markman

Hey guys,

My Accord started making this "airplane" sounding noise at speed.
It shifts fine in all gears. I mean it has 150k and clutch disc and pressure plate are the original, so not perfect, but ok, no slipping that I can tell.

When I accelerate I don't hear the noise until I get up to 35-40 MPH and higher, but when I slow down after I get up to those speeds, I can hear it all the way to zero until the car stops moving. Engaging or disengaging the clutch has no effect on the noise, meaning it's probably not the gears, it's there when coasting in neutral.

At first, I thought it was the driveaxles, because the boots were cracked and a lot of grease flew out of there. I added some grease in and patched those but the noise remained.
I decided to go to the dealer to have it checked and they said it's from the transmission. The dealer said they would rebuild it and replace what is usually replaced in a rebuild and they would open it up and see if there's anything more needed it would add to that work. So, I'm not sure what exactly is bad inside the transmission, but I did ask, because it makes the sound in neutral, are they sure that's the problem? They said yes, because it spins even without the gears engaged. Also, they said that depending on, or for how long it made the noise, it can be fixed and something about rubbing or grinding in/at the case.

Of course the prices quoted are pretty high and I would want to fix it myself if possible. I can and have the capability to remove the transmission and replace it, but I checked prices for a rebuilt one (for example $1200 at autozone) and that seems high for me. This is partly because I would need to change a lot of other things (driveaxles, clutch disc, etc.) if I do this and it would add up.

I tried to research the issue online and forums, I'm not really sure what is wrong or what would need to be fixed inside the transmission. Maybe something like the mainshaft/bearing?

Other things to ponder:
At about 100K there was a engine vibration that turned out to be the front engine mount. It was pretty badly gone by the time it was replaced that the engine was leaning so much that the one of the radiator fans blade was close enough to something that it touched a little bit and made a bit of noise.
I wonder if this could be related. The dealer saw the issue back then, did not say anything about the other mounts, so I'm not sure.
So, I'm open to suggestions, for example let's assume the mounts have something to do with it, then, what could be the problem? How do I check?

Also, I'm sure the transmission fluid needs to be replaced, but I doubt it would cause this issue, right? Would not enough fluid cause some problems? (not saying it has low fluid, I'm just wondering).

If you have suggestions, if possible to also let me know for how long I can keep driving with this problem or what can happen if I keep driving. The car is at my sister and I want to bring it home to work on it, a 400 mile drive on the highway.

fiveten

You probably have failing main, counter shaft and or differential bearings going out.

markman

Ok, thank you.

Let's assume it's any of those, can I keep driving it for a while or what would happen (if I make the 400 mile trip)?
I'm guessing the noise would get worse over time, would that be a signal to stop driving? Even now I think it's bad enough that for long highway trips I might need earplugs so it doesn't drive me crazy.

It started making the noise a short while ago, maybe like 300-400 miles ago. My sister had it and that's when she said she heard it the first time and she did make a highway trip of about 100 miles with the noise.

I know the worst case scenario would be it breaks down and I'm stranded somewhere, but I also wonder about further damage to the car even if I do make it all the way home.

94EG8

Does the noise go away if you shove the clutch in? If so it's bad input shaft bearing 9 times out 10 (occasionally it'll be another bearing that's bad, or more than one bearing) If the noise doesn't go away with the clutch in, and it only makes the noise when the car is in motion, think diff bearing. In any case you're normally looking at under $100 for parts unless you want to replace all the bearings.

If it's the input shaft bearing, chances are you can drive it 400 miles (a lot of times they'll go months or years, but sometimes they'll fly apart quickly, it's a luck of the draw thing) Diff bearings I wouldn't go far on.

HondaCivicSE

Its the input shaft bearing, i have the same problem with my civic