Hey, long time lurker here, love this forum - it's always been helpful. But now I've got a problem that I haven't been able to find an answer to in searching the archives. Of course, I'll more than likely have my mechanic take a look at it, but I thought I'd check here first on account of having my first child on the way and I'd love to save some cash.

Anyways, I have a 1999 Honda Accord LX with a little over 175K miles on it. It's been a great car - I have no complaints. Just had the transmission rebuilt (got the car back yesterday) and they replaced the boot surrounding the right CV joint while they were at it (it had a hole that was leaking grease). It drove great all yesterday afternoon. This morning, however, I noticed a whining noise coming from what sounds like the right-front side of the car whenever I let off of the accelerator to coast to a stop. It started fine, is running great and shifting smoothly. The whine stops when I come to a stop and doesn't start up again until I let off the accelerator to stop again.

I am in need of new brake pads (something I've neglected for far too long). Could a dragging brake be the culprit? Or does anyone else have any other ideas? I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

Auto or manual tranny? I'll assume automatic.

The rebuild (fresh seals & maybe a new bearing or 2) could be responsible for the whine noise. Transmission or especially differential can easily make a noise like that. But I'm not particularly expert on automatics, so hope someone will chime in.

The part about the noise changing when you're on & off the gas; really does NOT sound like a brake at all.

When you put the new pads on, make sure you clean up the caliper slide pins. Also make sure the new pads fit into the caliper brack nicely so they aren't wedged tightly. That's what causes dragging brakes, not simply from the pads being old.

 

Yes, it's an automatic (sorry for not specifying before). I've driven it again since the last post and am now more confident that the noise is coming from the front-right section of the car, almost in the wheel well (which is why I was wondering about the brake). Also, having listened to the noise a bit more, it sounds like the light, high-pitched scraping of metal-on-metal. Of course, I could be wrong on both of these and I do realize that without actually hearing what I'm talking about, any feedback is highly speculative (it's also difficult to find words to describe a noise). Thanks for your patience. I called my mechanic and he won't be able to get to it for a few more days, so I'd appreciate any more feedback. The bit about the noise only occurring when the car is coasting (moving without the accelerator being applied) is what's really confusing me.

Oh, and JimBlake, would those whines associated with the rebuild be something to worry about? Or just the new seals/bearings being 'broken in'?

 

Anything related to 98-02 automatic trans can be suspicious; those were troublesome. Probably the reason why it was rebuilt anyway... ?

Scraping sound does sound more like the brake, less like the tranny/differential. Especially since it sounds like it's located at the wheel. Can you make it happen by driving very slowly? Find an empty parking lot & a friend to walk alongside. Pinpointing the location of a sound can be VERY misleading from the driver's seat.

If you've neglected the brake pads "for far too long" then maybe the pads are worn down to the metal warning-tabs that rub against the rotors. That would explain the scraping sound.

Are you going to install the brake pads yourself? If so, check the stuff I mentioned just before.