I’ve got a 96 Honda Accord with only 54k miles on it. (very, very, very lightly used)
Anyways, I recently noticed a high pitched squeaking sound at idle rpms. It reminds me of the sound a computer fan makes when the bearings are going bad. I lifted the hood, and it seems to be coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the main timing belt accessories.
I can’t quite localize it, but I think it’s coming from the alternator or the power steering pump.
Revving the engine, the sound goes away, and it has gotten worse with cold weather recently.
Should I be overly concerned? It’s almost certainly related to one of the accessories on this car, since the rotation of the belt and the warbling of the sound seem to sync up.
I mean, if the power steering pump or the alternator quits, I can just buy a replacement for less than $100 and install it, right? The A/C compressor is a lot more expensive, but I can replace the clutch on it separately from the main compressor, right?
Is this one of those things where fixing it now will save me money later, or should I just wait for whatever it is to finally fail (which might be a long time given how seldom I drive this car)
It’s not a timing belt, it’s a fan belt, and the squeaking is very possibly coming from the belt. You can spray a little belt dressing on it and see if that stops the squeak.
Check the condition of the belt, see if it’s glazed shiny or looks cracked. If it looks damaged at all, you should have it replaced.
I would take a good look at the belt to make sure it’s not starting to wear out and to make sure it still has decent tension on it. It may have just stretched out and loosened up a bit. I don’t know how Honda does their belt tensioners, but usually those things are easy to adjust. The fact that it has gotten worse with the weather makes me think that it’s the belt that is the problem, but that could just be a coincidence.
If it is the power steering pump, then when it goes you’ll just lose the power assist for the steering. It won’t cost you any more to fix later.
If it’s the alternator, it’s mostly the same. It will just stop charging the battery when it breaks. If you drive too far and let the battery drain too much though it can ruin the battery as well, so in this case you could save money by replacing it sooner rather than later, if you determine that it is the alternator that’s going bad.
Again, I don’t know about Honda, but on most cars you can replace the A/C clutch separate from the compressor. One of our resident car experts can give you the Honda specific info you need.
If anything that rotates seizes completely, it can destroy the belt.
The timing belt is inside the engine. You have to remove the alternator, power steering pump, A/C, etc. and the front cover of the engine, plus the water pump, and then you can get to it. I very much doubt that the timing belt is your problem.
Fan belt condition looks solid, no glazing or cracks anywhere, feels very stout. It would make sense that a high pitched sound would be the rubber sliding a little over the metal, and that would be cheap to fix.
With the engine running spray a bit of WD40 on the fan belts.
If the noise goes away it is probably a belt squeak, for which the permanent solution is a new belt.
If the noise does not change it could be the alternator/PS pump or a tensioner or idler for the timing belt.
Well. That was easy. The moment I read your post, I went into the garage, dug up a can of WD-40 from the floor, started the engine, and sprayed some on the belt’s inner surface.
Sound stopped instantly. As the wd-40 would vaporize, the squeaks would begin to come back (at a lower volume), and a quick squirt would make the belt silent again.
Feeling a lot better, knowing that it’s just a cheap and easily replaced rubber belt that is the problem, and not something like a metal bearing about to fail.
IIRC, doesn’t this car have two belts? A serpentine belt that runs the AC compressor and alternator and then a regular old V-belt that runs the power steering? If that’s the case and it’s the power steering belt that’s noisy, it may just need to be adjusted.
Although now that I think about it, I think the V6 ones only had one belt.
Be careful though, those belts are required for the car to operate and in the case of a timing belt, on some cars (interference engines) a snapped belt will cause your valves and pistons to kiss is a most non romantic manner resulting in an engine rebuild.
The timing belt would be internal, not visible on the outside of the engine. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to get that replaced too if the external belts are worn, I’m not surprised after 17 years.