gearbox

iTrader: (95)

lately i have been feeling like this car is ready to fall apart at any time. any suggestions about some of these would be helpful because im getting pretty annoyed every day trying to figure all this out.

-car is unbelieveably loud above 45mph and unbearable on freeway. I seriously cannot stand to be on the freeway more than a minute because the "car noise" is louder than the intake and exhaust. im not sure whats going on if all the wheel bearings are fried or the tires are the worst ever made, but somethings wrong. and i have more sound deadening than a normal civic all sorts of dynamat and foam padding.

-rear drums are squeaking very loudly to the point where it feels like they are suddenly ready to lock up. this only happens after hard braking (defined as 2-3 hard stops from 40mph) and doesnt go away til the brakes cool. when i hold up the ebrake from a stop it does the noise too. maybe needs shoes? also the ebrake barely keeps the car from moving forward while in drive. basically useless.

-car has much less power than usual. i gave up using 4th gear anymore because the car wouldnt be able to move on the road without shifting back to 3rd. i know 90hp is nothing, but still there is some kind of problem here. no engine light, but i can feel it just doesnt move like it should. it doesnt drag or pull, just acceleration is terrible. even flooring it the engine sounds bad and struggles to gain speed.

-there is some sort of clunking every 5-10 seconds once i park the car after driving. like something is settling and its not the exhaust pinging noise. sounds like someone is kicking the fuel tank.

-something that has me very worried is a random flapping sound coming from the driver side wheel. its nothing you would be able to hear from a test drive because some days it will never do it, and other days it might do it 10 times. sometimes its only a single or double flap, sometimes it keeps going 15-20 times. each flap sounds like im running over a square of sheet metal on the road with only the front driver tire. this has been happening for a year but seems to be more frequent now.

-engine has a nasty growl and rattle at 3k rpms. happens non stop when i drive in 3rd at 3k rpms around 45-50mph. as soon as i let off the gas completely, all the rattle sounds disappear so i know its engine related.

-auto trans is now slipping while shifting into second after warmup! i have a feeling the trans has something to do with the power loss. i remember times where my car has been much faster than it is now even tho i always take good care of it with new tuneup parts and fluids. i started beating on the car because i got so frustrated tonight and it sounded like the engine was about to blow up and had very little power. this was on a cold night too. after that, the engine and car started shaking until i started driving slower again.

-steering wheel has become so loose, i sometimes feel like im turning a wheel thats not connected to anything.

not sure what else to really do. i ordered a set of new coil packs since im at 98k miles and figure theyve never been changed, everything else is pretty much kept up with new plugs and air filter, oil, fuel, etc.

summary: my car sucks lol. i think its time to start saving for a k20 swap. any suggestions would be great.

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

All I can say...is looks like a nightmare

Time to toss in the towel soon?

MindBomber

I don't even know where to begin with trying to help, I'm don't know why you seem to have so much trouble with your car.

Alot is two words; a lot.

Put the car on jack stands up front and turn the wheels, if you hear a noise then you can eliminate the tires as the cause of the increased road noise and it's most likely bearings. Time to do a five lug conversion in preparation for the k-swap perhaps?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i forgot to do that last time cause the car wasnt in neutral. yeah that would rule out a wheel bearing i guess. i think i will change the oil soon and see if it helps, maybe do engine flush with lc20 before that. im seriously tired of constantly throwing money at a not so old car. its not even 10 yrs old yet. i bet it needs a valve adjustment too because the engine is really noisy at idle (tapping).

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, I was going to highly suggest a valve adj, mine needs one desperately too

Is the "Car noise" kind of like a loud whine coming from the wheels? Because my rear wheels have been doing it for a while, i've just had the music up so loud that it drowns out the sound

Theres a lot on this list that I have as well, but I've pretty much been slackin on it

MelJ

How can valves come out of adjustment so much? My old Corolla has never had one and it's still ridiculously quiet...All the best, man. Have you checked the tires? My car makes some type of flapping noise, but only in the warmer months because I have these god awful tires on the car.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Well, I can tell you the highway noise is probably your tires. I thought my bearings were gone too but it turns out the tires were making a WAH WAH noise.

lazlong

Yeah, mine make a wah wah sound too. Of course, I haven't bought brand new tires in years. lol. Not when I can get take-offs for my 17's for $20 mounted and balanced.

Try adjusting the the rear brakes with the adjuster under the rear of the center console.

I'm at a loss on the engine. I know you try to maintain it good so, I don't know what I could add.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

What type of noise? Whoo, whaa, flap, clunk, bruuum?
Open it to see? I opened mine some miles ago and they were still pristine? Some piece came loose?

? Potentially top mounts? Or the sway bar bushings? Although you have the moogs? Trailing arm bushings? Did you have any camber kit? some bushings seem to last less than others...

The Fuzion does not have many complains on noise? They supposed to be the same tire as the Potenza G009? Do you have vibrations too? Or bulging?

The new DC header?

Tie rods? Or the tire have something very wrong with them...

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

.......

MindBomber

Check your cat heat shield, even though mine looks good from the outside I stuck my finger inside and there are huge flakes of rust coming up.

On v12 roar, could it be a slight vacuum leak?

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

get someone else's wheels and drive, so you can rule in or out the tires?
If it silences part of the car, you will also be able to hear the other noises.
Note: all 4 tires, please - when i put my miata's 205/45R16 temporarily in one end of the car, paired with the 205/55R16 in front, the ABS went crazy...

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

finally put the car up today. spun the front wheels in neutral, and they both drag while making a constant scraping sound. like the brakes are lightly being pressed. i need to put some effort into turning them with my hand, otherwise if i let go they immediately stop (they do not spin freely). i always thought this was normal cause the rears do the same thing, and the drums/rotors do not really get hot after driving and not pressing the brakes. someone correct me if im wrong. when i looked under the shock towers, there are chunks of the top rubber ring missing, and some other rubber pieces that are warped. im guessing the top mounts are trashed.

i also did an engine flush with 12oz of LC20 and let the engine idle for 10 mins (instructions say 15 mins or less). i then immediately drained the oil and let the engine cool down before tightening the drain plug. new filter and redline 5w30. didnt notice a difference in the engine performance or noises. changed ignition coils with brand new ones, no difference. i even replaced some rusted ground bolts and installed aem dryflow 3" universal red air filter for my intake (its made by K&N, but the filter media is nice and thick, no holes). now i dont have to worry about cleaning it so often and oiling it.

i still need to check the cat converter shield. vacuum lines seem okay to me... checked tire wear and amazingly, these tires are nearly done at 12k miles. i doubt i could get more than a year of use. which is good i guess cause they suck horribly.

sway bar bushings and links good, rear spc camber kit could use replacing due to cracked bushings but not serious. guess they werent poly.

MindBomber

Two other people posted threads about cat converter heat shield rattle yesterday on honda-tech, I'd definitely have a look at it. By the looks of it the heat shield is actually 3 peices, two lower layed over top one another and one upper so that definitely explains the rattling.

I had a set of tires die after 12k too, that was when I had blown struts and stock spring though. hmmm..

I think a valve adjustment is in a few of our futures.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i only have the two cat converter shields, all the top exhaust shields are gone since they were rattling so much and bolts were rusted. but it was more of a tin sound. its gonna be a pain to change tho cause i think the cat needs to come off to get the top shield. maybe not i will have a look this weekend.

MindBomber

I was under mine yesterday trying to get those stupid rusty bolts off the cat converter shields, It doesn't look like the cat needs to be taken off to remove the shield. I hope not, if it does I'm cutting the shield off with my dremmel.

lazlong

Cut it off!

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

? You referring to the spring isolators? if so, they are just supposed to be there to reduce metal-to-metal noise. If they are coming from the top mounts, they should be plastic pieces, i guess.

Steve, these are "software" tune-up, i am afraid you need "hardware" replacement.
The 1000000 question is which ones rgith now

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i could use a new trans and a new engine lol.

lazlong

http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc...age&item=30038

$1200 for engine and tranny ain't bad. Best reputation in the industry. Tend to be the most expensive too but, seem to be the only ones you can trust right now.

MindBomber

then do the swap lol

lazlong

Buy me a Southwest Airlines ticket, feed me while I'm there and you got free labor.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

I'll come too but I'm not helping. Only eating and drinking. I guess I could help a bit but it's gonna cost you more beer. Oh and I'd only fly first class seeing that I'm not paying for it lol

7genmarathon

iTrader: (1)

Why does america have to be so big...I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer here, but I could run the errands..like get pizza and beer.lol.

MindBomber

For the beer, you'll need a pick-up truck and Steve's credit card, I prefer draft so don't forget to grab a tap, also we'll need a wide selection re:Josh's beer thread.

We can get the Pizzas delivered.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Sweet sounds like were having a meet at Steves expense! I'm off from work May 9th to the 20th so that will be a great time to have it

MindBomber

lololol

7genmarathon

iTrader: (1)

Ah, I'll order kegs before. One dos equis keg as a START. Mmm little caesars pizza yo!

lazlong

Woah, Dos Equis and little skeezers!? I feel for that poor plumbing system. lol.

7genmarathon

iTrader: (1)

Don't tell me you wouldn't throw down on some beer and pizza.....even if it was cheap pizza.