Lately i have been hearing this clunking noise coming from the belt/pulley area of my 5th gen. sounds like something's about to come loose. we visually inspected as much as we could without taking parts off and we couldn't identify much. i took it to my college mechanic and was told not to drive it. he said we could take it apart and inspect sometime next week or later. i have been told it could be the water pump bearing, a pulley, or a belt. a performance shop mechanic literally said WTF ?! when he heard it.. anyways, i would appreciate some advice as to what this sound could be. have any of you guys heard this before ? thanks in advance.

here's a video of the noise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARg61sGQgmg

 

check your crank pulley.

the pulley coming off because of engine vibrations/ not being torqued down good or whatever seems to happen quite often to our cars.

I know because i was scratching my head for a few days because of it too haha

but yeah check that and if it is that make sure to either get an impact and put it on or use the ultimately aggravating honda crank tool to hold the crank in place.

 

oh i see, so have you had this similar issue ?

 

yeah pretty much.

and it came back because i didnt tighten it down hard enough.

i used my all freakin awesome electric impact and tighten it to about 200 ft/lbs and it went away and hasn't come back since.

but from the way it sounds, thats what it is but then again im not there to see it or feel it on how it drives and etc.

 

wow, that seems like a huge possibility. i've never seen or heard of an 'impact' tool before.. sounds hardcore lol. i haven't noticed any driving issues yet, but i got this thing parked for a while anyway.

 

i second the crank pully the rubber inside is probly coming apart

 

wow at first i was gonna say you might have accidentally left something on the side of the fender well but i heard that and ha well - i agree with them

 

Here is a similar video i found of an eclipse. Eventually, this guy found out that it had a loose water pump bearing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVLwo7mhwNc

 

well if it was that you would probably experiance some other problems like over heating and other issues.

but you also have to remember the eclipse isn't very much like our cars.

I'm at work right now and can't see th video but i know for a fact the 4G63 is pretty different than the H22a4.

but just check your crank pulley.

its not hard just go grab the alt belt and start moving it to see if theres play there.

or you could do like i did and jack the car up and take off the driver side front wheel and then crank it up. youll have a perfect view of the crank pulley to see if its wobbling.

 

UPDATE

I decided to fire it up today to see if the noise had worsened... it did. it had appeared to be coming from the power steering pump. then, all of a sudden the power steering fluid bubbled up and spewed out of the container like a volcano ! Here are some pictures:

 

take your power steering belt off and see if the noise goes away. just do not turn your wheel while it is off though because you will have even more fluid spillage. check your auto tensioner too if you still have it.

 

We're pretty sure it's the pump. i am going to be getting a new pump next week. Hopefully a new pump solves this problem. Honestly, this auto lude has been a problem child ever since i bought it. i named her "the curse."

 

did you take the belt off yet? that will tell you 4 sure.if the noise goes away the its the power steering pump.why buy a pump if thats not it? ahhhhh **** it just buy the pump since you are pretty sure.

 

yea I'm starting to get a similar noise, it's weak but who knows, it might get worse.

just add it to the list...

 

Yeah, we're almost positive it's the pump. the noise is so bad that it's obvious that it's coming from the damn pump. i have also been reading around and learned that this problem is common. first you hear a growling noise from the pump then eventually, Mt. power steering fluid reservoir erupts and makes a huge mess. this is usually due to a bad pump. i will take the belt off and check to make sure before buying the pump as you guys suggest (i am not ignorant lol). any of you guys experiencing these symptoms, DON'T IGNORE IT. i paid the price.

 

Changed the pump today. Noise is gone