Re3irth

Hello guys,

I use to frequent these forums years ago but here I am again.
Anyway, I have a 97 Civic EX (manual) and I have had the car for just over
three years and it has been very good to me. I just did oil changes and my
<U>only problem</U> to date is that the exhaust is rusted out (holes in it).

Anyway I was tired of taking detour after detour and just drove through flooded
road before it was even closed off. Car seems to drive exactly as before, but it makes
a consistent whining noise (esp. when accelerating, the frequency changes). But the noise
is there at any speed. I did an oil change as recommended by a buddy but the noise is
still there.

Like I said, the car seems to drive ok. Any ideas?? Need your help on this one guys.

quackattack

Is the sound coming from the engine. cause it could be the brakes.

Archidictus

Driving through deep water is never intelligent, but if the car didn't hydroclock immediately, you probably didn't do any lasting damage. The noise you're hearing is probably water in the wheel bearings, the bearings of the crank pulley or accessory pulleys...nothing major, but enough to teach you not to do that again

Re3irth

Actually, right after I drove through the water ( a good block's worth )
the brakes did stop working well (water logged in I guess), but next time
I started the car they seemed to be ok.
The sound is coming from the engine bay though. Should I be worried?

Re3irth

The noise seems to start right as I'm firing up the ignition.

Archidictus

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Re3irth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The noise seems to start right as I'm firing up the ignition.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Points to water in an accessory pulley bearing. No big deal, but an annoyance you certainly earned

Re3irth

Also to add and in response to last post,
If the car is on idling in neutral, there seems to be
no such sound. When I press the gas pedal to run
through the gears the sound is evident.
But if I lay off the gas pedal and coast in a higher speed
the sound is still there.
Could it still be a minor bearing of some sort??
Because if the motor is on and I'm standing still the sound isn't there.
Thanks for reading guys.

Re3irth

Well, when I rev the engine and listen the sound
seems to be coming from the right side of my engine
bay (opposite of the transmission side), any ideas?

yoffer

So your saying that the sound is there ONLY when your moving (even after you take your foot off the gas?) If that is the case then its probably your wheel bearing.

Re3irth

Yes let me clarify:

The sound seems to come as I'm moving, accelerating and
coasting in gear. With engine on and standing still theres no
sound. Also I'll add that as I go up in accelerating (easiest to
hear in first) the frequency of the whine gets higher and higher
(highest right before I switch into 2nd). But even foot off the gas at 40-60
mph still hear it.

If its a wheel bearing, is it possible that only 1 wheel was affected?

SkertySkerty

ok sence it does it at a stop when you rev up then you deff have water in an accesory ie tensioner pully water pump ect

JDMEGKOUPE

BUMP

Re3irth

So if I have water in a bearing or pulley,
is it safe to just keep driving and not do anything about it?

Also to add, I as getting new rotors/pads put in and I told them
to check it out... they said it looks like maybe water go into somewhere
near the catalytic converter... I guess this would make sense since
I had holes in my exhaust before i drove through this water,
and the water could have just seeped through all the way up to my
cat, so if this is the issue how safe is this to just ignore?

19cIvIc94

Even if there is water in the cat, wouldn't it just get blown out of the exhaust when you go driving. Anyway hope you find your problem.

92ehatch

how long has it kept making the noise? i mean, if its been a month or two and still making the noise i would be a little worried about it.

if this just happened a couple days ago and the car is still running fine, then i would give it more time to let things just dry out.

the water in the cat probably wont hurt, it will get blown out, evaporated, etc.

Rainy City

Sounds like a power steering pulley or ALT pulley. If you can pin point it with a screw driver or a stethoscope then you'll know for sure. I had a 90 accord with a crappy PW pulley, the bearings were going out...made a nice whine from 2k - 6k rpms.

gezzuzz

how deep was the water? did it get in the car? water can get in your trasmission i would change its oil.. i know a thing or two about floods.. if its fresh water and your car didn;t sit in it for a long time you sould be good.. where is your intake located .. if your wheels kicked up water spray in can be sucked it..

anavrin351

are you sure its from the opposite side of the tranny. Sounds do bounce around in an engine bay and all over the car in general. my vote goes to the tranny if it gets louder with higher rpms. if it gets louder as the car increases in speed, the trannys probably not the issue

Re3irth

LOL see the problem is I cant tell whether it gets louder with
car speed or rpm, cause as I mentioned I have an exhaust
leak and my car almost sounds like I have no muffler...
so at a highway speed the sound from the muffler drowns
out the whining noise real nice...

anavrin351

is there water underneeth your car after its been parked for a while? im not sure if the water would actualy leak out of pully or a bearing, but it seems possible if that were the case. thats why i was leaning towards the tranny. i would check the tranny fluid first, cuz its the most expensive part that could be damaged. anything else seems like it dry out after a few days or a week, but im not sure. good luck

Re3irth

No there wasn't any water underneath my car at any time.

It turns out that as I drove though the flood, water got inside
my ac compressor (inside the bearing). The mechanic told me
that theres no way to get the water out. He also said that the
noise will probably only get louder.

Heres the thing... I don't use my A/C in the summer at all.
The guy recommended that if the noise gets any louder I should
just cut the belt to the A/C and the noise will be gone. He said theres
no way to actually fix the problem outside of replacing the entire a/c
unit ($700-$800). Any thoughts?

Redz_EX

I had a 90 DX that had similar issues, but mine was do to a faulty ground...a long shot, but did the water disconnect your ground cable from the engine?

MidwestCartel

well if its not your AC, then its your tranny, you have a vent on the top fo the tranny water can get into, thats what it sounds like.

I dont really believe the AC thing, because its clutch driven, and only engages when you engage the AC, so BS on the AC

94hatchling

i call BS on having to by a new compressor. their are rebuild kits available but you will need specialty tools and the knowledge to do so. especially if its just a bearing from water damage. then again, few places rebuild a/c compressors anymore. i've done a few, its not too bad if you have the right tools.

just remove the a/c belt and see if the noise stops. a QUICK and EASY check to see if the mechanic is right.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MidwestCartel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I dont really believe the AC thing, because its clutch driven, and only engages when you engage the AC, so BS on the AC</TD></TR></TABLE>

true, but there is still a bearing for the pulley to spin when the engine is running.

h2392si

Sounds like a belt or something. if it doesn't run any different or no white smoke, you're good. Make sure the oil doesn't look like chocolate.


Modified by h2392si at 10:02 PM 5/12/2007