I have a 96 accord lx 4cyl sedan that recently started making a wierd knocking noise. When I accelerate (from a red light, for example), the right front end rattles to the point where my passenger door starts rattling as well. Once it shifts gears, its fine..It normally does this around 40-50mph...it also does the same thing when i am slowing down..around the same mph as well..

I also heard a weird grunting noise from the car the other day..my car was idle and i was about to shut it off when this happened..that has happened twice...

I thought the rattling was because my tires needed to be balanced..that did not help...

any ideas on what it could be

 

Were the tires rotated as well? Have you inspected the suspension parts on that side.

 

I had the tires balanced and rotated last week...I will take it in and have them check the suspension...will keep you posted...

 

after taking it to a shop, it was determined that the cause was the transmission. After 15 years and well over 500,000 miles on it, I can say that it has done its job well..

Now the question is...do I buy used...or rebuild???

 

well usually a rebuilt is something that you have a hard time finding a place to do it, as well as it being something that is very touchy when a transmission is taken apart and put back together with new parts. i had a transmission rebuilt once and the transmission never ran the same again, granted it wasn't a Honda transmission but the transmissions are still touchy and it might be better off going used. you can still find good used transmissions. if one tiny granule of something gets into the transmission when it is being rebuilt or something is not put back together perfectly, it can cause problems. rebuilds are also pretty expensive, we paid $2,200 on a rebuild and had to take it back twice after having it finished to get it tweaked and it still didn't run the same.

 

Thanks Honda_Lady!! I am searching for both...but used seems to be in the lead right now...

 

you are welcome.

EDIT: just fyi, 96 and newer Honda transmissions, if not cared for properly, are known to fail, so try to be careful in your search.

 

Good post, Good answers..Thank You All...
This is what makes our Forum one of the best ones on the net..

WheelBrokerAng

 

Really any of the 5th gen trans are solid. Now there are some minor differences in the 94-95 vs the 96-97 but those are only because of the OBD1 vs OBD2 stuff.......simple and easy, 96-97 trans will be fine......the issues started and ended, IMO, with the 6th gens 98-02.