Hi guys,

Potential problem has cropped out. Had a timing belt done on my 94 Accord LX. Now when quickly accelerating, I hear a "whine". This only happens when I "get on" the gas pedal. When idling, I dont hear it. As soon as I let go of the gas pedal it stops. If I accelerate smoothly I do not hear it.

The whine is hard to describe. Almost "electric". High-pitched. I WOULD NOT describe it as a constant squealing noise.

I had a complete timing belt change done (tensioners + seals). As well as a complete tuneup (cap, rotor, plugs, wires) done.

Any ideas? I will approach the tech who worked on my car next week, but wanted an idea of where to look.

Thanks in advance,

 

Sounds like the belt may be too tight.

 

If you are referring to the engine accesory drive belts then yes that's a possibility. The drive belts are easy to overtighten and can create a high pitched wine if they are too tight.
On the other hand an overtightened timing belt could also cause a high pitched wine. There is a procedure when installing a timing belt to set the tension, and its possible that the technician that worked on your car was un-aware of that, and just "guessed" on the tension.

The correct way to set the timing belt on your engine is as follows:
-loosen the timing belt tensioner bolt (be sure engine is a TDC on cyl #1)
-rotate the crankshaft counterclockwise three teeth on the cam gear
-tighten the tensioner bolt to 33 ft. Lbs.

The turning of the engine at that exact position in the combustion cycle puts an exact amount of tension on the timing belt, and is what's used to judge tension on the belt.

 

Thanks for the info. The only confusing part is that the whine is not present when the car is idling. Only when gas is given. Does this still point to the timing belt?


BTW. What are the implications of a belt that is too tight? It will be a while until I can get the car back to the shop.

Thanks!

 

Same thing happened in our shop. A new tech (who wasnt familiar with hondas) replaced the t-belt. Turns out the balancer belt was too tight. The balancer belt has to be kind of loose.

 

How time consuming is the procedure to loosen the timing and/or balancer belt? I hope this is something that doesnt take 3 hours of labour.

 

Well if you bring it to a shop to be done it will probably be about 2 hrs. flat rate at least (Involves removing the drive belts and PS/alternator, removing the crank pulley/harmonic balancer, front cover, etc.) - but honestly if they didnt do it right the first time, then they should fix it for free.

OR.... if you have 10, 12, 14, and 17mm sockets, a ratchet, and a couple other basic hand tools you can do it yourself quite easily (a manual for your vehicle helps if your unfamiliar with the process).

By the way, you said you really cant hear the "whine" at idle, more or less just only when on the gas. Its possible that just the tightness that they have it at, and a few other variables, may mean in your case its only noticable at a higher RPM, who knows, or it could be something else causing the noise- but I would still suspect the belt tensions first.

 

Thanks AccordInTheMaking. Will take the car back and the first opportunity. I'm surprised this happened as the tech formerly worked at Honda. I guess mistakes happen.

 

It might just need a simple alternator belt tension adjustment. Sometimes, the whine is due to it needing to be tighten a little more (not less), as the new belts stretch after a bit.

 

m friends b16 popped one. replaced it then it whined for about a week or two. now it doesnt whine at all. maybe a litte to tight then it stretches???

 

Well on both my accords (91 and '95) I generally set the belts a tad on the tight side and they tend to have an audible whine all the time- but thats just my car.

By the way the spec on the belts is something like:
Alternator- no more than 3/8" deflection with 20lbs applied to belt

and

Power steering- no more than 1/2" deflection with 20lbs applied to belt

-Its not rocket science, its just tightening a belt, but the "specs" if you will are a good guideline when it comes to getting the tension just right.

 

AccordInTheMaking,

Good call. Was in another shop for a second opinion, and they diagnosed a bad tensioner. They actually took of each belt, started the car and heard the whine. All belts were off and there was still a whine.

Not sure how to proceed. The second shop said its a serious issue.

 

My f22b1 is whinning! haha gotta re-adjust the tension when I have time.

 

so they took off the accessory belts and could still hear the whine? is that correct?

have you tried adjusting the tension of the timing belt yet?

also, the shop said it was a bad tensioner or just bad tension? I don't see how a bad tensioner would whine like that.

 

TouringAccord

Your right. Its bad tension. Timing belt is way too tight. They adjusted the tension and it sounds great.

Just curious. What are the long term problems with a too tight belt?

 

youra tensioner, shes a tight like these

 

I dealt with that on the very first timing belt replacement. The shop owner said the the whine would go away when the new belt was broken in. I said there was no whine five years earlier when I drove it off the dealers lot with 20 miles on it. He then got his guy to take it apart and adjust the tension.

 

I rest my case...

I re-tensioned my timing belt this past weekend after installing a cam. Didn't have to pull the crank pulley off, or even remove the lower timing cover. Took about 20 minutes to pull it apart, tension, and put it back together.

 

ok, makes sense...

glad you got it fixed now.

long term problems... could probably cause the belt to fail before it's recommended change interval.

 

what?

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/270791585228?...ht_2003wt_1037

I changed all these parts in link above ( belts.pump t.b drive belts) and i get a squeel/whine when the car is ON idle under abo0ut 1800 RPm/IDLE but the whine/squeel goes away when i'm over.

2002 accord 4 cylinder.

 

buy some wd40 and spray it on the belts(power steering, alternator) one at a time while it's squealing..whichever sound goes away, tighten that belt.

 

ok ill try that.
i keep hearing different opinions of spraying water or wd40 on belts as it can cause slip, make it worse or ruin belt?

 

please keep in mind my p/s belt only twists 90 degrees maybe lil more in middle of belt

 

The goal is NOT to spray much, just enough where the belt enters the power steering pulley because that's where it will make noise if it's slipping. If the noise changes or goes away that means the issue is that belt...it needs to be tightened...or try the alternator belt. If the noise doesn't change on either belt then your issue is related to the timing belt area. If that's the case, then you can loosen the timing belt tensioner bolt a couple turns without taking the bolt off and turn the crank pulley COUNTER-CLOCKWISE a few revolutions slowly. Then tighten the tensioner bolt again and restart the engine and check for the noise.