Hello There,

This is my first post here, so please forgive me if I've asked this question in the incorrect forum.

I own a 1998 2.3CL, automatic. Lately, I've been hearing an odd sound on occasion, and am having trouble diagnosing it. To complicate matters further, the noise doesn't occur whenever I take the car to my dealer, so there's no help there.

The noise is very hard to pinpoint, but I'll try to describe it. It is a short vibrating/rumble noise that occurs when I accelerate. It tend to happen when I accelerate slowly from a stop, or when I accelerate into a turn, and tends to last about 1 or 2 seconds. It can also happen if I am coasting at a high speed with my foot off the accelerator, and decide to give it a little bit of gas. This is not happening every time I accelerate, and I do believe it happens more frequently when the engine is cold, but cannot definitely rule out occurances when the engine is warm.

I realize that this is vague, but I was wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar. Any help would be appreciated, and if I need to add more details to this description, I will.

Thanks,
Bobby
Toronto, Ontario

 

Dear Bobby,
Welcome aboard.
Does the sound appear to be coming from the engine or wheels??? Where is the sound originating from??

Daniel
Kansas City, Kansas

 

Thanks for the welcome Daniel!

Sorry, I guess I should have mentioned. The sound does not seem to be coming from the wheels. It is more of an engine like noise.

Bobby

 

I may have heard a simmilar noise coming from my car at times. I have found that the sound comes from the steering column. It only raises its ugly head at a certain speed (25-30 MPH) AND RPM (2500-3000).

My thoughts are that it is a harmonic resonance of some sort. It is not a loud noise, it happens infrequently, and my stereo covers it up nicely.

If it is not a grinding, vibrating, squeeking , banging, or continual noise, I am not usually worried about it.

 

Bobby,

Have you tried revving your engine in nuetral to verify that it is proportional to engine speed? Also, not to be cryptic, but do you have an aftermarket exhuast (tuffy, midas)? Does weather make a difference?

Limequat

 

You know, I think a harmonic resonance type of noise is actually a pretty accurate description of the noise I am getting as well. And yes, it's not a grinding, etc. type of noise. I haven't noticed it coming from the steering column in particular, but if may very well be coming from there.

I guess I am a bit concerned because this is something new. I have owned the car since new, and never noticed it until recently (about 2 months or so ago).

Bobby

 

The noise could be anything. Check for anything that could br loose under the hood. My Civic did something similiar because one the hood fasteners were loose. Check to make sure your exhaust system has no cracks or holes either. If you can't find the problem don't bother wasting your time taking it to a machanic again. Just wait to see if it gets worse. Good Luck!!!

 

Limequat, no I haven't tried to put the car in neutral to verify this. I can try doing so, but the problem is this. I can't seem to reproduce this noise at will. It happens rather intermittently, and it always happens when the car is in motion, or about to go into motion. The noise itself last for a second or two, so by the time I notice it happening, it's finished, so I won't be able to switch into neutral upon occurance.

And no, I have no aftermarket parts on the car. The exhaust is still the stock exhaust. The car has been serviced exclusively at the dealer I purchased the vehicle from, and only Acura parts have been used on it.

 

gjr2001, yes, I think I will have to do a thorough check of the vehicle. Again, I had my dealership look at it, and they found nothing, but maybe I can be a bit more thorough! Thanks for the advice.

 

Finally someone like me...I think you have the same problem I'm having...I have a 2.2 5spd. and when I accelerate from 1700 to 1800 RPM's I hear a slight almost quacking/vibrating noise. I was told it could either be a loose baffle in the muffler or maybe a heat shield vibrating against the exhaust pipe. I haven't fixed mine yet and it bothers me alot. I hear it in any gear at around 1800 RPMs.
The dealer told me to put a new exhaust on it!!!!! All they want is my money!!!

 

bdgtor,
I think you've done a pretty good job of describing a moderate-load, low RPM vibration. It seems to be (um) resonating with the group, because that's where our engine is the noisiest. So, of course, all of our various vibrations are going to be most prominent in this range of the power band.

I had a similar problem that was worsened by aftermarket exhaust and slippery conditions. Midas bent the pipe so that it ran very closely to the hanger. When it was wet out, the water would lubricate the exhaust mount and allow it to translate slightly. Combine all this with the magical RPM and throttle position and it would create this terrible noise that sounded something like a herd of elephants with chronic sinus congestion.

You can check this by getting under your car and seeing if you can force your exhuast to clang into its mount. Might wanna check the heat shields while you're down there, too...

Limequat

 

bdgtor here is my thread of the same topic...i think...

check this out...

 

i think i have the same prob w/ my 97 2.2.

some people are telling me that its coming from loose connection at the exhaust system.

 

Thanks for all the responses so far. Unfortunately, I don't have the car with me at work right now. But I'll check the potential problems mentioned here as soon as I get home and see if I can get some more information for you folks.

Bobby

 

Hey Bobby, I just read all of the threads on this page, and I'm very sure we have the EXACT same problem.

I've learned how to produce the sound on demand (at least in my car) Try this if your car is standard:
Take the car to a long road where you can drive without worrying too much about other things...start driving the car, after you get it into 2nd gear, watch the tach and switch into 3rd very very early, almost as soon and you get into 2nd. The rpm's should be very low, (around 1500 or even less) and then put the pedal to the floor. The car won't accelerate quickly becuase of the low rpms, but it will eventually increase and when it travels throughthe 1800 range, the rattle/vibrate sound should occur.

I can do this every time, keep it in 3rd, and just let the gas off until the tachs lowers to 1500 or so, then press the pedal down again to pass through 1800. This should make it happen every time. Try this.

If you have an automatic, maybe try starting in first, then putting it to 2nd or 3rd. I dont know if this will work, but then again, I don't drive an automatic!!

 

Thanks some1,

I have an automatic and will try that out as soon as I can. Just got extrememly busy at work all of a sudden, so haven't really even had time to look into any of the other suggestions given here either. I'll do it as soon as I can, and report back here.

Bobby

 

Yes, please let us know...I especially hate this noise, since anyone outside as well as inside can hear it when it happens. Post it if you find a solution...good luck