Greetings forum, I've lurking here a month or so and found it a great resource for getting myself knowledgeable about my car. I've got a 2000 2.3L DX sedan that I've been driving for 120k now. Recently I've started doing minor work on the car myself, swapping disc brakepads, tightening the AC belt, etc. I considered doing the timing belt /water pump myself and decided perhaps I'd be better bringing it to a shop. Paid about $420 and drove away happy. This week however I've started to notice a peculiar whump-whump noise coming from around the front left wheel especially over 40mph. I continued driving it most of this week and brought it in today(sat) because friday it sounded noticeably worse. Reading the chiltons manual I thought it could possibly be the front left bearing. I brought it to the dealership with the idea that if it was they'd have the bearing press I lacked. In the past I've disliked taking it there since they always try sell unnecessary work. I got a call today indicating that they believe it's the transmission (which I've had replaced once already around 60k under warranty) and what do I feel would be a fair price. At this point I'm going to take it to another shop for an independent diagnosis on Monday but what do you guys think? Any advice / ideas would be appreciated.

 

I don't know if this is any help as Honda already paid for one trans but I found this TSB for your car and noted the date.


02-062 JAN 07 Campaign - Automatic Transmission Warranty Extension

Your description of the noise is not something I am familiar with but a bad tire could make some strange noises. A wheel bearing will change in pitch as your change lanes as you are changing the load on the bearing

 

The warranty extension was 7 years/107,000 miles or something, way beyond it by now.

It could be joints, bushings or a bad tire on that side. I doubt it's a wheel bearing and I doubt it the transmission.

 

Thanks for all your quick replies. I think my next move is to take it into another shop tomorrow morning and see if they give the same diagnosis. If it is the transmission and that TSB applies it might be why the dealership was offering Honda "Assistance" and first told me that the price would be $3800 and then asked me how much I thought I could pay. I also intend to ask them how it was that I'm having transmission problems again after replacing it at 60k. A couple of friends have mentioned I should listen for any variation of the sound while turning, but I haven't noticed any change.

 

I am thinking a tire but there is little to go on.

 

could be "Feathering
Feathering is a condition when the edge of each tread rib develops a slightly rounded edge on one side and a sharp edge on the other. By running your hand over the tire, you can usually feel the sharper edges before you'll be able to see them. The most common cause of feathering is incorrect toe-in setting, which can be cured by having It set correctly. Occasionally toe-in will be set correctly and this wear pattern still occurs. This is usually due to deteriorated bushings in the front suspension, causing the wheel alignment to shift as the car moves down the road." or cupping "Cupping
Cups or scalloped dips appearing around the edge of the tread on one side or the other, almost always indicate worn (sometimes bent) suspension parts. Adjustment of wheel alignment alone will seldom cure the problem. Any worn component that connects the wheel to the car (ball joint, wheel bearing, shock absorber, springs, bushings, etc.) can cause this condition. Worn components should be replaced with new ones. The worn tire should be balanced and possibly moved to a different location on the car. Occasionally, wheels that are out of balance will wear like this, but wheel imbalance usually shows up as bald spots between the outside edges and center of the tread" ,
also you can lift the car and spin the tire while looking at it directly and see if any parts of the tread are raised off the tire itself this is cause by the tread separating from the inner tire.. these three problems have brought many a customer into goodyear and most times they are caused by worn or broken suspension parts ... with the wheel in the air both one hand at 9oclock and one at 3oclock of tire and first shake left to right then grab top and bottom of tire shake that way and see if there any play in the bearings, ball joints , tie rods ends and etc. I hope this helps...