Hello all. I made a U Turn en route to work today, and as I was turning the whole front end started vibrating & grinding violently. I stopped and when I accelerated it happened again, but smoothed out. Later as I was turning around to head home, it did it two more times, both in a sharp turn. It sort of resembled a slip in the transmission however it seemed like it could've been CV related being that it only seemed to occur in sharp turns.

Is this the transmission crapping the bed? Or could this be a problem with the CV axles?

169,000 miles, recently partially drained/refilled the transmission(with Honda fluid). Also it seems like the mechanic before me had some trouble installing the driver's side CV axle and created a vaccum in the boot. That's all the history I have...

 

Addendum; there have been no signs of failing CV joints prior to this. Eg; the typical "clicking" sounds that come from failing CV joints during a turn.

 

May sound strange but check the fluid level in the trans to start with.

Trans fluid should be warm, drive for some period of time. Then check the fluid level after about ~1 min of shutting the car off. Add if needed, please use Honda Trans fluid.

 

This may sound funny, but have you checked the inner fender to see if it has come loose and rubbing the tire?

I have aftermarket CV axles on one of my wagons, and they make noise when doing low speed hard turns, like a U turn. Oreilly, autozone, etc axles are just junk.

 

AT Fluid level was fine, I drained/refilled it(w/ Honda DW1) a month ago. Was planning on doing another round soon. The fenders appeared fine when I looked under it this morning.

It really just seems like I've snapped a joint; I looked under it this morning and the "newer" axle's inner boot suddenly has the black moly/CV looking grease everywhere. It certainly wasn't there when I changed the oil a few weeks ago and that axle was replaced right before I bought it in November. Who knows what brand it was; the guy I bought it from was a mechanic who "flipped" the car - bought/acquired it cheap, put a little money into it to get it up to basic state inspection requirements, fresh coat of Earl Sheib, etc. I'm guessing he didn't go the Napa/Carquest route with the parts.

With a scant few exceptions I usually avoid Advance/Auto Zone/Pep Boys for my parts and opt for Napa/Carquest/Dealer, right down to an oil filter. Hopefully the shop I had it towed to will do the same. Hope to find out more today! Really didn't imagine these things could break without much warning or noise, especially being somewhat new. Living and learning!