Metallic screech/squeak under load @ 2500 rpm on my Prelude

[arknotts]

Hey guys,

This isn't about my supra, but rather my 2001 Honda Prelude SH (my DD). Not sure why there is so much distaste towards Hondas on here, but I love mine even if it has no torque .

I've been having a noise for a while now and I can't track it down. Exactly at 2500 rpms I can hear a metallic screech/squeak/rubbing kind of sound. It only happens under load (if I lift my foot off the accelerator enough to have a neutral balance it the drive train it goes away. Also if I am decelerating in gear I will hear it while the rpms pass through 2500, although not as loud). It gets worse the more load I put on the engine. I also rarely hear it anywhere except 2500 rpms on the nose.

It sounds like a bearing is going out to me (it has slowly worsened). I can't pinpoint it in the engine bay because it only happen under load while driving. I've pulled both the PS and Alt/AC belts and driven without them and the noise is still there. I don't know what else it could be other than a bearing that runs off the timing belt (like the autotensioner or water pump).

Does anyone have any ideas? Anything easy I can check before I tear into the timing belt area and try to find it?

BTW, here is a video I took:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Rky1QGXuY

Sorry about the sound, you will need to turn your speakers up. And this is the first time I realized my iPhone won't rotate the video according to how you are holding the camera . It's not real easy to hear in the video, but you can't miss it in person.

 

[x10secondzx2]

There is so much distaste beacause people have small minds and can't accept that there might be decent cars made by other manufactures other than Toyota.
I can't really hear anything in the video though.

Don't the SH's have terrible transmissions? Could it be somewhere in there?

 

[lewis15498]

Your not the only honda lover here. I've always wanted a lude. Could hear the noise, but not well enough to draw any conclusions. Drain your oil, then cut open the filter. If theres something going terribly wrong in there, you will see evidence in oil/filter. When I spun a bearing (and eventually threw a rod) in my accord, the oil pan was full of glitter. 5 spd or auto? May wanna do a tranny flush as well. Check you timing belt just for shits and giggles. Doubt it would even make a metalic noise, however unlike the 7M's if the H22's timing belt breaks, you gonna have a big oily paperweight.
Good luck.

 

[arknotts]

There is so much distaste beacause people have small minds and can't accept that there might be decent cars made by other manufactures other than Toyota.
I can't really hear anything in the video though.

Don't the SH's have terrible transmissions? Could it be somewhere in there?

No, the 5 speed in the prelude is a pretty good transmission. The only "flaw" in it is a slight grind in 5th gear (which I think is caused by people jamming it into reverse. I'm easy on it and if it won't go in I will let the clutch out and try again. I have yet to experience this issue). You are probably thinking about the automatic preludes which have the "sport shift" transmission. These are notorious for going bad consistently.

It really doesn't sound like something from the transmission to me. It's pretty loud in person, and I think anything inside the transmission would be muffled by the housing. I also don't feel anything in the wheel, pedals, or shifter when it is happening.

 

[arknotts]

Your not the only honda lover here. I've always wanted a lude. Could hear the noise, but not well enough to draw any conclusions. Drain your oil, then cut open the filter. If theres something going terribly wrong in there, you will see evidence in oil/filter. When I spun a bearing (and eventually threw a rod) in my accord, the oil pan was full of glitter. 5 spd or auto? May wanna do a tranny flush as well. Check you timing belt just for shits and giggles. Doubt it would even make a metalic noise, however unlike the 7M's if the H22's timing belt breaks, you gonna have a big oily paperweight.
Good luck.

Glad to see some other Honda fans . It really has been a great trouble-free car for me in the past 3.5 years, while being fun in its own way. I will try and take a video from the outside sometime this week, maybe that way will turn out better.

I just changed my oil recently, and there were very few metal shavings (what there should be normally). I have a magnetic drain plug too, so I should see most of anything that is in there.

It's a 5 speed, and I changed the transmission fluid probably 15-20k miles ago. I will keep that in mind though.

Doubt it would even make a metalic noise, however unlike the 7M's if the H22's timing belt breaks, you gonna have a big oily paperweight.

Haha, yeah don't remind me. That's why I'm going to change the timing belt soon. Even though I'm only at 68,000 miles right now, it's overdue based on age (I think the manual recommends changing it @ 6 or 7 years). One can never be too careful on an interference engine. :aigo:

 

[arknotts]

Well, it's fixed! After doing some research online, I noticed that a lot of people with rpm-dependent noises had loose heat shields. Put it on jack stands today to poke around for some loose heat shields. I didn't find any, but did remember that when installing my header on the car that the two bolts that hold the collector to the back of the block didn't quite line up and we had to leave them about half way in (they still held it tight though). Thinking that the free play in those might cause this noise, I removed them and went for a drive fully expecting it to still make the noise. Nothing! It was dead silent at 2500 rpm now. I'm pretty excited as I have been fighting with this noise for a while now. I don't mind leaving the bolts out as the exhaust is held by a hanger just a few inches away.

Here are some pictures of the bolts. You can see the areas that were worn away. The resonance of the engine at 2500 rpms must have been just right to make that sound and grind away at the bolts:

Thanks for everyone's time!