2005 Honda CR-V 2.2 CTDi Vibration

ZENER

So for the past few months my car has been vibrating when under load. Particularly so when I have people or equipment in the back. It's quite severe but only while accelerating when everything in the car shakes like mad.

I thought it might be the DMF but the mechanic assures me it's not this as there's no vibration in the steering wheel and he seems to think it's the rear of the car that's vibrating.

All the wheels have been balanced up and several worn bushes and ball joints have been replaced but the vibration is still there. The brakes have all been checked and all the discs and pads checked for trueness etc and all are fine.

So this morning he discovers a part attached to the rear diff that looks like it's hanging off. Honda describe it as a balancer. The diff mounting bracket is also damaged and cracked and has also to be replaced.

I don't doubt his diagnosis but I'm a bit curious as to how it's affecting the car. As far as I know it's a part-time 4 wheel drive system and I thought that the rear diff only came into play when the front wheels lost grip ?

The parts from Honda are about 440 euro so I'd like to be reasonably confident that after paying that amount plus labour that it's going to be ok.

So does anyone have any experience or knowledge of these things ? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Ken

CJhaughey

The thing with dynamic balancers is that they are there for a reason, the rear wheels still grip the road and impart forces to the chassis.
Have you changed the rear diff oil with Dual pump II fluid? Its recommended to change the oil every 12k for long life and troublefree motoring.
The Accord with the same engine has a similar dynamic balancer on the front subframe I don't doubt if I removed it I'd notice it.

Could you get a part from a broken CRV? might be a lot cheaper.

Special Circumstances

Yeah... the damper/balancer ... I remember there being a big chunk of metal back there in some kinda rubber bushing.
Twas clattering in the Gen1 CRV I had - took it off but never noticed any wobble or shake with or without it. It's just something to dampen some kinda harmonic.

The diff mount I would be a lot more worried about if it is affecting how well the diff/axles are attached to the body!

ZENER

Thanks CJHaughey. I haven't changed the diff oil myself and I don't know if it's ever been changed but I did mention it to him and he said he'd check it. Thanks.

Ken

ZENER

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Yeah... the damper/balancer ... I remember there being a big chunk of metal back there in some kinda rubber bushing.
Twas clattering in the Gen1 CRV I had - took it off but never noticed any wobble or shake with or without it. It's just something to dampen some kinda harmonic.

The diff mount I would be a lot more worried about if it is affecting how well the diff/axles are attached to the body!

Yeah the rubber parts of the balancer have perished and fallen out, the only thing keeping the bar from falling out is a big lump of metal welded to the middle of it which stops it falling through the holes left by the rubber bushings !! The car came from the UK so I'm guessing the salt must have caused all this ?

Thanks

Ken

Special Circumstances

Do the fluid. Make sure you use the right fluid for the right year. Use the right honda fluid not any ol gearbox oil.
Any graunching or groaning coming from back diff in tight car park manoeuvres? New fluid should sort it out.

Are your tyre pressures right? having weight in the back making things worse might indicate some rolling radius issues between the front and back - 3% is the figure that the 4wd kicks in - you might be just on that margin?

Special Circumstances

ZENER wrote: »

Yeah the rubber parts of the balancer have perished and fallen out, the only thing keeping the bar from falling out is a big lump of metal welded to the middle of it which stops it falling through the holes left by the rubber bushings !! The car came from the UK so I'm guessing the salt must have caused all this ?

Thanks

Ken

Happens all of them eventually. Bad clatter off it but I doubt it's the cause of anything as extreme as what you're describing. Some people fill them with polyurethane (tiger seal or whatever).

What do you mean when you say the diff mount bracket is damaged? The thing that balancer attachs to or something to do with supporting the actual diff. The latter sounds kinda ominous.

ZENER

I'll pass on your suggestions, thanks ! It's the bracket that the balancer is attached to from what he tells me ? I don't think it's the bracket the actual diff is supported by.

He showed me an eBay seller who was selling a complete kit for the balancer, mount and bushings for 180 euro I'll link to it when I find it. Given its size it's difficult to see how its failure could cause the shaking I'm experiencing.

The tyre pressures are all to spec, the tyres and wheel balancing were the first thing we tried. The vibration only happens when accelerating.

Ken

ZENER

Just a quick update.

According to a former Honda mechanic the problem most likely is the front left inner CV joint. It seems that this is a pretty common problem with this generation of CR-V !! My mechanic will be checking this joint tomorrow so hopefully that'll be the problem and I can get my car back.

The damper at the rear Diff need replacing too but according to the Honda guy this wouldn't cause the severe vibration in the car. In fact as suggested above this can be removed without much effect on the car. As the vibration only occurs while accelerating this seems to make sense.

The problem now is that the shaft attached to this joint has to be replaced due to wear to a ridge that holds the bearings of the joint in place. According to the Honda mechanic, "it's like the bearings are trying to escape". The shaft and joint cost over 1000 euro !!

Ken

Special Circumstances

Dose. Can't help ya with bringing the cost down but thanks for update - I know someone with the petrol version of yours, hopefully they won't run into that problem.

Special Circumstances

Between staring into the darkness and cursing insomnia last night, I cast my mind back to the gen1 CRV I had.
On deceleration there was a "WHARRRrrnnnnng" noise from the rear sometimes, noticeable but not very loud. I believe this is the noise/vibration that the damper is there to attenuate. Can't confirm that as the damper bushings were shot from the first day I had it until the damper was removed completely.