94 Accord AT going bad?

what did they have to say bout the last mechanic, if anything? ive
personally never looked at the site myself, and chances are with my luck
ill forget all about it if i ever need major service done... duh!

 

Nothing. That shop wasn't even listed.

Rudy

 

Will do.

Rudy

 

Well, I decided to get a second opinion on the possible reason for that
howling sound coming from under the hood and visited one of the nearby
independent shops specializing in Japanese cars that got really good
rating from customers in www.cartalk.com. The shop has been around for
a long time and I was able to talk to the hands-on owner who also
test-drove the car. From that he could not really localize the source
of the howling, so at his shop he got out his stetoscope and listened to
the noise emitted from various components. To my relief he said he
didn't think the noise was coming from the tranny but from the timing
belt area. To be sure though, he suggested to leave the car there soon
so he can remove the plastic cover over the timing belt and look and
listen there. He also proposed a process of elimination by removing one
belt at a time (not the timing belt, of course!) to see if any of those
steps stops the howling. His best guess is that some worn bearing in
the timing belt area makes the noise.

As this second opinion is quite different than the first one that
suggested the torque converter being the source, I decided to give the
benefit of doubt to this second opinion as it seems to be the less
costly alternative and who knows, it might fix the problem. If it
doesn't, I can escalate the issue to other possible couses, such as the
torque converter, just as I tried the ATF replacement first before
trying the next, costlier option.

In any case, this shop owner mechanic impressed me sufficiently to take
my car to him in a couple days and see if his guess was right. I'll
keep you posted on the outcome.

Rudy

 

Well, here is the promised post: the problem is fixed. As it turned out
the strange howling sound did not come from the transmission and not
even from under the timing belt cover. It was coming from the AC
compressor. This mechanic turned out to be what the www.cartalk.com
responses indicated: the best one I ever came across. He localized the
problem by removing one belt at a time to see if that caused any change
in the noise and he'd found it when he removed the belt from the AC
compressor. Since a new AC compressor from Honda costs a fortune, he
suggested getting a used one from a junk yard from an identical car with
low milage and that's what I got for a reasonable price. Luckily I also
suggested to check the engine mounts while at it and sure enough, he
found the rubber support in the front engine bracket broken which then
he also replaced with a new one. He said the rear engine mount was OK
though somewhat stretched. As that one is much more expensive, I left
that one to be addressed at a future date. All in all, the engine sounds
real good and quiet, as good as I ever heard it and the price was quite
reasonable. I feel real lucky to have found this independent shop
through cartalk.com and from one of you guys who suggested using that
source. Without it I might have gone ahead with the suggestion of that
Honda mechanic who diagnosed the problem as a bad torque converter. So
much for authorized Honda expertise.

Rudy

 

if the AC still works, id probably just drive as-is until the compressor
fails. if it didnt work, then sure- a new compressor would be nice. or
no AC?

 

Sure, as I seldom use the AC, anyway. It's just that howling noise that
bothered me, especially when I did not know where it was coming from.
Also, is it really economical to buy expensive new parts for an 11 year
old car with 205 K miles in it that I don't plan to keep longer that 2
or 3 years?

Rudy

 

Three years is the duration of the original warranty. If you plan to keep
it that long, then I think new parts are justified.

 

That does not mean that the parts only last 3 years though. In any case,
I was willing to take the gamble because I've had some experience
already with such used parts and it was all good.

Rudy