Honda cv-joint driveaxle

[Ryan]

To All,

What is the rubber absorber for on the Honda drive axel? I purchased a rebuilt axle from NAPA and it does not have this on it. I attached a picture blow of the difference. Circled in Red is what I am talking about. I am working on a 2001 Honda Civic EX 1.7 VTEC

Can I run without this rubber piece?

Thanks for any help on this.

Attachments:

• Hondacv-joint.PNG

Topic

[Gumpy Guss]

Well they don’t put them on there for no reason.

Its some sort of vibration dampener. Perhaps at 72MPH the center shaft resonates at the frequency that the CV joint balls are making contact, leading to a rumbling or ringing noise or vibration.

The replacement might use a different wall-thickness or hardening on the shaft and it might not resonate at any reasonable speed. Or they were too lazy to put one on.

If that bothers you, you could return the drive shaft and try to find a more complete one. Or you could transplant the dampener. Although that requires some messy messing around with C-clips inside all the goopy grease to get the CV joint center part off.

[college man]

I checked on ebay with your info and it said the axle is
not compatible. Unless there is more to it.

[Bill]

There are several cars that have that vibration absorber on the shaft. Many rebuilders don’t install them cuz water tends to collect between the rubber and the steel shaft. In a cold climate this water freezes and makes the shaft vibrate worse with it than without it. Another reason that was explained to me was the fact that the water that collects under the damper causes the shaft to rust allowing a weak point where the axle can break.

[Ryan]

I checked with NAPA and they said there is no need for the vibration absorber after they rebuild it. It was originally for vibration and the axel has now been balanced to a higher standard to run without it. And yes water collects and causes problems in winter.

The part is correct that I used from NAPA. I took the attached picture from the internet to show for an example only.

[college man]

Well thats good news. keep us posted on your progress. 🙂

[Bluesnut]

I would take what NAPA told you about rebuilding a CV shaft to a higher standard with a grain of salt….

[Author]

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