1990 Honda Accord LX 5 Speed.

SO i thought i had a squeeky belt for the past few hours, when i went to fix it, the belt wasnt making any noise but the distributer was.

I took off the cap, and the rotor was melted on the underneath. there was also a plastic cover under the rotor that was melted as well. Clearly the rotor was rubbing on this part. So i went and bought a new cap and rotor, installed the parts and i still have the squeeling. I removed the plastic dust cover and put it back together without it and its still squeeking.

2 questions. Can driving it like this hurt? and whats possibly wrong. The part store wants $384 for a new distributer so i dont want to throw parts at it at that cost. Im going out now to take it apart and see what i can see, ask if any pictures will help ill get them for you.

Thanks in advance.
Jeff

this is a new one on me.... strange issue... did you replace the melted piece as well? can you see where the two parts are rubbing on each other? You could try a small amount of wd-40 or more preferably silicone spray in between the where the cap and dust cover are rubbing.... If it squeeks all the time (even when starting) then pull the cap/rotor off and try to start the car, it should turn over and if it squeeks without those parts installed then you know it's an issue somewhere else...

Ok, sorry i should have been more indepth. I tried putting it in with and without the dust cover, same effect.

Now it dosnt seem to be rubbing anywhere, but still making the noise and i cant find it. I thought about the wd-40 and it says its flammable so i didnt spray it in there with the sparking. However i did put some oil in the spot where the brush hits the rotor to see if it was the problem-no help again.

I pulled the cap off and cranked the engine to see if MAYBE the shaft had somehow been bent, but it turns so slowly that i cant tell.

Here is a video of the noise i just took. thanks for your help, i have a trip tomorrow and i really need to make sure this is ok.

http://www.zippyvideos.com/3398712086060246/mov01736/

I was thinking maybe the noise is just coming from there, and that it could be something under the valve cover. I was thinking the noise might just come through the plastic easier.

Jeff

now that's fricken weird... for starters is your oil okay? The flamability factor is why I mentioned using silicone spray, just be carefull because I think it can be conductive.... keep it light... do you notice under the cap anywhere that it appears to be rubbing on the contacts more than the others?

my oil is ok, had it changed 2 days ago... The car went in for etest and safety passed both. The car actually seems to be running pretty well too, which is weird to me. But that noise cant be good, and i cant figure it out. Should i pull the whole distributer to see what i can see? Then id have to get it timed right?

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7652/dsc01737oi1.jpg

Jeff

if you pull the distributor just mark where it was set at first and you should be okay, take the cap off and mark the rotor location and then mark where the distributor is set... I'm going to browse through a 91 manual and see if there is maybe a bearing in there that could be making the noise.... rather than the whole distributor....

beautiful. I have the one downloaded and am looking through that too right now, but its hard to navigate without a table of contents. Do you use msn?

BTW i added a pic ^
Jeff

Here ya go man... this is from a 91 but it should be nearly identical

local://upfiles/3079/C71D6BF1026648AE8050C0AFEE7425FB.jpg

local://upfiles/3079/25B1F8AC760B49D9A9787762DCC7F7BA.jpg

local://upfiles/3079/58C01F8B62204DC48FCBDF483B13FEB4.jpg

local://upfiles/3079/97471F8CA5B24AC19DA39C79228AD06E.jpg

local://upfiles/3079/21E43C731F724B61BE708B6649D5E655.jpg

And here's page 6! It could be that seal or the stator.... I'm a bit lost to be totally honest with you that is a pain in the rear to diagnose especially over the net..

local://upfiles/3079/F829B1C0EB1841C5BC2E286B0C359103.jpg

I'll bet it's a bearing or seal that went out.... which allowed the cap to "settle" and rub against that cover and make the hole....

Im looking at 16-82 now(fuel injected one) And i dont see a seal or stator listed. The carbuerated one lists those parts however. I dont know if you accidentally looked at the wrong page, or if you didnt know, mine is a FI model.

and i know its hard to diagnose something like this, Im sorry! haha i just was hoping someone would have experienced it before.

can you lend any thoughts on whether it would hurt my car to drive like this? should i pull my valve cover to make sure it isnt in there? I think the rubbing rotor/dust cover might be unrelated?

Jeff

if you want to check for the noise location take a piece of a wooden broomstick handle (or something similar) and put it on the distributor and the other end on your ear, then try it on the valve cover and you'll be able to tell where most of the noise is coming from.... If you look in the lower left hand corner you'll see the o-ring that I was refering too.... no stator though... sorry didn't realize it was the FI model....

I think I found something.... Desert Could have probably cited this off the top of his head *L*.... Here's a "snippet" of what I found but follow the link for the whole story.... this is a 93 but IDENTICAL issue to yours...


http://earthrenewal.org/are_honda_automobiles_safe_and_r.htm


Another Honda owner related the following experience:

At 66,000 miles (in Feb. 1999), I had my 1993 Honda Accord EX into the local Honda dealer for a major service and checkup. At that time they didn't inform me of the distributor recall. I was under the impression that when a manufacturer has a recall, they send out cards to all the owners informing them of the problem (which I never received). The recall "expired" (never heard of that before.... if a part is defective and a safety hazard, how can a recall expire?) in 1999 and at 75000.

In July 2001, at 94000 miles, the distributor failed with all the symptoms of the recall. Honda refused to budge and fix it. The "screeching" noise was fairly loud above the engine noise. I drove the car with the noise for another 350 miles or so until I got it into my local (and trustworthy) non-Honda mechanic who told me this was common for Hondas from 1993. He said he could either replace the distributor, or try to clean it and lubricate it. I said sure try it. (especially after he told me the distributor goes for $350). Well, it was fine for about a week, and then with my wife driving with our baby in the car, the emissions control light came on and then the car stalled. Luckily she made it back to the house (it was 103 degrees F that day).

I called the dealer, with the information of the recall. He told me about the expiration of the recall and suggested I call Customer Service at Honda. I spoke to the representative, who promised that a supervisor would call me back that day, even though it normally takes 48 hours. Well, at about the end of the day, no phone call. I call the number again, this time another customer service office answered with NO RECORD of my previous call. Oh, and anyway, that recall has expired... So, now I wait again for a supervisor to call who no doubt will do nothing.

I personally feel that something needs to be done to get back at this company. (I was considering to buy one of those new spiffy CRVs, but now will definitely not). Of course, I filed a complaint with the NHTSA online board. I'm considering suing the dealer and Honda in small claims court. Maybe if enough of us do that, or get together and file a class action lawsuit, we might get their attention.

OH, one more thing, in Oct 1999, the day our baby was born, when I returned to the house to get some sleep, the oil seal broke, and dumped oil all over the garage. Again, I found out later that this problem was common for this car because of a defective part. It was quite an expensive fix too because of the labor costs involved. So, if it has not happened to you yet, beware!
This driver's experience with Honda's customer support was similar to my own, except that it took Honda 3 months to get back to me after I submitted the repair documentation they requested. When Honda did reply, the customer service representative indicated that I was fortunate that the igniter was only the second major failure on my vehicle. Honda refused to pay for the repair and refused to offer me an appeal option. The service representative alluded to others with transmission failures (late model Accord V6's) and the front engine oil seal problem (that the above driver referred to).

welll I'm out of here for the next week or so... heading over to Spokane WA for surgery so I'll be back in a while!! Let us know what the fix is, I PM'd CHondivica (sp) and asked his opinion on this so hopefully you'll get some more help with a bit more accurate answers.... Best of luck and let us know the fix!

ORIGINAL: g1teg


http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7652/dsc01737oi1.jpg

Jeff

See that brown dust in your pic? That's caused by the upper bearing in the distributor crapping out. That's what's making your noise. Need a new distributor.

agree with CHIO........ get a dizzy sub assembly..if you let it go as is,, it will cause engine to kick a code and car to die while driving

transfer over the ignitor and coil to the new sub assembly.

Yep. I pulled the distributer last night, to take a closer look, And i was almost unable to rotate the shaft by hand. At some points i wasnt able to at all. I sprayed some lube inside it and it freed it up A LOT! am i looking for more trouble driving to work in the morning? or should it be fine to go and get the parts tomorrow? worst case scenario if it freezes?

Thanks guys!
Jeff

managed to find a used one with out the ignition coil for 120 CDN. Swapped my coil over and its in the car working great. The problem was definately the bearing. I am going to tear down the old one, if its cool enough ill post a pic of the screwed bearing.

Thanks for the help guys
Jeff

Thanks for keeping us up to date with what the problem was. A story with a happy ending...