Hey guys I need your help. No, there is not a new diesel Acura. The title was just to catch your attention. Please forgive me. :wish: I just purchased this 2006 Acura TL (146k miles) base model and it sounds like a diesel!! It is making a loud rattle noise. It appears to be coming from near the timing belt cover area. I understand that this car is known for rattles. Regrettably I have not had any time to remove the serpentine belt and begin a diagnostic yet. For now I was hoping you guys could maybe give me a good head start.
I do not know if the timing belt has it been changed, but I am assuming it has not. Having said that, I don’t know if the valves have ever been adjusted. There appears to be a loud ticking noise which I understand may be normal (valve adjustment) , but the deep sounding rattle has me concerned. Please see links to two YouTube videos I uploaded. Thank you in advance for your feedback.
Might be your water pump on it’s way to heaven. Keep an eye on the temperature.
A bottle of Slick 50 will quiet all the noised, make your engine purr like a kitten and last another 200,000 miles.
No, not really, I just said that to get your attention !
We had a 2008 TL and it was a great car. My first impulse is immediate timing belt. At 30K I had put a new serpentine belt on and it developed a noise for some reason. They ended up putting a new timing belt, water pump, and some kind of kit (can’t remember the name of it without checking my records). It might have been a weak point I don’t know but that belt should have been replaced at 100K or so. I’d get the belt done pronto and I’d even be inclined to get it to a dealer to have it done right where they can figure out exactly what it is. Injector noise is normal from brand new.
I’m with @bing. Has the 105k mile service been performed? Note that if the previous owner told you it was, but you do not have receipts, you should assume it was never done. This is true regardless of whether or not it’s the cause of your current problem - if that T-belt breaks it’s going to take your engine with it.
Tbelt, idler pulleys, tensioner, water pump should be the minimum that gets replaced. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to do the seals under there while they’re in there.
You’re in for some sticker shock on this one, sorry to say.
Also it wouldn’t hurt for you to poke your head into the Acurazine forums and look up the info on the transmission pressure switches. The '04-06 trannies were the weak spot on that car, which is why they replaced them with the RL transmission for the '07-08 cars. People on that forum have had good luck keeping the transmissions from dying by replacing those switches, but as mine is an '07 I don’t remember how often they did it.
I see you also have jokes! Ha!
Thanks. I don’t have any information regarding the cars maintenance history so it’s a bit of a puzzle. I will get a timing belt kit that includes the water pump and start there.
I have actually been browsing the forums at Acurazine as well. The two transmission switches for my car are set to be delivered today. 
Thank you for the info.
Well good luck with that. I don’t understand how any man, woman, or child can work in that tight space.
Heh. You want tight? Try doing the accessory belt on an MR2. It involves removing a wheel, the splash pan, and you still have to almost be Plastic Man to get your hands where they need to be.
If you have a length of discarded garden hose, or maybe try a wooden dowel, you might could use them as a sort of stethoscope to see if you can narrow down where the sound is coming from. Might provide a clue. On my Corolla I can open the lid where you pour the oil into the engine and peak through that opening and seeing the timing belt. See if that trick works on your car, you might can spot something wrong with the belt. There’s also removable plugs on the timing cover on my Corolla that allows the belt to be inspected without removing the covers. Neither of those methods provides a very good belt inspection b/c you can’t really see the side of the belt that goes against the pulleys, which is where the wear occurs, but it is possible you could spot something on the fritz using those methods anyway, without much time or effort.
One more idea. Any time I hear the phrase “loud rattling noise” I also think of exhaust manifold shields and cat converter shields. So give them a look-see too.
Well fellas I’ve narrowed the rattler culprit down. I took off the serpentine belt and the rattle went away! I juggled the all pulleys and the tensioner pulley had a little play in her so I’m going to start there. Thank you for the feedback!
Posting false statements in your question is a guaranteed way to get false (or no) answers.
It was a joke but apparently some people here don’t have a sense of humor… -_-
I replaced the belt tensioner and idler pulley and the rattle disappeared.
I removed the timing belt cover while replacing the belt tensioner and I noticed the timing belt bowed in easily when pushing in from the “outside”. Is this normal? I plan on swapping the belt soon but I don’t know if I should just park the car for now. Please see my video below.
If I understand this correctly, your timing belt is most likely 11 years old, which means it could snap at any time, without warning, leading to expensive engine damage
I was not offended, I just met humor with humor.
What @db4690 said. If this were my car, and I did not know the belt had been replaced, I’d park it until I got it replaced.
And I’d be sweating a little on the drive to the shop, to boot.
It probably won’t let go - I’ve seen T-belts from the every 60k mile days go 180k miles.
But doing that is playing Russian roulette with your engine. If I had a 6-chamber revolver with only one bullet in it, it probably wouldn’t fire on the first trigger pull, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna point it at my head and try.
Guess I have to agree. If you get it that far with the cover off, why not just go ahead and change it all out and be done with it?
2006? Original timing belt? 150k miles? Definitely time for a replacement belt.
No way to predict the time/miles remaining on your timing belt. Might well go without any trouble at all another 5 years and 60,000 miles. Or it might fail on the next drive. The odds are not on your side tho.
Some amount of play when pushing on the belt like that is expected, as there’s a tensioner in the loop. That gadget’s job is to keep the belt tension more or less constant irrespective of small variations in the belt path. Suggest to take a careful look at the inside of the belt , the side with the cog teeth on it. If the cog edges look worn and rounded, or when you twist the belt there’s any cracks, even small ones, appearing on that side, get the belt replaced immediately.