When my 5th Gen lude is cold, I hear a grinding sound from the pulley side of the engine. Ive checked all the pulleys, and belts and they are fine. and a small power steering leak, but i dont think its causing the problem. I had the timing belt, timing tensioner, and the water pump done a couple of months ago as well. any ideas?

 

Oh, ok. I guess no one in a technical site has any info...or i dont get a reply because Im a "Trial us er"

 

ok, i've said this time and time again... being a ******** gets you nowhere

one reason that no one may have responded b/c they are not sure of the problem... here are some possibilites:
valves need adjusting
injectors need cleaning

they *can* click load enough to sound like a grinding type noise

 

The valves have been adjusted within the past two months. The sound is not coming from the top of the engine, it is coming from down the pulley side. I cant see any problems with any loose pulleys, or a problem with the belts.

 

im thinking power steering, have you owned the car since new? you know if it has always run HONDA PS fluid? if not that could probably be your problem.
PS don't be a dousch

 

Sometimes when its cold outside the power steering pump makes noise. MAYBE when the P/S fulid is cold it gets thick and therefore makes the pump work harder (theres gears inside the p/s pump i think). Also the small leak probably makes it worse.

Does it go away once its warmed up???

 

Ive owned it since new. Always run Honda fluid. It has jsut started making this noise recently. I did have all that timing work done, but it didnt start right away, but i think it has something to do with it. Yes the noise stops when it warms up.

 

My advice is that you get the leak fixed.... The leak is putting extra strain on your pump... If you dont mind the noise.... Dont worry about it... Its just that part of the reason the P/s is making noise is that it relies on pressure associated with the fluid level... When mine is low on fluid the P/S doesnt work good... The low levels dont provide adequate gravitational force to run the pump correctly... If you are low on levels than you have a minor problem.. A leak makes pressure worse because there is less.... Keep ur fluid really full and you might not here it as much... I would just patch the leak and get ur ressure back up.. Does the P/S go in and out?

 

No, I havnt had any problems except the noise. it just sounds like something is grinding. But once the car warms up, no more noise