV axle though.

 

Swaybar bushings, engine mounts play a role too? If there is any internal tire damage, that might happen too. Even if the tires look good there might be separation issues coming up or wearing out internal. I have this situation on my Avalon. Tires are at 90% when I bought it but are very old. There are some cracks on sidewalls, but they look brand new (michelin's). Twice, alignment with balancing done. Only thing left now is to update.

Alignment will help though and hope you got the lifetime so you do not have to pay multiple times down the road.

 

However, I have steering wheel shakes (in much less severity) at around 65-75MPH now.

I had that problem for years, yes years. I finally gave up trying to fix it and just figured it was a part of the vans character. I tried everything, new tires, wheel bearings, alignment checks, tires, balancing, component inspections, all of it.

At 150k mi I replaced struts/shocks (and one spring) with KYB's. Totally fixed the shaking problem. Steering wheel is even steadier now than when new. I mean absolutely still even up to 90+ mph. Kinda freaked me out for a few days. Still have not had an alignment or wheel balancing since the install and I'm running on the same set of halfway worn out Kumho tires.

Not saying that this is your answer, but certainly something to consider if you have higher miles and original components.

 

I had a similar problem with my 2006 Odyssey LX (120,500 miles). Between about 45 to 65 MPH, the entire vehicle would shudder when stepping on the gas. It was more prevalent when driving uphill. There was no noise.

I checked the alignment, tire balance, and replaced the EGR ($50 and 10 minute labor) but nothing worked. I was ready to buy the engine mounts when I decided to take it to the Honda dealer for a diagnosis. I was told that the CV axles were worn out. Since they wanted more than $800, I did it myself for $375 in original parts (including shipping from Honda Parts OEM 30% Off | No Tax!! Outside California | Honda Dealer Parts) and about 2.5 hours of labor between world cup soccer games).

The problem went away.

 

Well, I'm having the same vibration issues. Replaced the old cv shafts with the cardone shafts from rockauto and its gotten a bit worse. Looks like I will need to try the dealer models. Wow...being cheap can be a pita.

 

I used a Cardone/Rock Auto CV in my Ody. I found it to be of very good quality and have not had any problems years later. What I'm saying is that maybe you should look at other things before shelling out the big bucks for new axles. Plus, you're not cheap, your smart! Vibration problems can be VERY difficult to solve, don't give up.

 

I'm seeing 2 Cardone items on Rockauto. One has a core charge the other does not (Cardone Select & A-1 Cardone). Which did you install?

 

I agree with JCSHonda. It could be the one you got is a defective one. Usually the good name brand like Cardone is one of the good aftermarket. I too have good experience with them. Have it exchanged under warranty. Let us know.

 

When I did the front axles on our van, I went with remanufactured Honda on both sides ($145/side - got them from Majestic and they even provide a shipping label to return the core) - a little over 2 years and 50k miles later and they still work perfectly. we had heavy shaking on acceleration - I knew it was the inner CV joints since they had slung their grease out through the band on one side (tried rebanding, but it still leaked) and the boot split on the other.

 

if cv axle on one side is bad, both cv axles are replaced at the same time to save on labor. Is this way to go?

Also, is it okay to use third party cv axles? I researched and found some people recommend using OEM but some people are okay with third party parts.

Two things,

1) I don't see any labor savings doing both half-shafts at the same time.

2) Also, an OEM half-shaft costs $146 plus shipping at Bernardi's

 

How do you test for bad axles if it's not leaking or has a torn boot?

 

What are the symptoms you are having?

 

05 EXL 153,000, rebuilt transmission by a reputable local shop.

60 and above the steering wheel wobbles, sometimes worse than other times, it's a consistent problem now.
Accelerating makes it worse as well as going around some sweeping turns.

I recently replaced all discs, new pads and rebuilt the calipers. No change. Needed that stuff anyway.
I also have replaced the sway bars and bushings.
Replaced rear shocks, was just told front struts are fine.
Tires where balanced and alignment was done, no change...however I am due for new tires now. One thing I notice is all my tires are wearing on the inside and the left is cupping. I have been rotating them. Hancooks.
I was told my motor mounts are fine when the tranny was put in, problem was happening before then anyway.
No play up or down or side to side in the wheels when they're off the ground.
No clunking like a bad CV joint and no noticeable grease leaks.
My control arm bushings that are the furthest to the rear do seem worn some.
I'd think I'd rather replace the axles then those?
Trying really hard not to throw money at the van to see if it fixes the problem without knowing for sure what is wrong.
Is there a test I can do for the axles? Jacking the front up and having someone put it in drive to see if it wobbles?

Thank you,
Andy


From what I'm reading it seems the axles are the culprit.

 

The symptoms you are describing the attention it needs is an alignment. As the other poster suggested to also to check the following items too. Was anything done before this happened? I would suggest to get a 4 wheel alignment. Your'e alignment is out of whack. Have it aligned , but you will need at least a good set of new tires in the front to get a proper alignment. Let us know.

 

Cupping is usually due to things like bad wheel bearings, bad ball joints, bad steering or sway-bar end links, damage to the steering linkage or control arm, and worn/ damaged suspension bushings.

I'm surprised you replaced the sway bars, as they can't possibly contribute to this problem.

Note once you have cupped tires, they exacerbate the problem and the tires have to be fixed.

Generally, the way to diagnosis this is to put the car/van up on a lift and use a bar to see where play exists in the suspension. Pay particular attention to bushings in the control arms (upper and lower), check the tie-rod ends for play, CV joints.

Also, did this problem exist before the transmission went bad?

 

Problem did exist before transmission was rebuilt. To check for play in CV axle, how? Please be specific, thank you! With a bar back and forth?
Will be getting new tires.
I have a felling at my last alignment they did a poor job.
My money is still on the axle.

Thanks, Andy

 

Where did you had it aligned? Usually if the axle is bad it will make a clicking sound when turning or when shifting from park to drive or reverse it slam into gear. I would highly recommend to get an alignment somewhere than where you had it before. Let us know.

 

It appears to need more than an alignment. I believe you can only adjust toe on the odyssey, and cupping can't be caused by incorrect toe-in.

We're missing a critical piece of information here. Question to the original poster; from the description of the problem, it almost sounds as if the car was in an accident, or a curb was hit, or you hit a pothole really really hard.