can i drive if i pull my driveline out?

[Hocrest]

This isn't a jeep and it's not a gear transfer case, fluid will come out without the driveshaft.

Talk to Tomssvx, he's done some work with the driveshafts, he may be able to give you more info on the "rebuildability" of the center carrier.

[Hondasucks]

And the rear axles are not like the fronts, there is a shaft running through the hub & bearing that the half shaft is splined to.

The carrier bearing DOES come apart, but I don't know how. Try just putting your FWD fuse in, maybe without any power going to the drive shaft, the vibration will go away, I know when my front U joint came apart, it vibrated pretty bad but did a lot less when I put the FWD fuse in. Worth a try.

Standing in front of the car, with the fuse box top off, in the lower right hand corner (closest to the fender) of the box is a fuse and below that is a blank spot, the blank spot is where you put a spare fuse to engage FWD mode.

Also, the rear axles won't cause a bad vibration, since they are not turning as fast. The drive shaft is turning at 3.56 times the speed of the rear axles, and in 4th gear the dirve shaft is turning faster than the engine.

[lilbrudder]

hondasucks,
i haven't had a look at the rear bearings in a while(i just did the fronts), so driving w/o the rear axles in won't mess up the bearings? i thought it sucked it all together. oh, about the fwd fuse , i know where it is, i just don't know what's wrong with it. i put a new engine and tansmission in like 5 years ago and it hasn't worked since. well at least the fwd dash light doesn't come on. does anyone know what's all involved with the fwd system(what could malfunction)? that seems alot safer than scooting under the car on some jack stands while it's going 70mph.

[reptar_head]

Pshh, where's your sense of adventure?! I guess since I do this stuff everyday I just don't think anything of it anymore. But getting your FWD working will stop the rear driveshaft from turning, that will get you that much closer to a solution.

[Hondasucks]

The rear axles don't hold it all together like up front, there's a stub shaft inside the hub that the drive axle is attached to, there is a spring pin (just like what attaches the front axles to the trans) that holds it in, it's just like the front EXCEPT it's pinned on both sides.

Did you do anything before it started vibrating, or did it just decide to start doing it one day?

And putting the FWD fuse in won't prevent the drive shaft from turning, it will turn with the rear wheels, it just won't be turning under load from the engine, it'll just be along for the ride, more or less.

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by lilbrudder

i'm a little suspicious that this started on my way home from having u-joints replaced(that's why i had the drive line rebalanced.)

Does this not indicate that it is very possible that the job was not done correctly?

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by lilbrudder

i noticed the four corners of the rear flange don't quite match. i'll try to expain, where the square end of the drive shaft(each corner with one bolt) bolts to the circle plate coming off the rear diff. one of the square corners hangs over the circle plate a millimeter or less while the opposite corner is tucked in roughy the same amount, the other two are flush. i know the obvious answer is try to adjust but it won't, i even tried rotating to the next hole, so no matter which way(of 4) you bolt it it ends up looking the same. so aparently it has alway been like that because i don't see a way to change it.

The manual shows that the two flanges are marked with an alignment mark. This could be very important and may have been overlooked during the driveshaft work.

[Hocrest]

Originally Posted by Hondasucks

The rear axles don't hold it all together like up front, there's a stub shaft inside the hub that the drive axle is attached to, there is a spring pin (just like what attaches the front axles to the trans) that holds it in, it's just like the front EXCEPT it's pinned on both sides.

Honda,
I know your older soobs are like this, but I've never seen a rear axle on an SVX can be taken apart at the outer end like that.

If you can remove the rear axle WITHOUT removing the 32mm axle nut, then it is safe to do so. If you remove the 32mm axle nut, then yes, that is holding the bearing together. Your wheel won't fall off, but you could damage the bearing driving like that.

You could get a set of rear stubs from a FWD SVX or Legacy to hold the rear hub together.

[Hondasucks]

Originally Posted by Hocrest

Honda,
I know your older soobs are like this, but I've never seen a rear axle on an SVX can be taken apart at the outer end like that.

If you can remove the rear axle WITHOUT removing the 32mm axle nut, then it is safe to do so. If you remove the 32mm axle nut, then yes, that is holding the bearing together. Your wheel won't fall off, but you could damage the bearing driving like that.

You could get a set of rear stubs from a FWD SVX or Legacy to hold the rear hub together.

Guess I need to go take a closer look @ my SVX

[lilbrudder]

trevor, about the alignment marks it seems that it must have come like that from the factory(the hanging over flange) because it is the bolt pattern that determines this and it has never been touched. i hope the job was done right, i paid the guy over $200 to stake those in. is there any way to check his work, visually they look sound, even on all sides, no play or slop. man i wish i had a bigger shop, i would have done it myself.

ok, so we're still unsure if it's a good idea to drive w/o rear axles? what about fixing the fwd fuse, are there any comon problems people have had, i'll try to fix this next, to try to isolate this vibration.

by the way, thanks for all the help on this stuff SVX'ers, keep the good ideas coming, hopefully soon there will be another spaceship back on the road.

[Suby Fan]

check out a wiring diagram and fix the fuse

[Trevor]

Originally Posted by lilbrudder

trevor, about the alignment marks it seems that it must have come like that from the factory(the hanging over flange) because it is the bolt pattern that determines this and it has never been touched. i hope the job was done right, i paid the guy over $200 to stake those in. is there any way to check his work, visually they look sound, even on all sides, no play or slop. man i wish i had a bigger shop, i would have done it myself.

ok, so we're still unsure if it's a good idea to drive w/o rear axles? what about fixing the fwd fuse, are there any comon problems people have had, i'll try to fix this next, to try to isolate this vibration.

by the way, thanks for all the help on this stuff SVX'ers, keep the good ideas coming, hopefully soon there will be another spaceship back on the road.

The bolt pattern allows for four positions on a basis of rotation.

Reports to date regarding the the FWD fuse:-

“oh, i don't think my fwd fuse works, it hasen't since a did a motor/tranny replace like 2 yrs ago (it's likely some thing simple but i never took the time to check it out)”

“oh, about the fwd fuse , i know where it is, i just don't know what's wrong with it. i put a new engine and tansmission in like 5 years ago and it hasn't worked since.”

How is it actually not working, i.e. rear wheel drive does not disengage, or is it never engaged?

[msvx95]

Originally Posted by Trevor

Does this not indicate that it is very possible that the job was not done correctly?

I agree...after reading through this....your problem got a little bit worse and more noticeable with the new u-joints as you mentioned....Your mechanic should inspect the new ones again and if needed replace them...maybe they were defective in the first place.

[lilbrudder]

ok, holiday vacation is over now it's time for me to try and fix this finally.

about the bolt pattern, (hard to explain but i'll try to clarify) if you undo the rear knuckle of the driveline(4 bolts) no matter how you rotate the shaft and rebolt it up to the rear plate there is a little bit of one flange hanging over.

now about the FWD fuse, i actually replaced the engine & tranny about 5 yrs ago but the car went into storage for 3 yrs while i was in the military, so i've been driving it off and on(more off) for the last 2 yrs. in any case the fuse has never worked with the new engine/tranny, it only stays in AWD. the dash light wasn't coming on after the replacement so i verifyed by trying to spin the wheels on some grass, all the tires spun not just the fronts.

scince the high frequency vibration started after the u-joint replacement it seems like it could be a bad install or defective parts(how could i inspect for this?) i'm leaning more toward the carrier bearing, maybe it was tweeked or handled improperly while the driveline was off the car. is that likely?

[lilbrudder]

good news, FWD fuse fixed. bad news it did not help with the high frequency vibration diagnosis. still feeling it at the same speed and consistency. time for plan B, as soon as i figure out what plan B is. i kinda like the driving on jack stands idea, but it makes me cringe just thinking about it(like the feeling you get when you see someone get kicked in the nuts) i saw on cheapest parts online i can get just the carrier bearing, has anyone done a replace on that themselves and can give me a brief rundown on what's involved?