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dharma_gw

'91 honda accord possible torque converter/transmission problem?

dharma
17 years ago

hello! any help on this topic will be GREATLY appreciated.

i'll try to describe my problem....i'm no mechanic, so i'm sure it won't be a perfect description. but any shove in the right direction is good.

my honda has an automatic transmission and a 4 cylinder engine. she isn't acting funny at all; at 171031, she runs like a charm. however, she makes a funny noise under the hood on the right side (where her transmission is located) that sounds like if you were to put your tongue to the roof of your mouth and lightly squeal while vibrating your tongue (like a baby cat purring). it's not a loud noise; i can't hear it going down the highway. but it happens ONLY when i'm in drive, and not constantly. at irregular intervals, about 1-3 times per minute. it never does this in park, or reverse, or neutral. it does it sometimes when i'm stopped at a traffic light, but tends to do it more when i'm actually driving. it doesn't sound like a loose belt; at least, not like when i replaced my fan belt (perhaps that just sounds totally different...excuse my ignorance). every once in a great while a slight high pitched whine will come right after the first sound, and about once a week, a slight shuttering in the area will accompany the first sound, too, though this only happens as i'm trying to speed up, and it's not a very powerful shutter. the car isn't stalling or slipping or anything...she just sort of, well, purrs a few times a minute. one mechanic's opinion was that it could be my torque converter. is this sound characteristic of a torque converter on the verge of malfunction? i'd like to get someone else's opinion, as the repair is a costly one for an independent college student; however, i definitely want to take care of it before it leads to a greater problem. plus, i think the vehicle is well worth this repair, even though my family says to scrap it and buy a new car (which is hogwash, because my car has no other problems at the moment, and has not cost more than $600 in repairs since i bought it four years ago with 121000 miles, and its blue book value is listed at $1600 as of now).

once again, thanks very much! i'll be happy to try and give more info if i didn't describe this problem well enough.

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