yes, I think I posted a while ago to your same question petrv and I said it was an overtight belt.... how long have you been driving the car after the tensioner was checked to be fully functional? Also... from what I understand, when the tensioners go bad, they fully extend and place too much tension on the belt, all I know is that they are a pain in the you know what so if you have the chance to convert to the manual, then do it..... the auto tensioner vs manual is almost like comparing an auto-tranny against a manual, the auto tranny is nice and luxurious when it works, but it could fail without warning etc..... also, this is off the subject, but you are in france right petrv? do you happen to know of a town called Granada? or not? just curious.....

 

Yes I remember your post. It really seemed to me that the timing belt was too tight. When I removed, checked it and installed back, the tension was not as tight as before and the strange sound went away. I revved the engine and the tension was keeping not very tight and the sound wasn't there. So I put all the covers on and made a short trip, but the sound came again after 2 miles! I didn't chceck the tension again but I assume the tension is really big again. I am going to make the auto to manual conversion anyway. Nobody told me that the faulty tensioner has big tension, I thought thet it looses tension. Now it's clear to me, thank a lot.

BTW I am from Czech, not from France.

 

well either the tensioner goes bad, or the bearing that holds it in place, and with the auto tensioner, its not like the manual, you wont be able to tell the exact tension when the car is off

 

When I changed my belts, something was making that noise. So, like everyone, I figured it was my tensioner. I checked the auto tensioner and found nothing wrong with it. My uncle, who did my belt change while I watched and helped, is a certified Honda tech (all mfgs, really) and he said this tensioner problem seems to be a little out of proportion. I asked him about the kits to convert it to a manual tensioner and he was strongly against it. He has done quite a few H22 w/auto tensioner belt changes, and seen not one bad. My engine is smooth as silk now with not a hint of grrrring anywhere. Only thing that I could think of was the fact that the old belt was, well, old and wearing out. Just like belts do.

 

So how did your uncle fix this noise?

 

The only thing he really did was before he put the auto tensioner back in, he filled it with motor oil and cranked it down. Just like you're supposed to do. Then you slide it into the Honda tool to hold the piston untill it's released on the spring and pulley. Neither one of us really understand all the hub-bub over this problem.