- This topic has 9 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
A newbie’s 1st post on ETCG. As heard here in my video accelerating from 20-30mph on a smooth road, the noise will persist up to and beyond 70mph, starts at about 20 mph. Whether or not the A/C or vent is on I still hear the noise, but if I take my foot off the accelerator, it stops. Any ideas what it could be? Some maintenance items to note are listed below, and complete maintenance record since I took ownership at 52,800 miles can be found at this link, no login required. In case it is helpful here is a short clip under the hood while the vehicle is at idle. I scanned the car at an O’Reilly’s but no codes appeared.
I only use 93 grade gas mostly from BP or Shell
All maintenance is current at 165,500 miles, except it is now due for a cooling system flush. I first started hearing this sound after the power steering pump was rebuilt by an acura dealer. I was out of town in Las Vegas and drove 90 miles back to the acura dealer upon their instruction and they said all belts were fine with appropriate tension and checked the torque on the pulleys.
[Not sure if this is relevant but when the P.S. Pump was rebuilt also had a rear left side wheel’s caliper pin found to be broken and the caliper was seized to the rotor and the dealer put on new rotors and new pads and a new pin but said the calipers were fine. Brake fluid service performed too. Front brakes and remachined rotors last done at 145,247 miles (so roughly 20,000 miles ago but checked out during acura’s inspection at the time of the above repairs.] I did recently move in August 2013 from Las Vegas (no snow or salt) back to Chicago after 5 years in Vegas and the winter was the WORST I experienced in 30+ years there and the car was outside most of the time in the Chicago suburbs but the engine block heater was plugged in.
Other maintenance to note if you did not click the link for the complete record:
*Power Steering Belt Replaced at 145,247 miles
*Compressor Belt Replaced at 145,247 miles
*Timing Belt Replaced at 145,247 miles and timing belt tensioner and seals also replaced. The water pump was inspected when the timing belt was changed and was apparently fine so they did not replace it.
*Alternator Belt Tensioner replaced at 95,000 miles.
*Fuel System Cleaned by Acura at 133,000 miles.
*Transmission Replaced (with rebuilt one for the same vehicle) at 114,000 miles
*Spark plugs replaced at 133,000 miles*The suspension (struts, sway bars, bushings, etc are still original, mostly use vehicle as a highway car. Acura senior technician said since if suspension/struts are not making noise or leaking, no need to replace the struts etc…not sure I agree with that, I thought every 50,000 miles you replaced them to ensure good contact with the road).
My thought process of what the underlying cause might possibly be:
*Belt slipping, I do not see any fraying or signs of the belts getting hot from unusual friction and changing shape near the edges
*Pulley needs adjusting or bearings worn out?
*Suspension noise – something rubbing or oscillating
*Midship bearing aka carrier bearing (I read about this its new to me)
*Transmission issue? Although no harsh or jerky shifts appreciated at this time.
*Valves Need Adjusted?
*Water Pump (even though car not overheating or waivering a bit from its usual temperature aka just below half on the gauge).*Should I spray water on the belts and see if the noise gets louder, indicating belt slippage?
Thank you all in advance for any advice, thoughts, cost effective investigative techniques.
-
Replies
-
see if this helps.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/diagnosing-noises-in-your-car
That’s a different nose from anything I’m familiar with. Sounds like road noise if I’m honest. If it’s not, then something is likely moving around quite a bit. There is a video in the above posted article on finding suspension noises. At the end it’s found to be the side engine mount. They were a problem on your car. They’re liquid filled. If the liquid leaks out, the mount will not work very well and may cause noise. You can sometimes see a trail left by the fluid after it leaked out. You’ll likely see it more clearly in the video.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Thanks College Man, I definitely looked at the faqs prior to posting myself out of respect for Eric’s time, your time, and anyone else that possibly looked at my lengthy post.
I’m flattered to get such a quick reply from ETCG himself! Now that my winter tires are off the noise is heard by others and didn’t just seem like something in my head. I found a post about common problems with Honda/Acura’s worst vehicle as you stated so well ETCG and noticed your comment about not putting anything but Michelin tires on the car. What kinds of things did you see when owners were not heeding your advice? My winter tires were Goodyear XRT snow and ice but I use the Michelin’s the rest of the year. Thank you once again for your input! I will be sure to let you know what it ends up being.
I’ve seen many issues when Michelins weren’t used. Mainly wear and noise issues. Some tires are worse than others. Dunlops and Kumhos are probably the worst.
With that noise being inconsistent I would think it would be a tire issue however. I still recommend you check that side engine mount as it did sound similar to the vehicle in the video that was in the article that was posted.
Hey EricTheCarGuy-
Side, front, and rear engine mounts do not show any sign of leakage on the ’01 3.2TL but by no means is that final, just my less experienced eye. I crawled around the ground and slowly struck out after following your pointers in the video previously mentioned about diagnosing noises too. I put a digital recorder under the hood (secured tightly) and captured the acceleration only noise much clearer as heard here (four separate clips are in one video with some added details about speed and road surface as well as digital recorder placement). I’ve stumped or frustrated the 2nd gen TL followers on AcuraZine and hoping your wisdom will help diagnose the underlying cause. Thank you in advance for your time and thoughts!
I could hear it more clearly there. BTW all you need to do is copy and paste the URL right into your post and the video will play right here on the site.
That said, it sounds rotational. I’d be checking the brakes and also the tires. In addition check the front inner fender liners. Sometimes they come into contact with the tires when the retaining clips break, but only when driving because wind resistance pushes them into the tire. You will see marks on them where they come into contact with the tire if that’s the case.
Keep us posted.
Eric-
Well after plenty of time getting dirty and a nauseating amount of online reading, I still could not find the source of the noise, swallowed my pride, set my ego down, pulled out my wallet, and took the car to the only shop that our family ever has used to work on cars for my 32 years in the Chicago suburbs. The two top guys in the shop acknowledged the noise but like you, also cannot identify its underlying cause. The caveat being it could be from the transmission (cross your fingers it isn’t, the rebuilt warranty just expired) but they don’t touch them at their shop. Their advice was just keep driving it until it gets worse. They specifically stated the motor mounts, tranny mounts all look ok, no vac leak. I will go talk to one of the mechanics specifically when I have the time and I can catch him coming in so I can butter him up with some coffee for another moment of his time about what he specifically he evaluated on my differential diagnosis list and add to this post.
Part of me is tempted to drive to Ohio to have you take a look at it, but I don’t know if you do that sort of thing or not, as I’m sure plenty of crazy people would like to from the internet. You might know better given your history of working on Acuras, I don’t know of the 3.2TL automatic engines to get piston slap or have a common failure of spun bearings. Maybe something happened or is loose after I used the Goodyear Winter tires this past winter. I do not think this will help but would seafoaming the car be a good idea? I’m also tempted to look at the EGR ports. Please talk me out of anything stupid like what I just mentioned! Ideally this car will last me a couple more months and then I can sell it, ideally in good mechanical condition, I don’t want to make it someone else’s problem but also not looking to spend a fortune if I won’t get use from the repair. I’ve stumped quite a few people on Honda and Acura tech sites/blogs as well as heard similar noises from vehicles after lots of Youtube time…but no one seems to know exactly what the cause is and I’d love to share with anyone interested should I find the answer. That said, thanks to ETCG and his audience for all of your time and thoughts regarding my car, any other suggestions are welcome and I’ll be sure to post any updates if I have any about this noise.
Well if you brought it down for the ‘Meet Up’ July 19 I’d do what I can to have a look. Perhaps we could fix it that day depending on the problem. Otherwise, my shop is not open to the public for repairs, sorry.
That said, if they say let it get worse, that’s what I’d do. Noises are difficult to track down sometimes and it’s often easiest to let it get worse to make it easier to identify.
Keep us updated.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.