What's with my Honda Accord? ! HELP PLZ! !?

[qzack96]

Hi guys- My '99 Honda Accord (auto, 4-cylinder, 173k+ miles) has been encountering a few problems ever since I recently bought it.
1) The car gets abnormally louder as it gets faster. At 25 mph, it's a slight hum. By 50 mph, it's an unbearable grinding sound!
2)The car is also very unresponsive- I need to push the gas pedal down very far to even accelerate at a reasonable rate.
3)The car also jerks every time it switches gear. HELP PLEASE!

On a side note:
-1 or more engine mounts are either broken/loose, which can be causing all 3 problems
-Transmission fluid is bad(its dark brown!)
-It's highly unlikely that the noise is coming from the engine/trans(proven- I shut off ignition with the car running at 40+ mph and noise was still present). My guess is that it's coming from the axle/bearing, but I couldn't be fully sure.
-As for transmission fluid, it is in need of changing(it's dark brown!). I'm thinking of getting a transmission fluid flush today. Please tell me if getting this flush would be worth it. Thanks mucho!

[Christ]

it's a wheel bearing... and this is a civic forum...

[Christ]

by the way, at 40+ mph, you can usually "pop start" an automatic car, if the key is on, and the transmission is in drive.... it will still put enough pressure on the transaxle to cause the torque convertor to spin, which will cause the engine to spin... and make it start... if you want to definitively test w/ the engine off, have someone tow you while you're in neutral and the key is "off"

Not saying that this isn't what you already did, just clarifying that this would be the "proper" way to test.

Still almost positive it's a wheel bearing though... just figure out "where" the noise is coming from, i.e., which corner of the car... and then test that wheel for bearing play.

Jack the car up by the suspension, making sure it's fully compressed by the weight of that corner of the car... put a long bar between the tire and the ground, so that it's in a leverage position, and lift up on the end of the bar while watching to see if the wheel obviously moves up and down.

If it does, it's the wheel bearing for that hub/spindle. Usually, the rears are more common to go out than the fronts, and theyre a bitch to get off, b/c the bolts work harden and rust-weld themselves to the suspension.

Keep in mind, those bolts probably haven't been touched since '99... almost 10 years ago. Use lots of P.B. Blaster, and maybe some heat... but not too much.

[Scrapper]

yay listen to dropzo3 can be he's right right 99% of the time. lol.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by scrapper1

yay listen to dropzo3 can be he's right right 99% of the time. lol.

Until Tony comes around :P

I agree with Dropzone on it being a wheel bearing, or possible a caliper, more likely the wheel bearing. The only reason I think of caliper is your reason #2.

No need to use a pry bar to test it, or jack up the car by the suspension. Just jack up the car, grab the tire and give it a good shake. First grab the top and bottom of the tire and shake it feeling for any wobble, or anything that feels loose. Second, grab the front and back of the tire and shake it feeling for the same thing. This is a standard test I have seen many mechanics do to test for worn out parts, I do it myself and it will usually get it nailed down to what you need to fix. If you have a nice little wobble all around, its your wheel bearing.

To check to see if its the caliper....I don't really have much advice on that one other than after you drive it for a little while and use the brakes, get out and check to see if one of them is hotter(or red) than the others.

[Scrapper]

if not bearing my sisters was lower ball joint asembley.

[Christ]

lower ball joint won't cause a constant noise, nor will it grind... (and I need to get a book)

[FrodoGT]

Yeah when my wheel bearing was shot you could grab my wheel and rock it up and down while it was off the ground. Pretty obviously the bearing. Side to side could be a tie rod but up and down you will see. Also youll notice if its the bearing that the brake rotor will wobble inside the caliper when you wobble the wheel. If its a ball joint it will stay solid in the brake pads.

[Scrapper]

will some moderater get the dr book worm from sending me 13 private mesages and cussing me out or and advizer? just get him off my ass.

[FrodoGT]

What?! Stay on topic please, or at least make sense.

[Christ]

he's bitching b/c he sent me a PM, and tried flaming me... and I'm an asshole, so I keep replying back to them with smart ass comments... and now he's pissed, b/c he knows I was right, and he can't find something to prove me wrong on...

OP - you might be able to stop that noise for awhile, depending on how bad it is, by taking off your axle nut, and putting about a 3mm washer (thick) behind it, then retorque it to spec... that MIGHT do the trick for awhile, I've done it before, to pass inspection... but it might do nothing, and you'd have wasted 17 cents on a washer, and 1/2 hour putting it in.

Might be worth a shot to get you by another week at the most, until you can get another bearing or spindle assembly.

[Scrapper]

once again you are lieing you sent the first private message cussing and all i have 13 0f them printed out.4 the 10TH to 13TH time drop it. you was wrong. THE END........

[Christ]

I'll tell you what... save me the trouble.. email them to a Mod, and I'll show them that you're full of it... but for god's sake, stop jacking threads to bitch about something that is completely pointless... you're over 40 for christ's sake... act your age.

[Tony]

Send them to me and I will look at them. I normally don't do very much Mod work here, but I will solve this. Keep it out of this thread.

The OP already has my opinion on the situation and what he should do about it.

[wizbang121]

ok does the tranny fluid smell burnt ? if so dont change it drive it till it dies and if the noise is still present while your costing then its either an bad wheel bearing or you have a bad break caliper and it might be frozen up jack up the car and spin each tire and appli preshure to the tire from side to side ok