Menu
What's new
By:
Advanced search...

Strange whirring grinding noise

S

Soupie.Crouton

Members
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Location
The North
Car
Accord EX 2.2l iDTEC
Hi everyone...

Bit of history before i go into the real problem...

Second and third gear were really notchy... Sometimes didnt even engage until i called upon my inner hulk and forced it into gear. Was worse in the winter. I tended to boot it and skip 2nd and get into third. Changed the transmission fluid with original honda gearbox oil, slight improvement. Changed it for that GM friction modified synchromesh stuff from the states and a bit better. I lubed up the gearstick cables that go to the top of the transmission case and that made a big differnce. Then i lubed up the gear lever mecahnism in the cabin under the leather gator, that made a helluva difference.

Gear changes wern't perfect and still a tad notchy.

Then, recently, this whirring type noise appeared at various speeds and revs. You could hear it on local 30 roads and the motorway. Took some advice and replaced the clutch and flywheel from HH stoke... But the noise is still there! Argh!

When you clutch in (disengage) the noise would disappear. After listening really closely in a quiet carpark it is doing it in neutral too. Its a sort of of grinding noise.

It happens under acceleration and overrun (i believe thats the term to describe when you are just cruising along with it in gear with no throttle). It is especially noticeable in 4th at 30mph.


Any one got any ideas? I'm stumped!
 
At a guess it sounds like your gearbox is shot
 
Yeah it was. Or so the receipt says!!

I'm taking it to my local dealership on tuesday to het a master tech to look at it and get an "official" diagnoses. Has anyone got any experience of getting thier gearboxes reconditioned?
 
Never heard of this or any gearbox issues on the IDTEC cars.. are you saying it also does it in neutral, or only when a gear is engaged?
 
Hiya!!

Just been for a drive and i'll try to describe it further.

It happens in all gears i'm ***uming as its inaudible in first, but second through to 6th its definitely there.
It happens in overrun also. After driving for a number of miles at various speeds I am inclined to say that it does indeed disappear when i knock it into neutral. This was around 40mph. It does also disapear when I press the clutch down. You can hear it reduce the further the pedal goes down and then disappear altogether when fully disengaged. I think it was my obsessive compulsive paranoia before -argh i'm hearing things! Lol.

I can't feel any feedback through the pedal, but can sense the vibrations it makes. As I press the pedal down it changes in pitch slightly. If I excersise the pedal while travelling at 40mph around the biting point it changes in pitch ever so slightly.

To me it sounds like its coming from infront of the pedal behind the firewall, but that just means its in the engine bay somewhere! I cant hear anything when I open the windows.

The whirring does not change pitch when driving, but the frequency of the whirs are in sync with the engine speed. That is to say the whirs quicken as i accelerate and slow as i decelerate. It does not happen when stationary.

Any one got any tests i can run to narrow it down?

Fahad! You are right! I've rung round three different gearbox places and garages and they all say the accord gearbox is rock solid - none of them have worked on one yet! Civic and jazz its common, but not the 6 speed accord one. Rough bearing replacement cost in a gearbox I have been quoted (in Manchester) starts at £695 - eek! Hope it isn't.

Is what i have described commensurate with a worn the clutch release bearing? Edgeoftime's post is making my paranoia kick in again! I did insist on keeping the old knackered parts so maybe someone could point out the release bearing if i post a pic in my next post.

Thanks everyone so far. Hope i get to the bottom of it!!!
 
I actually wouldn't stress over this unless it's loud and getting worse.

Keep an eye on it but just try and enjoy the car.

Impossible to say for sure without hearing it but it does sound like a clutch release bearing from your description. It's not an expensive part but it does need the gearbox off to fit it and ideally should have been done as part of the clutch job.
 
Hey everyone.

Thanks John, I dont have one of them... maybe they forgot to put it in the boot with the rest of the bits, but i think i will ***ume they changed it

Just got back from my local dealership and they say it is likely to be the gearbox. I'm going to leave it till the noise gets louder and worsens such that it is bleedin obvious what it is!
 
Hi Tony,

How many miles did you drive it for when you we're having to 'force it into gear'? How many miles has the car done in total?

I think forcing it into gear has done the damage to the gears, would have been best to get the clutch changed sooner.

Might have to look at an exchange gearbox, crashed 8th gens do pop up on Ebay being broken for spares.

Hope you sort it.

Rich
 
Hi Rich,

I got the car with 45K on the clock back in 2011. It now has 155K. I am ***uming that the first 45K were not friendly. I think a forestry company owned it before me... the bodywork was scuffed and scratched up pretty bad, god only knows where that car had been!

The gear shifting only gave me grief from about 110K -125K. My first 60K miles were sublime. I only occasionally forced it into gear (110K onwards), maybe 3-4 times when I really needed to move without becoming a hazard to other road users. It was 2nd and 3rd that offended. Usually I would pump the clutch a few times and gently push the gear into location until it engaged. I could feel some resistance as if it was being blocked and then it would disappear and just clunk right in. I even checked the detents on the transmission case behind the bolts to see if they were in place – they were.

Something to note… I did take it to a number of garages to diagnose this, but everyone who drove it said there was nothing wrong. I also let a few of my car enthusiast friends take it for a spin and they all said that it was fine too. That being said I am in that car at least two hours a day every day and know it inside out and I knew that the gearbox action had changed from being super silky smooth to notchy.

I personally am convinced it is a gearbox bearing, and have been advised that they just get nosier and nosier and don’t really cause that much harm if left alone. The place I took it to in Manchester did say that it’s very early days and usually other customer’s cars make a right racket before they bring them down.

The lubrication under the leather gator worked wonders. It practically cured it. This is what I used:
http://www.electrolube.com/products/contact-lubricants/spg/contact_lubricants_other/
It was £11 from amazon if I remember rightly. I also put grease on the top of the transmission where the cables go into the box and that also helped. I had to take the battery holder out to get access, not a big job if anyone is considering it. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I switched to this transmission oil for a while and it seemed to help too. Read the reviews… a lot of Acura 3rd gear related issues.
http://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-10-4014-Friction-Synchromesh-Transmission/dp/B0026JK8FK
It has original Honda MTF in now. The oil was changed three times over the last 4 years so I believe it’s not that.

Just to note, I love the accord, it’s my second one and I don’t drive like an idiot. It’s had a pretty pampered life, only genuine parts, and top workmanship. IF (and a big if) I ever sell it the recipient will be getting one seriously looked after motor. 90% of the miles I have put on it are all motorway, cruise control engaged at 50-85 mph - more 50 mph with all these road works! This is why it worrying me – that gearbox has had a pretty easy life with me. I understand the accord has a lot of torque but tootling along shouldn’t really wear it.
 
At 155k miles you might as well keep it and run it until it fails. Its not going to be worth spending too much as the resale value wont be that big, 8th gens dont fetch big money at high miles, the value of mine is dropping and I've only done half your miles...

Maybe try and find a used gearbox from a crashed car, that would be cheapest.
 
edgeoftime said:
Go find the release bearing!!
Click to expand...
I'm sure HH would have replaced this when changing the clutch and flywheel as per post 1
 
brett said:
I'm sure HH would have replaced this when changing the clutch and flywheel as per post 1
Click to expand...
Maybe so, but if the other clutch components were thrown into the boot why not the release bearing? and has the OP returned the car to them for ****ysis.
 
edgeoftime said:
Maybe so, but if the other clutch components were thrown into the boot why not the release bearing? and has the OP returned the car to them for ****ysis.
Click to expand...
Very true John.
Also just read the post again and it's not 100% clear that HH did the work but advised.
Can the OP clearly state who did the work and as John said take it back to them.
 
Hiya everyone,

Just to clarify. It did go to HH for the clutch and flywheel replacement. All original genuine parts. They couldn't identify the whirring; it was there before and after the clutch and fly replacement.

I have just got off the phone to HH and they insist that it is standard practice to replace the release bearing and can only apologise that the technition didnt stick it in the boot for reasons unknown.

Since they are 95 miles away i doubt i will be taking it back to them for ****ysis - I took it there on the positive feedback on TA and since it was an explensive and big repair with scope to go wrong (clutch tensioning etc). I will just have to use my honda local dealer network instead now.
 
Did HH remark on the noise? I ***ume they were informed before they did the job. and you were advised accordingly, something like "Oh yes they all do that" or did they promise a positive outcome.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top