I have a 1993 Accord, I believe its an LX, 4 door with an auto trans. about a month ago, it started making a really odd whining sound, and i cant narrow it down. any help would be great
as far as i can tell, it only happens when i make a cold start and back out of my driveway. as soon as i shift from R to Drive it starts, winds up for about 2 seconds, and then stops. then, for a couple minutes it will do it again when i get going from a complete stop. it only does this when its below 40' outside, and doesnt if i warm the car up first.
if you need any more info, or any questions i would be happy to answer, ireally want to figure this out and would pay more for a shop than i did for the car.
many thanks in advance

 

This is a shot in the dark but my 96 made a similar issue. It ended up act silly being the radiator fan motor. I ended up figuring it out by opening the hood and while the engine was running shaking the radiator forward and backward and got it to produce the noise. Good luck

 

thanks for the idea, i checked it and i dont think thats it. the noise seems to be coming from further back, more towards the firewall. I dont have another person to shift the car while I listen, so I cant pinpoint further. any other ideas?

 

Get a broom stick or long socket extension.
Place one side against the engine or trans and the other against your ear.

I have a feeling it may be the trans pump. How many miles on it and when was the last time you changed the fluid?

 

im not sure how a long socket or stick would work, having to be in the drivers seat to shift the car. maybe i am missing something?
the car has 260k on it, and i just got it about 3 months ago, so i have no idea when the last time the trans fluid was swapped. if the fluid needed replacing wouldnt the car shift rough or fight the gears?
i really know nothing when it comes to front wheel drive, automatic transmissions, and smaller engines. this is my first vehicle with that combo.

 

Well you can either get someone to sit in the car while you listen, or you could chock the wheels and apply the parking brake, place the car in gear and hop out to check the noise.

Nope, These ATs will last to ~250Kmiles without ever changing the fluid, however they don't last much beyond this. The worn clutch material clogs the filter pickup in the sump, and the pump cavitates since no fluid can be pumped. The trans just stops functioning.

The noise you most likely are hearing is the pump cavitating.
Buy three gallons of ATF Dexron III. If you have Sea Foam Trans Tune available, add that to the fill this will aid in removing/breaking down the gunk.
DRAIN and refill the trans. Don't worry if the the old fluid has a lot of particles, it just needs changing.
Nothing different than any other drive/power-train combination. Only slight difference is Honda ATs are more like MTs than typical ATs. No planetary gearsets, just clutch packs instead of shift forks.

It is imperative you drain and refill the trans, do NOT flush with a power flush. Only Drain to remove the junk from the sump. Sump filter is not readily accessible, there is no removable drain pan on the AT, the trans would need to be removed and the case opened to access the sump filter.

 

Sounds like your hearing your abs pump kick in.