A visual inspection didn't reveal damaged mounts, and the engine doesn't seem to have excessive movement when shifting from R to D and back. Not sure how else to test them and I'd rather not fire the parts cannon at this thing. Although they do have 156k miles of ECO mode on them, so maybe wouldn't hurt to replace them anyways?Others above suggested motor mounts. Have you ruled these out? Mounts are known to fail on these vans especially when VCM is active.
I appreciate the advice. I bought it out of state, had my dad check it over for me and flew into town to pick it up. I took it on a 200 mile "test drive" while at my parents, installed the vcmtunnerII. The next day I drove it 1,000 miles home in about 14.5hrs. Since having it home we've driven it approximately another 700 miles. I do not claim to be an expert, but I do have mechanical aptitude. I've had bad motor mounts on several vehicles in the past and always felt engine vibration no matter what the conditions where. Granted, those vehicles did not have this type of fancy mount. I'm not in denial that it's engine mounts, I just don't know how likely it is? The shudder happens under load accelerating, and it's totally smooth while cruising.If I could just provide a bit of advice - you just bought the van, the vibration/shudder might be annoying, but it shouldn't be a reliability issue. I would drive it for awhile, pay better attention to it, when it happens, uphills and downhills, etc... you'll start to get a better idea of where it might be coming from after a few months of driving it.
I was in denial that my motor mounts were bad until what really confirmed it for me was taking it on a long road trip and driving it for 6 hours straight in one day.
My $.02I appreciate the advice. I bought it out of state, had my dad check it over for me and flew into town to pick it up. I took it on a 200 mile "test drive" while at my parents, installed the vcmtunnerII. The next day I drove it 1,000 miles home in about 14.5hrs. Since having it home we've driven it approximately another 700 miles. I do not claim to be an expert, but I do have mechanical aptitude. I've had bad motor mounts on several vehicles in the past and always felt engine vibration no matter what the conditions where. Granted, those vehicles did not have this type of fancy mount. I'm not in denial that it's engine mounts, I just don't know how likely it is? The shudder happens under load accelerating, and it's totally smooth while cruising.
Lol that's the price of the parts from Honda! Adding labor at a dealer would nearly double the cost.Yikes $1,000 for 2 mounts??? Did that include labor or is that just part cost? I know they're not OEM, but rockauto shows several front and rear options for ~$60/each. After aftermarket mounts acceptable or should they be replaced with OEM? Are motor mounts a DIY job?
That is insanity! At those prices I cannot afford to just fire the parts cannon at this thing. If I need to spend $1,000 to fix this van I will, but I need to know for certain it's the mounts before I can justify spending $1,000 on 2 parts!Lol that's the price of the parts from Honda! Adding labor at a dealer would nearly double the cost.
Aftermarket reportedly work fine but don't last as long. DIY the rear mount isn't too bad but the front mount requires removing the fans/shrouds and upper radiator hose (and draining coolant), and loosening the radiator. I prefer not to repeat that job in the near future. The right and left mounts are less expensive.
I paid around 500 each for the mounts but they are a little cheaper now.
I agree with verifying mount failure before replacing them. IMO it is worth checking them on all cars over about 5 or 6 years old. And yes, DIY is definitely doable with a basic set of wrenches, sockets, torque wrench, ramps, etc. I have no idea whether the aftermarket units only fail with VCM active but others here may chime in with their experience. I just didn't want to find out the hard way, that they fail prematurely and I have to spend another 4-5 hours changing them!That is insanity! At those prices I cannot afford to just fire the parts cannon at this thing. If I need to spend $1,000 to fix this van I will, but I need to know for certain it's the mounts before I can justify spending $1,000 on 2 parts!
As for the repair itself, the front sounds like a PITA but doable. I've read a few threads that claim the aftermarket mounts don't last longer than a year, but all threads stating that are just referring to someone elses thread with no link. I have yet to find a thread that someone says they installed an aftermarket mount that failed. Also, I don't know if these vehicles with the failed aftermarket mounts have been muzzled or not? Do aftermarket mounts only fail on VCM enabled vans, or does this failure happen on muzzled vans as well?
Thanks for the tips!I agree with verifying mount failure before replacing them. IMO it is worth checking them on all cars over about 5 or 6 years old. And yes, DIY is definitely doable with a basic set of wrenches, sockets, torque wrench, ramps, etc. I have no idea whether the aftermarket units only fail with VCM active but others here may chime in with their experience. I just didn't want to find out the hard way, that they fail prematurely and I have to spend another 4-5 hours changing them!
If you end up DIYing the rear mount, you will need a flex head ratchet with both shallow and deep sockets (17mm, IIRC). A flex head torque wrench is also helpful but, with a little creativity (and moving some other parts out of the way), I was able to fit a non-flex.
Well at $120 for 2 aftermarket mounts, I'm willing to throw the dart. My van is muzzled so I think it's a good candidate to test with. Of course assuming this shudder is in fact caused by bad mounts.It has been theorized in the past that aftermarket mounts may last for an acceptable amount of time with VCM disabled.
The passenger side axle does have an intermediate shaft that has a bearing. This occasionally can cause a vibration.After more driving, I think I feel the same vibration anytime I go WOT. It's still most obvious around 30-45mph but it's still there up to 60 when accelerating hard. The second I let off the throttle the vibration goes away. So it would seem It's not specific to a gear, but rather the load. Is it possible the axles CVs are worn causing a vibration? Is there a carrier bearing for the right side axle that could be bad? Or maybe the engine mounts are right on the edge of failure.