Honda Accord UK (1998 - 2003) - 00 2.0 Knocking sound when accelerating

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Wed 25 Jun 2008 13:26
00 2.0 Knocking sound when accelerating - chipper
Hi,

I have a 2000 Honda Accord with approx 116K on the clock. Over the last 6 months or so I have been bothered by a rhythmic knocking sound that seems to occur when I'm accelerating from 45mph in 4th or 5th gear under certain circumstances. The frequency of the knocking increases as road speed increases. The problem I have is it only seems to occur under certain circumstances. The conditions I have managed to isolate so far are only that it seems at its worst on windy country roads where the gradient varies and where there the road surface is slightly undulating. I can never get this problem to show itself to the garage mechanic who has driven it around on fairly flat roads only (he'd have to go quite far out of his way to get to where the problem always shows up).
At the last MOT (6 months ago), the car had to have a CV boot replaced, but apparently an outer CV joint was OK. I am worried that I am now driving with a very slightly worn CV joint and this is causing the problem. I'm about to go to the honda main dealer to see if they can help, but I'm not very hopeful. I'm so frustrated with this problem that I am now thinking of just trying to changes various parts until the problem goes away - starting with the CV joint that had its boot replaced. The last mechanic I spoke to about it and who drove the car said that it was definitely something in the drivetrain because the engine is absolutely fine.

Has anyone got any ideas - anywhere I can start looking?

Thanks
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Wed 25 Jun 2008 14:02
00 2.0 Knocking sound when accelerating - Screwloose

Which corner of the car and what is the knock frequency - once per wheel revolution?
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Wed 25 Jun 2008 15:56
00 2.0 Knocking sound when accelerating - chipper
I would say once per revolution, although I'd be guessing, it is definitely related to how fast the car is moving along rather than revs and the frequency gets higher proportionally to road speed. It seems like it is coming from the off-side front corner. I also notice that when I'm getting the noise (on a country road) and go over a bump, the noise gets momentarily lounder. I've been trying to work out whether this is when the weight is lifted off the front wheels of the car or when it presses back down.
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Wed 25 Jun 2008 16:05
00 2.0 Knocking sound when accelerating - Screwloose

In that case; the first - and most important - check is that one of the tyres isn't delaminating internally.

Get a competent tyre specialist to remove the wheel and spin it on the balancer to see if it goes out-of-round at speed.

A chipped wheel bearing track is another possibility; but that will normally develop very slowly.
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