Okay on my 07 honda fit (AT) has been making a wierd noise when i drive off. Now the noise only happens on take off, its coming from the driver side and it sounds like maybe its a tire issue, axle, bearings stuff like that. But after inspecting it, everything looks fine. My questions is could it be my motor mounts!?! maybe the engine is moving out of place? if so, how can visually tell if my motor mount is bad?

 

if it was coming from the wheel/axle it wouldnt just happen at take off. But, without more information i cant really tell you what it would be.

 

Checking motor mounts can be easy if you can visually see the crack or tear in the mount... but usually is a 2 person job. Have an assistant start the car, put in either reverse or drive, and while holding the foot brake... blip the throttle. You'll be checking to see how excessive the movement is when the engine and trans rocks back and forth (sometimes actually lifting up if mount(s) is bad enough).

Repeat in opposite gear if you do not see anything during initial check.

Note: Some mounts (like the transmission mount for example) are filled with a fluid and if the mount fails/cracks this fluid will leak out.

 

yeah can you explain more what the noise sounds like? How long it lasts? Is it RPM dependent?

 

The only mount that has failed on our '07 was the LF tranny mount. This was determined visually, it didn't make any noise.

The 'H' shaped rubber insert had collapsed, so the center of the H had fallen towards the bottom. The legs of the H were broken.

Otherwise your procedure is excellent!

 

I cracked that same mount during an autocross day!

Ended up traction hopping a 225/45R15 Nitto NT01 in a tight turn while hard on the throttle... but a nice split in the mount and seen all the residual fluid from inside of it on my transmission case.

 

I have a GD3 with 145K. Recently, while heading out from a stop, I'll occasionally get a little rattle. At first, I thought exhaust, but what I'm really thinking is a heat shield rattle of some sort. Rattling against the exhaust, that is. Not enough to worry me, but I wonder if it's the same issue?

 

Might Be,

It's not a question of "IF", but "WHEN"