Ever since I purchased my car back in January i've been fighting an endless battle with mysterious under-the-hood noises in my '95 Integra. The best way to explain it is it seems like I have two separate problems at the same time. I hear a whine/brushing noise from the accessory belt area, and my air conditioning isn't working so i'm thinking those two might be correlated. I had the alternator tested by 3 separate places thinking that's what it was, but they all said it was fine, along with the belt. Also, when the engine's cold after sitting for a while, I'm getting an engine knock type sound. I thought it was the valves so I had them adjusted by the dealership who also said that they were noisy and out of spec. I thought that it would be fine after I brought it home, but they called me and told me that my timing belt was original (at 123k) and was on the verge of snapping. I had the receipt from the original owner (a little old lady) that it was done at 72k and told them this, and they swore up and down that it was original, loose, worn, and needed replacing. So they replaced the belt, tensioner, water pump, coolant, and did a valve adjustment. I thought great, my noise will finally be gone, but it was still there. Still whining/brushing and making a slight knock until the car warms up. When it warms up, it still makes the whining and brushing noise but the knock seems to go away. I'm not sure what I should try tackling first. The engine was always taken care of and I don't see how it could be knocking. I was thinking that perhaps it was something with the transmission, as I heard that those can make knocking/brushing/whining noises with some sort of internal bearings. It's an automatic, though, so i'm not sure if that's still applicable. The dealership isn't much help and says they can't find anything excessive but I can tell when something doesn't sound right. I'm thinking of changing the oil filter and seeing if that would make any difference with the cold knocking. It's currently a SuperTech filter but I happen to remember it making noises with the other two different filters i've used too (Napa Gold, Valvoline). I'm currently running Valvoline 5W30 and standard 87 Octane gas w/FP3000. The car isn't a GS-R so it doesn't require premium 93 gas. Any thoughts, or possibilities anyone thinks I should check? Perhaps the dealer did a poor job on the belt/valve adjustment?
'95 Acura Integra - Slight Knock Noise?
- Thread starter ThirdeYe
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Try removing the accessory belt and starting the engine. See if the noise is now gone. If so, it's something driven by the accessory belt.
(Don't run the engine for too long with the accessory belt off--although your waterpump is driven by the timing belt, the car will be running off the battery since the alternator won't be running).
(Don't run the engine for too long with the accessory belt off--although your waterpump is driven by the timing belt, the car will be running off the battery since the alternator won't be running).
There's 3 separate accessory belts, I believe. One to the alternator, one to the air conditioning, and i'm not sure what the other one does. I don't know how to remove them either, short of cutting them. I'm not the most mechanically inclined person, as you can see in the original post due to my laymen's terms
I know how to remove my valve cover and change my oil and battery and that's about it
Well I started it up this morning after sitting overnight and I didn't really hear anything out of the ordinary in terms of knocking. I'm starting to think that it's just the fuel injectors being loud. I hear it more inside the car than outside the car, actually. I listened to it at operating temperature and I only heard the clicking of the fuel injectors. -shrugs- I'll have to just keep an eye on it. Doesn't consume a drop of oil and it's still golden after 1900 miles on it. Gets great mileage too. Guess I can't complain too much!
Older cars just make noises sometimes. Mine has its odd sounds as well, and I'm fanatic about maintenance and replacing worn parts before they fail (when possible). As long as the noises aren't getting worse in a hurry I would just try not to worry about it. Sounds like you've got yourself a solid ride.
Yeah i'm the same way. I've done just about every maintenance thing you can think of, even when not necessary or just preventative
it rides and drives smooth, and I love the way the car itself is, it's perfect for who I am and what I need. I'll just keep an eye (or ear?) on it and see how it goes, should be okay
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