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Hi,
My 05 TL is making this noise. Sounds like a faint knock. I am assuming it is the timing belt tensioner but could be wrong. Anyone have an idea?? The car drives fine with no CEL or loss of power. The noise is just annoying. Here's a link for a video that has the same sound.
I suggest you make yourself a "Redneck Stethoscope" (a length of garden hose) and localize the sound. I've never heard a Honda J3x engine make a noise like that, but to me it sounds like it might be from the valve train.
The sound started a few months ago and my car has 95xxx miles only. I am not sure on what's causing the damn sound but it is annoying. It does not however effect performance. Can more people chime in?? I am at a lost here.
Valve adjustment is a possibility since it's coming up on the regular interval (generally done at 105k). Timing belt tensioner is also pretty common. In the Phoenix AZ area (due to the excessive heat) they start to fail pretty much every 60k or so and need to be replaced with the timing belt service.
Has the timing belt ever been replaced? Does the rattle get faster and/or smooth out if you give it a little gas? Does the noise get quieter at all when the car is warmed up?
The noise seems to be noticeable only during idle. If I give it gas around 2-3 K RPM, it kinda rattles a bit then it gets quiet like it should be. If it is the timing tensioner, shouldn't the noise be all the time even when driving??
The valves are definitely noisy, but I hear the knocking noise you are talking about. You honestly may just have to take it to a shop that knows what they are talking about.
I don't think it's tensioner noise you are hearing either. I believe mine probably just needs to be replaced because the dealership only did the belt and water pump, which sucks, but they did it before I bought the car, so it was technically free. My car has a low-pitched whirring noise that I believe is the tensioner.
I have read on the forums that these cars can get knock if you don't put premium fuel in consistently, but I have no idea what that knocking would sounds like.
The noise seems to be noticeable only during idle. If I give it gas around 2-3 K RPM, it kinda rattles a bit then it gets quiet like it should be. If it is the timing tensioner, shouldn't the noise be all the time even when driving??
Noises often seem to get quieter or go away under more engine load or higher engine speed. There's science behind why, but I'm not a scientist, so I won't elaborate lol.
The timing belt tensioner is one of the parts that will usually quiet down at higher rpms, and is most noticeable at idle and when the engine is "cool".
The outer belt tensioner is a common failure too, and it can sound similar to the timing belt tensioner. If you've recently had your outer belt off, the outer belt tensioner is a high possibility since they like to blow out when you mess with them.
The timing belt tensioner is the brown cylinder to the left. The red arrow points to the the little chrome "piston" inside the timing belt tensioner. The tensioner is spring loaded and fluid-filled. Eventually, the seal wears down and the fluid will start to leak, and the tensioner will no longer have as much tension.
Once the tensioner becomes weak, that piston will tap (loudly) against that little tab to the left of the pulley - causing a rattling noise.
I am still stumped by this damn sound my engine is making. The car drives fine without any issue or loss of power just that the noise is annoying.
Car has 98xxxx miles on it. I torqued all of the plugs tight and also changed the serpentine tensioner pulleys too. Could it the AC compressor going bad? I have not yet removed the serpentine belt and test though.
The noise sounds just like the TL on the video posted here. Please please help me out. It looks like I am not just the only one with this issue.
