I have an accord 2002 ex that makes a humming noise when i hit about 25 mph.
IT WILL CHANGE WITH THE SPEED OF THE CAR, BUT NOT THE SPEED OF THE ENGINGE.It wont do it in neutral even when i rev it up .I have checked under car for anything loose ,&exhaust leaks, disconnected the fans,tried the spare on each of the front wheels.Going down a hill put it in neutral ,even shut the engine off.still makes noise.
Need help thanks Jim


Modified by jim109 at 4:30 PM 7/23/2006

 

I tried jacking car up & putting it in gear to listen for noise at the wheels ,but when the engine is reved up the wheel seems to stop like the brake are being applied.
whats up? Jim

 

differential is the first thing I would check, tires are next

 

Jim, I think you may be contradicting yourself there or I'm just reading your story wrong. First you say "It wont do it in neutral even when I rev it up ." then at the end you say "Going down a hill put it in neutral, even shut the engine off still makes noise." I think you are saying is with the car stopped and in neutral the noise is not there even if you rev the engine, but if the car is moving like down a hill and you shut it down the noise is still there. If that is the case you have a bad wheel hub bearing. Sort of sounds like a muffled lawn mower like noise. You cannot do a whole repair by yourself, but you can save yourself some bucks. (Honda service will want about $300+ to fix this.) You will need to find an auto parts store that also provides a machine shop service or know of a reliable machine shop you can take the part to. You will need to remove the steering knuckle and hub assembly and take it in to have the bearing replaced. Its pressed in with a huge bearing press, hence the need for a machine shop. You will need a very large breaker bar and the correct sized socket to get the axel nut off, and a small ball joint tool to break the upper and lower ball joints free as well as the steering joint. Should take you all of about 45 minutes to get it off. Take the entire hub and knucle assembly to your shop. Cost should be under $100 if you DIY.

 

Thanks hondaman56 I have a hard time puting it in writing,but thats what i mean.
How would i check which side the bad bearing is on ? The car only has 43,000 miles on it ,but the warrenty is 36,000. Should a bearing go so fast? Anyway i really appreciate your help. Jim

 

that's why I said differential since it would still be in motion even when the car is in neutral and rolling down a hill.....

 

I've been told there are a few ways to determine if its a wheel bearing. One was by swerving side to side and seeing if the sound pitch changes. This is dangerous as we have to be going about 30 or 35 to start hearing it and thats too fast to go swerving across lanes. You should be able to determine which side by ear. In my case it was obvious that it was coming from the right (passenger side). Maybe take a friend on a drive to see if they can help determine from which side the noise is coming from. If that doesn't work you can raise the car, remove the tire and try to spin the hub and see if you can detect noise or roughness to the roll of the hub. I had a hard time doing this with the brake caliper on the car. You would need to retract the brake pads and have the tranny in neutral so the hub spins freely with little effort on your part. It still may be too stiff with the axel installed for you to get a good spin going. If you can get a decent spin going you should be able to feel the vibration of the bad bearing and maybe hear a slight noise when you spin the hub in the direction it would be turning if you were driving forward.

Bearings would not normally wear out that fast, but other factors can cause it to fail at any time. Hitting a pot hole is a prime example. Once you get a flat spot on the bearing roller or the race, or a crack in a bearing roller thats all it takes to make a lot of racket and start the bearing down the path to total self destruction.

 

smacking curbs kills them quickly as well

 

Sorry YeuEmMaiMai I wanted to thank you too. I dont know how to test the differenital i was hoping it was the bearing ,i think i can do that job if i can find which one it is .I tried the swerve test could hear no change .Will try with wheels off tomorrow & spin by hand .Why wont the wheels spin with the front wheels off
the ground? If i rev to much they seem to lock up like the brakes were applied ,
they were,nt . Probably will have to take into shop Thanks for your help Jim

 

check to see if your axle seals are leaking on your trans, if they are...you are screwed.....

 

no leaks. JIM

 

It might be the shield on the catylitic converter. My 87 makes a buzzing at low speeds of this nature.

 

Thanks everyone it was the front wheel bearing on pass side.Had it fixed in shop .Keep up the good work. Jim