I am replacing the front axle (driver side) in my 97 Accord (AT).

1) The replacement axle doesn't have a dynamic damper. Is that a problem? What does it do anyways?

2) I had taken out the damper fork before taking out the axle. While putting back the fork, the manual says: "Tighten the FLANGE bolt and the new self-locking nut with the vehicle's weight on the damper." Does that mean I'll have to put on the tires and take the car off the jack stands before I tighten the flange bolt and self-locking nut?

Thanks in advance.

 

I've never done an axle for your year, but just reposition the jack stand to get the weight of the vehicle where you need it.

 

1) Never heard of a dynamic damper axle... I had a 95 and never saw that when shopping for axles.

2) Just put the jack stand under the lower control arm and lower it down a bit. They just want to make sure the damper is fully seated in the fork before you drive it.

 

I pushed the new axle in. However something is weird (although I might be wrong).

When I move the wheel (or axle) by hand, the other wheel goes in the other direction. So the two axles are moving in opposite directions!! That is kind of counter-intuitive. Is something wrong? (The car is still on stands).

 

Ahh yes, something is horribly wrong!



Just kidding, thats normal. With a differential, if the input shaft is stationary (the mainshaft) and one output shaft is turning, the other will turn in the opposite direction. I bet if you and a buddy tried to rotate both wheels the same direction you would find it pretty difficult since you would have to turn the mainshaft and get the pistons through a compression stroke. Again, nothing is wrong and is completely normal.


Also, make sure the axles are completely seated. They should click when they are all the way in and from a bottom-looking-up view at the tranny there shouldn't be much of a gap (less than a few millimeters) between the CV joint housing and the transmission case. If they aren't seated properly you're bound to leak tranny fluid out of those holes and pull the axle out when you turn the wheels.

 

I had to do this job over the weekend on a 97 Acura TL (very similar to Accord). I did not put weight on the axle before re-clamping the damper fork. I may have overlooked that instruction, but I was careful to fully seat the fork. Not a bad idea as it's not particularly loose and easy to seat.

I once had the dampener on myformer 90EX break down and was loose on the axle. I ground it off w/ a air dye grinder. I could never detect any vibration afterwards.

regards