[nebula]

Hi All,
About a week ago, I replaced the spring inside the VTC actuator on my 2012 CR-V based on information here. I used the spring recommended: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RGDDO4?psc=1. I wound it inside the old spring and cut the new spring to be about 1/8" longer than the old one.

The rattle is mostly gone. I still hear it sometimes when I start the car in the mornings. But now I hear a chirping sound, which seems to be coming from the VTC actuator. I can clearly hear it and pinpointed the location to the VTC sprocket by using a stethoscope.

Attaching two sound clips. One is mostly recorded next to the engine and the chirping sound is more evident at about 18s. The other is recorded inside the car.

engine_bay.mp3
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inside_car.mp3
Shared with Dropbox

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Any insights would be appreciated.

 

[nebula]

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't actually trying to capture the VTC rattle noise in those sound files. I wanted to share the squeak/chirping that I hear now.

I will try the belt dressing method, but when I place the stethoscope right above the VTC actuator on the cam cover, the squeak is clearly audible, whereas if I put it on any of the components which is connected to the serpentine belt, I don't hear chirp through the stethoscope.

Maybe a few specific questions can help me narrow this down:

• Did folks mostly use the spring from that Amazon link above?
• Did you wind the new spring into the old one or just used the new spring in place of the old one?
• Did you cut the spring shorter?