aktexican

Greetings,

new poster here but have been lurking for quite a while and using this forum for help working on my 1995 Honda Civic LX. I have a few other questions that I will post in separate threads.

Anyway, just did t-belt, tensioner (and spring), water pump, cam and crank seals and accessory belts all OEM. I am getting the infamous whirring sound from the lower t-belt cover and my wife's nursing stethoscope has it pretty much narrowed down to the tensioner. I have read pretty much every thread on every forum related to this and still can't figure it out.

This isn't mine, but this is better than any recording I could get. Mine is making this exact sound.

http://youtu.be/W0cnZQt0ZVI

I have set the tension following the FSM at least 10 times and it is still there. I then let some tension off until the belt was a bit too loose and the noise was gone but the belt was flapping. Also, I completely took everything apart and rechecked it all and it looks great. And, yes, I did remove and replace all accessory belts to make sure it wan't one of those. The car runs perfectly otherwise.

So, my questions:

1) Is it possible to make the belt too tight after exactly following the recommended tensioning procedure? I checked tension by hand several times (deflection and twist 90 degrees) and it was perfect.

2) Could my new tensioner have bad bearings? It sure felt fine.

3) Could it possibly be the new water pump? Stethoscope points more towards tensioner, however.

4) Did I just screw something up somehow and don't know it?

thanks in advance!

CivicxTree754

Sounds like its rubbing...remove the cover and see if any groves have been worn in it. then go from there. I.e > Tensioner.

aktexican

It definitely isn't rubbing the upper cover (it's off right now). I can push on the lower cover by the tensioner and it will make some noise but it sounds different. And when I tore it down last weekend there was no sign of rubbing on the belt or cover. Last night I loosened the upper bolt on the lower cover and pulled it away and it made no difference in the sound.

I agree it does sound like rubbing, but as I said it gets louder if the belt is tighter and quieter (but doesn't go away) when the belt is loose.

You can hear it in this one with the upper cover off. BTW - this video is not my vehicle, just an example.

http://youtu.be/VEb77FA2BzQ

thanks for the help.

apexi_rsx

you get a whining when the belt it too tight .. loosen it up some

aktexican

Does it sound like the two vids I linked? Not really a whining, per se, but more of a whirring/humming. It isn't high pitched like some of the too tight vids I've seen.

Also, I loosened it and the sound decreased but didn't go away and at one point the belt was flapping - meaning it was too loose...way too loose.

At factory tension specs it is quite loud...like the first video I linked to.

I am stumped and if I have to take it all the way apart again my wife is gonna kill me!

thanks.

dE.fUsEd

Mine sounded like that after fresh oem parts. about 60k later and it still does it. no issues.

aktexican

Thanks. That comforts me a bit.

I am 99% certain I did everything correctly (I did it twice basically) and used all brand new OEM parts. Guess I will let it ride!

dE.fUsEd

As long as it's not rubbing and you can turn it no more than 90 degrees, you should be fine.

redm3turbo

I feel like mine sounds the same.....

aktexican

ok. maybe I am just being overly cautious or pessimistic. thanks for all the replies! Now I get to swap out a bum cluster.