Driving around today and I notice a weird clanking from the front end of the car... It sounds like a coke can has gotten into the engine compartment periodically...

The car is driving fine...

I lifted the car to look at the underneath and I could not find anything loose.

Whats next

 

when does it happen?

 

only while driving I hear it mainly at lower speeds 40 and below...

 

Well...

Resonance from aftermarket headers.... Also assuming you have aftermarket headers.

 

The Headers aare stock... I tried tapping on things under the car to duplicate the sound but had no luck.

 

does it sound like a clicking sound? if it is then its the same sound im having... well i got it fix by removing my front tire and push that disc out a little... the bent part

 

I don't know how the clanking sounds but at low speeds it sound's like front axle maybe...

 

i cant imagine it being in the wheel because it is not constant...
What part was bent?

 

Sounds like a cv joint is bad. Try driving around a parking lot at low speed, if it comes and goes when you change the steering angle it's a cv joint for sure.

 

Tried that last night, everything is tight feeling and sounding when turning. I made several figure 8 moves and did not hear the sound.

I mainly hear the sound while crusing in a straight path.

PS... I have 90k miles (Does that make a differrence on anyhting?)

also this morning on the way into work I did not hear anything besides the normal creaks from inside the car...

 

i had one of the bolts on my CATs heat shield rust and fall apart ...the heat shield was rattling...

 

Not sure if this is it, but front wheel bearing bearing have been known to go on higher mileage cars... just throwing it out there...

 

if it were bearings would I hear it more constantly?

 

bad bearings tend to get louder with more weight on them, so turning away from the affected side usu makes the sound louder

 

thats what i was thinking, check all the heat shields around the exhaust, they can get loud if thyre loose.

 

I am going to take it into my friends shop to complete my tranny fluid flush this evening. I will check the heat shield.

 

OK!
I could not find the noise under the car at all.
However driving around I am able to narrow it down.

under light/moderate acceleration I am hearing a light to moderate clicking comming from the engine compartment in front of the driver side.
When I take my foot of the gas it goes away. but crusing on the highway its tapping...


the bad thing is that it is not all the time but it is more than not.

 

I still say axle. Front wheel drive cars are prone to this. Did you check to see if any of your CV boots are split or may have become unsealed?

 

bad bearings get louder as time goes on...when they're really loud if the owner is being lazy, you'll hear it when you turn left or right

 

I'll have to 3rd that notion. One rusted bolt on my exhaust heat shield and empty coke can it was. Took that guy off and voila.

 

I had a similar clic, We went and tighten all the mounting bolts on the comptech sway,, then we went and tighten all the bolts we could find. Clic has never returned,, good luck

 

This sounds similar to what I had especially the last description you gave. Here is the link to my thread:

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177315

 

was your tranny shifting badly or was it smooth?
I cant bring myself to think it is the tranny? I could be wrong.

 

Other than the noise, the transmission was working fine. Before taking it in to the dealer, I checked everything obvious underneath the car and found nothing loose. Also checked wheel bearings but they were fine. The noise was definitely coming from the front of the car (eliminating anything loose mid car and back)

I then knew it had to be internal to either the transmission or engine. They ended up replacing the transmission (and a motor mount) which cured the problem. I think they said it was probably a bearing inside the trans (would still have been covered by the 100K trans warranty).

It made the noise almost every time (I could hear it when accelerating, even slightly). You could be going 35 mph or so, accelerate slightly to 40 or 45, and while it was accelerating, the noise would be there. Once you took your foot off the accelerator, the noise would stop.

 

Finially Narrowed it down...

noise is comming from the tranny!
Now the question... what does it mean?

in SS mode it makes the clicking noise under light acceleration gear 3 and up (starting from the shift into 3rd from 2nd).

in Auto mode you can hear it periodically 15mph to 40 mph under light acceleration.

Keep in mind that the car shifts amooth as silk...

Do I need a new tranny?
Will Acura cover it if everything seems to be working?

 

I replied to your PM about this...

I would add for others who may have this problem: even if the car is out of the original warranty (but still under the 100K trans warranty) I was told the 100K warranty covers this. If it is out of original warranty, and you take the car in with the noise complaint, the dealer can charge an estimate charge if it turns out not to be the trans...but if it is the trans there should be no charge. This assumes the dealer can "duplicate the problem (or noise)"...that is, the noise is there for them to hear (which, in may case, it made the noise about 99% of the time when accelerating lightly as I described in my post above.

This noisey trans was my second transmission in this car (the replacement (#3) has worked fine so far).

I would recommend that everyone ride around periodically without the radio/cd off so you can hear any small odd noises that may occur. The noise that I had could be clearly heard with the radio/cd off, and although not loud, it was noticable enough for the driver or if someone else not used to riding in the car was a passenger.

 

assuming it is the tranny... are the 2006 tranny replacements better than all the others or should I expect to have this new tranny fail?

 

Great thread beav, I'm going through the same thing as you!! I just hope it's not the CV

 

OK, here's what I am hearing. It sounds like chirping from the front drivers side. Happens at almost all speeds, like something in loose. Could it be the CV joints? How long can I drive on it and how much am I expecting to spend on repairs??