I have a 2001 Honda CRV, 2 wheel drive V6 with 160,000 miles. She runs great, no overheating, no leaks, nothing. About 2 weeks ago an intermittent squeak started, It only happens once the engine has warmed up a bit, it also goes away when I accelerate, it does get LOUD at times though. The odd part is it completely stops if I put weight on the engine. I found this out accidentally while examining the belts, the second I lean on the engine, it is gone. Doesn’t matter where either, putting a decent amount of weight anywhere on the top of the engine will do it. The belts seemed fine to me, I have not gotten time to see if the pulleys turn freely yet. I guess I am just wondering if this is anything significant? A loose bolt somewhere maybe?
Various Honda models have had a lot of problems over the years with their motor mounts.
Based on your description, I strongly suggest that you have a qualified mechanic check your mounts.
(Note: “Qualified mechanic” does not include the guys at Midas, Monro, Meineke, Pep Boys, Sears, AAMCO, or your local tire shop.)
Thank you! Bad motor mounts were one of my suspicions as well. Will do so ASAP; I can handle a belt or bad pulley, but I am definitely not qualified for that job.
Honda motor mounts are liquid filled and in a moderate climate may last a long time. Extreme heat and cold are its enemies. It’s one of the few flaws in Hondas, the less than sturdy transmissions is another.
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That makes a hell of a lot of sense now. I live in northern Michigan and 2-3 weeks ago was the “polar vortex”; had temps down to -30 or so with windchill, which I had to drive about 3 hours across state in for a family emergency. This started not long after that and I figured it was part of the cause of whatever is wrong. Thank you!
Squeals are usually caused by worn belts, so you first hunch was a good one. If any easily replaceable belts are over 5 years old , try replacing them as the first step. As a part of that job you can manually turn the other pulleys on the belt loop too, checking for any weirdness. Rubber changes dimenions w/temperature, so the temperature relationship isn’t unexpected, but usually you get the squealing happening more cold, and less warm. I was having a squeal on my Corolla for 6-8 months, worse cold, worse on acceleration, decided it wasn’t going to fix itself. Spraying water on the alternator belt made it go away immediately, in the way of a diagnosis. Tightening the alternator belt completely fixed it.
I had a 62 Ford years ago, and it would squeal when hot, and the sound would go away by pressing on the valve cover. That turned out to be the valve cover fasteners has worked themselves loose. The squeal was some sort of vacuum leak sound effect.
Point of clarification, your car doesn’t care about the wind chill, that’s only useful if you have flesh and blood (though I know the ambient temperature was really friggen cold too!)
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Crv never came with v6.
That was also my recollection, but I thought that the OP must surely know what was sitting under the hood of his own vehicle…
Absolutely correct, it’s a four banger and I’m getting over the flu. I made a mistake, thanks for all your help figuring out what’s wrong with my car though!