robs_silver_s2k

Hi all,

I wonder if you can help me out as my car has developed a strange noise from the rear end when she is hot.

So a bit of background on my car. First she is a 2005, 43,000 mile one owner car (me). I drive very conservatively (she does get VTEC'd but not as often as she should!). I am very mechanically aware/ sympathetic and never push on too hard until she is nice and warm. She has never been tracked (but she did do one North Weald Driving training day). I never do full throttle launches to crack any 0 - 60 times or do-nuts in the car park. She is completely stock. I regularly (read nearly always) get 300 miles to a tank.

She has a full service history with Honda and has been loved. She had a complete fluid change at 1000 miles and numerous changes of engine, gearbox and diff oil over the years. This is usually done with whatever Honda supply but I have heard that different dealers use different brands. In think my dealer uses Castrol products or at least they do for engine oil. She is Geo'd every year (but not C of G'd). The brake discs are original all round but I replaced the pads (with original Honda ones) myself probably a year to 18 months ago but they weren't urgently required. She had her drive shafts re packed 2 years ago and the hub nuts replaced and re - torqued at the same time. (odo read 29K)

So that's a little about the car and now to the noise.

It seems to occur when everything is hot. I drove from Bristol to Swindon (35 miles). All motorway miles after the initial 2.5 miles and my destination was pretty much on the motorway roundabout the other end. When I got to the car park; always seems to happen at car park speeds and when the car is on a decent amount of steering lock (not necessarily full lock) she makes this graunching sound. Sounds like when a door hinge thatis starting to dry up rather than a full 'horror movie' door opening creak. It is not high pitched nor is it squeaky. I was cruising at an indicated 75 - 80 all the way.

She has been to Honda for an initial assessment/ road test and nothing sprang to the master tech's mind although the car was making the noise perfectly. She will only do it when temps are higher. Driving round town all day will not reproduce the sound no matter how hot the engine gets. The noise cannot be replicated by driving in a straight line. The noise also requires some drive to the rear wheels either forward or reverse. Coast around the corner and she will stop making the noise. The noise definitely sounds like it is coming from the back. She will make the noise regardless of whether you are turning right or left. Low speeds tend to make the sound more noticeable. You can't hear it at higher corning speeds (but that might be other road noises disguising it). On hearing the noise I checked each corner to see if any one wheel or brake disc was hotter than any of the others and they weren't. The noise has gradually got worse but doesn't seem to have coincided with any changes to usage, service, oil change etc, etc.

She goes back tomorrow for a number of days where hopefully they will be able to rectify it but I would love your help.

I know it is very hard to diagnose noises over the internet! I have trawled the forum to seek others with a similar noise.

Many thanks in advance

Rob

richmc

I had the same, turned out to be the start of a siezed caliper, as with yours the wheel was no hotter.

lower

Is the noise constant or rotational that changes with wheel speed?

Could be sticky caliper. An incorrectly torqued hub nut can also cause this.

robs_silver_s2k

Thanks for your replies so far.

Richmc - thanks for that info. Something that I will explore further for sure.

Lower - The noise is constant and varies little with road speed it is either there or it isn't.

ultrasound

If the noise goes away when ur clutching it would suggest drive train rather than wheels/brakes IMO. The fact it does it when ur turning may indicate its the LSD. I have no mechanical background however.

GaryB

If it's when turning on near lock, I'm thinking diff.

robs_silver_s2k

Ultrasound - yes if you disengage the clutch the noise stops almost completely

GaryB - yes definitely only happens when you have a reasonable amount of steering lock on. I suspect the diff as the most likely cause too.

We shall see. Car has had to have its check up postponed by a week. Now going in the middle of next week.

My thoughts are to eliminate some of the easier and cheaper things first. Re-packing drive shafts, replace and correctly re-torquing the hub nuts and draining the diff oil and replacing it with 100% Honda fluid from the customer parts department. I think they would rather a more methodical approach instead of lets change something and see!

We shall see what next week brings

Thanks for all your help so far.

Rob

robs_silver_s2k

Hi all,

A quick update for you. The dealer (Howards Honda, Weston Super Mare) have been brilliant and very thorough. They have done the following:

Changed the Diff fluid
Removed the rear brake callipers and checked for rust, any signs of potential seizing and brake pad wear/movement,
Removed rusty edge / lip of the rear brake discs,
Disconnected the rear anti roll bar, road tested and re-connected,
Packed drive shafts with grease,
Re-torqued the hub nuts to those in the US TSB settings,
Lubricated the face of the outer CV Boot.

Sadly all to a slightly disappointing result as the car still demonstrates the noise.

At this point the dealer doesn't want to suggest part replacement as it would be a complete guess.

So, the quest to find the answer continues but I am very pleased with the work the dealer did.

Thanks for your suggestions and please feel free to update the thread if anyone can think of a potential solution.

Rob

Bandit_287

Any joy on your car Rob? Did you manage to sort the isssue?

robs_silver_s2k

Quick update.

The (US only TSB) highest Torque setting did indeed work.

Car now on 46K and all quiet on the diff front.