Strange noises from engine and chassis. Any ideas?

[Thepeug]

I bought a '91 Si with 88k miles on it a few months ago, and it's already being cranky. I expected as much (I didn't get a project car for nothing!), but the car is also my daily driver, and I just want to clear up a few things before I go on any long road trips.

1) For the past few weeks, whenever I crank the engine, a high-pitched squeal emits from the left side of the engine. Fortunately, the sound dies after about 2 seconds. I'm thinking it's a timing belt or an AC belt that needs some tension adjustment. Considering that I don't have any tools and limited mechanical knowledge at this point, is this a hard fix? How can I more accurately diagnose the problem? I'm pretty strapped for cash at the moment, so is this a problem that I can let slide for awhile, like at least a month, or is it something that demands immediate attention?

2) About a week ago, I started noticing a squeaking/rubbing sound coming from the back right side of the chassis, near the wheel. It's rpm-depedent in the sense that the frequency of the sound increases as I go faster. I'm hoping the bearing just needs some lubricant, but I'm at a loss on this one. Any ideas?

I apologize that I can't be more specific. As soon as I get a factory service manual, some money and some tools, I'll hopefully learn a bit more about how everything works. Considering that I only know how to change the oil at this point, a 15-year old car may not have been the smartest idea, but I love CRX's and I'm eager to learn. I'm driving the car as little as possible because of my uncertainty about the nature of the problems listed above, and more specifically because I can barely afford gas at the moment. So she's getting a chance to rest, and I'm just hoping that this is nothing too serious. Any ideas are immensely appreciated!

[TheSilentChamber]

1) sounds like alt or AC belt. loosen tentioner, tighten belt, tighten tentioner.

2) hard to tell without hearing, if its a bearing greasing it isnt going to help at that point.

[Thepeug]

I agree about # 1. As far as the bearing is concerning, Honda's bearings are supposedly made to last for the lifetime of the vehicle, i.e. most bearings last for at least 200k miles. Mine's a well-maintained car with 88k miles, so if the bearing is screwed, I just have really bad luck. But the fact that the car is relatively "new", at least as far as Hondas go, makes me think it might be something else. I don't have any jack stands to get under the car and really check it out, so I might just have to get someone at a repair place to check it out.

[Thepeug]

Ok, so I called the repair shop from which I bought the car originally to see if they had any ideas. The guy told me that the bearing should be fine, but that he remembered some underbody rust on this particular car, and that rust might be the culprit. I crawled under the car as far as I could without jackstands, and unfortunately, I think he's right. Here's what I found:

What is this part called, and what does it do? It's located behind the wheel, on the side of the car that's squeaking so badly. As you can see, it's pretty badly rusted.

Just for reference, here's the same part beneath the other wheel well, the one that's not squeaking. It looks pretty rough, too, but at least it's not as bad as the first one:

Again, as dumb as this sounds, I'm not even sure what these parts are called or how they function. Are they difficult to repair? Expensive to replace?

While we're on the issue of rust, I also found this:

It just looks like a strip of metal that runs directly behind and above the bumper. Is it crucial for structural integrity? I sure hope not, because it practically crumbles to the touch.

P.S.
I know I should have checked for these things on the day I bought the car. I was so excited, however, that I just glanced under the wheel wells and called it a day. Guess I learned the hard way on this one.

[livinincalifornia]

1st problem, your alt. belt.

2nd, rust is never good, especially in the underbody. While your car only has 88k miles, it does have 15 years of time gone by, and with only 88k it's probably been sitting around a lot allowing rust to take over. The part you are showing looks like part of the rear disc brake system, not sure if that would be causing the noise or not.

[EF You]

the noise is probably your rear disc brakes. the wear indicator is probably rubbing by now. rear brakes usually need servicing about half as often as front brakes. so every 60k miles. if it wasnt done at least once on your car, thats probably the noise.

does the noise get louder or mysteriously quieter when you hit the brakes?

[Thepeug]

Originally Posted by incucivic

the noise is probably your rear disc brakes. the wear indicator is probably rubbing by now. rear brakes usually need servicing about half as often as front brakes. so every 60k miles. if it wasnt done at least once on your car, thats probably the noise.

does the noise get louder or mysteriously quieter when you hit the brakes?

Yeah, I think the pads might be worn. The noise is much louder below 20 mph and at low rpm's.

[91CRXTC]

i agree i think its your belts and brakes

[turtlecrxsi]

If it's your rear brakes, don't let it go too long or you'll end up doing what I had to do... sit for awhile next to my car with the brakes apart scratching my head until I figured out the caliper was sticking... greased it up good and got it working again many hours later. Rear discs are cheap so just go ahead and replace them with the pads. Good luck.