what the heck is that thing. mine is making this terrible noise b/w 900-1500 revs. sounds like a terrible cricket or a messed up bearing.

thanks in advance. i woulda searched, but i dont know what the thing is called thus i have no keyword.

-ross

 

Its your drive belt making the noise. That shit is annoying as fuck. Is it a lot louder in the morning when u start your car?

 

i think it's tensioner?

 

yeah it's auto -tensioner.

 

that wouldnt by anychance be replaced when the timing belt is done is it?

 

its not really belt sounding. i know what that sounds like. its specifically coming from that part. i can even see it shudder a little bit during the cricket /screechy bearing noise when i give it gas.

thanks for the really fast response.

 

 

No, Look when belts start to dry they start to get noisy. When they do timing belt service they replace both the drive belts and the noise will go away.

 

yea like i said its not the belt. i listed to the noise with my head in the bay and its specifically coming from that tensioner, i was under the impression for some reason that the tensioner is changed when the timing belt is done?

the reason i ask is because i just got the whole timing assembly done about 3 months ago...and i wanna make sure that part wasnt something that was SUPPOSED to be replaced. get my drift?

 

The noise coming because the tensioner is tighten up, casue the belt is dry. Sometimes this does happen to new belts.

 

To test get belt dressing for autozone and spray it on the belt.

 

lol dude...i really dont think you are understanding me. it is not a belt squeeling noise. i have had a car that made that horrendous sound 24/7 so i am quite familiar with the sound of belts making noise. it is very metallic sounding...much like a bearing that is about to give way. it has no relation to the temperature outside either. i will try some belt dressing, but i cant stress the fact anymore that it looks like its coming from the tensioner itself cause you can actually see it shudder/shake when it makes this screeching noise.

so you think that the belt is dry even tho all my drive belts are less than a couple months old?

 

Well I just saying becasue my belt-ten was doing the same thing. It was moving back and fourth about 1 to 2 cm. Mine was doing it in the hot and cold.

 

It is a pulley/tensioner. What you are hearing is possibly the bearing going out. An old school trick to checking for bearing fatigue is to get a wooden dowel, broom handle or closet rod and put one to your ear and the other on the axle of whatever the bearing is around. If the noise sounds like a brick in a garbage disposal then your bearings are about to lock up. If it sounds like a whirring or constant rolling, then you are fine. This trick works great on alternators too. If you can't get a dowel down there, find a smaller one or a stethescope.

Oh BTW, if you think your belts might be bad, get a bar of soap and hold the bar against the belt as it's rotating. If the sound goes away, it's your belts.

 

interesting tips midsby. ill try the dowel this week. i have some in my car from rolling my fenders it doesnt seem like its the belts cause the belt looks really good and steady when the car is running its just the tensioner itself that is wobbling all over the place.

thanks guys i will let yall know what it is later this week.....

oh yea..if it is the tensioner is DIY outa the question with reg handtools, cause im sick of this car being in the shop.

 

wasn't it a recall a few years ago? the timing belt tensioner that s??? I got some kind of recall work done on my tensioner a couple of years ago...

 

interesting bit about the recall. i will call the dealer tomorrow.

 

No prob! One of those "Salmon Beater" mini baseball bats works great too!

 

Isn't this on the left (passenger) side of the engine. If so doesn't that mean it's not part of the timing belt setup. Cause it's the Crank, power steering, and alternator pulley that's on the left side of the engine. So I don't think this would be covered by a recall if the recall was for the timing belt.

 

it is the belt tensioner. Mine just started to do the same thing. I have brand new belts. two weeks old. sounds like a bearing or something but everything is fine. It is not belt squeel.

 

thats exactly what mine is. if you figure out why its making the noise let me know

 

shit, i hope mine doesn't start acting up. we messed it quite a bit when trying to sneak the belt that goes from the alternator to crank pulley during the UR install.

let us know what the dealer says, Ross.

 

Tensioner. You can replace it with some simple hand tools. (10mm socket and box wrench)


No its not part of the timing belt set up. All are powered by the crank, but use separate belts and tensioners. The timing belt and tensioner are under the black covers (not exposed)

 

Check acura's owner link... I had my tensioner replaced under the recall... I'm sure there's a thread about it here someone where (and it might have the affected VIN's).

edit: yeah, there's a link to the thread in the INFO STICKY:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...nsioner+recall

Nevermind... 01's weren't included in the recall.

 

It's probably just the bearing going out on the tensioner. I've had to replace one on a Grand Am. It was easy to do it on that, but not sure this car.

It's a simple part and shouldn't cost too much. I'm pretty sure that it's not covered in the timing belt replacement though.

 

thanks bud, ill chalk that up to my weekend projects.

 

the tools are out! at least we won't be under the car this weekend.

 

Yea bro after like 6 months my car started making that noise I couldnt figure out wtf it was... makes like a chirping/grinding noise its a cacophony and my car sounds like a damn used Volkswagen... :sigh:

 

i had to get my auto-tensioner replaced on as well. ferman acura told me it was ok to drive for a couple days until the necessary part came in, however i had to assure them that i wouldn't hit vtec

 

My car is doing the exact same thing. Kinda grinding noise it does not sound like the belts. I thought it was the altrenator bearing tho I never really checked. I'm going to check the belt tensioner for sure

 

had the same thing happen after changing the timing belt. I came back to my buddy (he works for honda) and he said it's a common issue. most of the time all you have to do is try your best to spray some Honda silicone fluid inside the tensioner pulley. he did it for me and in about 3-4 days the sound was gone completely. There is no need to replace it in most cases. don't be afraid if the silicone gets onto the belts, it's fine. use a piece of tube maybe to direct the spray onto the pulley.

 

well to start clarifying things, first off its not an "auto" tensioner the proper name is idler pulley, if its wobbling a little and making noise it means your bearing is about to go. i recommend you get a OEM part even if it costs you a little more than local autoparts stores. as far as replacement goes all you need is a 14mm. wrench and a 14mm socket,6-10in. extension, and a ratchet. First loosen the nut hodling the bearing (the one facing sideways) a couple of turns, not completely yet. Then losen the top 14mm. tension rod (that weird looking nut coming vertically from the pulley area) this will release the tension off the belt. Then remove the nut holding the bearing and remove old pulley and replace with new one reassemble is reverse order. tighten the tensioner rod till the belt has about 1/4in. slack. oh and that pulley has nothing to do with your timing belt, those are your DRIVE BELTS that run on that pulley. hope this quick write up helps you with your noise. good luck.

 

awesome man. thanks for the info. i plan on working on it sometime soon...is it really bad to drive the car right now? i commute 60+ miles for work, and im not gonna have time to do this for at least another week.

 

It could lock up and you wont going anywhere if that happens

I'd try to do it sooner rather than later, should only take 1/2 hr at most

 

Just had the entire auto tensioner assy replaced at 105K service. So, I am on my third one now. I had the first one replaced at 12,391 miles under warranty. So the second one lasted a decent amount of time. Much longer than the first one. This part is obviously a weak point on the CL though.

P/N: 31170-P8F-A01

The tensioner portion was out of spec and the idler pulley had a slight wobble.....likely from a bad bearing. Good thing the part is not too expensive....around 70 bucks or so.

All is good now!

 

yeah you can drive it as long as your not afraid of the possibility of getting stranded. if it seizes youll hear the typical belt squeal for about a minute or two till the belt breaks then youll loose alt. and a/c i believe. but your p/s will still work so youll still have full control of the car. even if it broke you can drive on just the battery for a couple hours with all accessories off, lights, radio, etc. but if its night time and you have all your lights on 3 hrs. tops on a fresh strong battery. so its your call, personally id fix it ASAP start to finish it would take me myself about 10 mins (though i am a mechanic) so less experienced give yourself 30 mins. good luck

 

I dont know much about it, but is the water pump on the same belt? if not you cant drive it like that cuz the car will overheat.

 

Gotta replace it. Mine gave me the same freakin noise. Replaced it and it was all good. This sound will increase and increase until u change it. So before running into any serious problems. Replace it

 

no the water pump is run by the timing belt.

 

cltypeSLOW,

was it definitly the tensioner? i'm having this problem now and it's driving me crazy. also, if it was the tensioner, how did you fix it? did you replace it or spray silicone it?