Changed Timing/Balance Shaft Belt --> now i have a Whining noise from the belts?

**Dominik** · 23-09-2004 11:10 AM

Hi, as some of you might know, i recently had to replace my water pump and timing belts due to a coolant leak (luckily i caught it before it overheated)...

So i have my car back and its all clean etc (Mech. washed the engine bay

), but the belts are whining; it sounds like engine noise through my stereo, but its definitely coming from the belt area.

I know its a bit of a longshot, but has anyone had that happen to them? Is this normal/nothing to worry about? I will call my mechanic and get him to look at it, but i dont have much time because i have to drive to Newcastle on saturday!

Thanks

**wynode** · 23-09-2004 11:57 AM

Either the belts are old/worn and hard or they maybe too loose

**Dominik** · 23-09-2004 12:51 PM

Well, he showed me the packet of the new belts (and the old belts which he removed - they were still brand new dammit!), so i guess that leaves the possibility of them being loose... I'll give him a call anyway.

**ECU-MAN** · 24-09-2004 08:50 PM

its a common problem if the belts are done up too tight. more so the balance belt. yet again they also make noise if the belts are loose the noise is different but has a wure and flapping sound.

it sounds like there done up too tight, as the belt streaches the noise will go away but its not nice if he did them supa tight.

**Dominik** · 24-09-2004 10:13 PM

Thanks, i hope you are right - i've been driving the car extra slowly and in the left lane on my way to work for the last 2 days

Its going to the mechanic tomorrow to get it looked at. Hopefully it'll be fixed soon...

**smoknhothonda** · 25-09-2004 04:24 PM

Hey Man I have the same thing in my accord! It only has a whine when its idling down from 1500 RPM down to 800 RPM, I took it back to my mechanic he tried adjusting them, but the noise is still there 12 months later

**bigteethygrin** · 25-09-2004 05:02 PM

lotsa mechs dont know about the balancing required for honda timing belts.. I know the mech i took mine too didnt.. anyways.. yeah I would say that the two main points to check are first the balancing and second the tensioner. Tensioners are worth replacing with the timing belt even when not stuffed because the mech can stuff it putting the belt on and also saves the extra cost of pulling all the shit off again just to replace the tensioner when it eventually does cause a problem. One of those little extras that help down the track.

My thoughts would be to get a second opinion before letting your mech touch it again as I find they more or less want only to touch it again to cover their arses and not to fix your prob.. There are plenty of nechs that are good with hondas just search these forums. You can usually get em to take a look and they will usually know with the timing belt just by listening to it.

**ECU-MAN** · 25-09-2004 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by bigteethygrin

lotsa mechs dont know about the balancing required for honda timing belts.. I know the mech i took mine too didnt.. anyways.. yeah I would say that the two main points to check are first the balancing and second the tensioner. Tensioners are worth replacing with the timing belt even when not stuffed because the mech can stuff it putting the belt on and also saves the extra cost of pulling all the shit off again just to replace the tensioner when it eventually does cause a problem. One of those little extras that help down the track.

My thoughts would be to get a second opinion before letting your mech touch it again as I find they more or less want only to touch it again to cover their arses and not to fix your prob.. There are plenty of nechs that are good with hondas just search these forums. You can usually get em to take a look and they will usually know with the timing belt just by listening to it.

hey dude,

what you asy above is true for Nissan and Mitsubish coz there tentioners are Hydraulic ones and the belt tention is determined by these tentioners, if the tentioner fails and the oil leaks out of the tentioner there belt will come loose. Hondas on the other hand, you should never need to replace a tentioner unless the bearing has failed, the belt tention is set by the technicain working on the car, the tentioner is locked then thats it. the tentioner wil not compensate for belt strech like Nissan and other manufactures, this is why if the belt is too tight, it will wure.

**Dominik** · 26-09-2004 09:53 AM

Thanks for the replies guys; i ended up taking it back to the mechanic, and asking him what the noise was. He said "Thats fine, its normal - just a little tight, but dont worry about it", so i asked him whether he would repair it for free if it snapped;

He told me to leave the car with him and come back in a few hours (he was going to double check the belts he replaced). Anyway, the car is now right as rain - quiet as before, and since also replaced the dodgy pod filter i had with the standard airbox its extra quiet!!! (not worth gettign defected for 2kw)

The mechanic is my friend's brother, so i trust what he says (been working on all my cars for the last 4yrs). Never had a problem that he couldnt fix or help me with (i.e. clearing defects, registering cars that probably shouldnt be registered etc

)

**EuroAccord13** · 26-09-2004 09:55 AM

If I remember clearly, the quickest way to quiet the belts and tensioner is to justspray dry lube....

**bigteethygrin** · 26-09-2004 11:52 AM

ecuman... sorry not too sure about the b series.. i know the h series came with 2 diff tensioners.. the h23 had a manual tensioner that was quite reliable.. but the h22 came out with an auto tensioner that was prone to failing. Sorry if its wrong for other honda engines.

**ECU-MAN** · 26-09-2004 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by bigteethygrin

ecuman... sorry not too sure about the b series.. i know the h series came with 2 diff tensioners.. the h23 had a manual tensioner that was quite reliable.. but the h22 came out with an auto tensioner that was prone to failing. Sorry if its wrong for other honda engines.

Yes your right the H22A1 has a Auto Tentioner, it is only used to tentiont timimng belt, the balance belt is tentioned old fasion way. Dont know why Honda went that way for the H22.