Mechanic & Noise Diagnosis for Croydon

This page is a framework rather than a single subject, because the most common thing anyone says when booking a car in with a mechanic Croydon drivers use is that it is making a noise.

Describing a noise is hard and people describe the same sound completely differently. What is far more useful is knowing what makes it change. Four questions get most of the way there.

Does it change with road speed or engine speed? Put the car in neutral while it is rolling. If the noise continues unchanged, it is a wheel, tyre or brake. If it drops with the revs, it is the engine, belt or transmission.

Does it change when you steer? Load moves side to side. A noise that rises turning one way and fades the other is a wheel bearing on the loaded side.

Does it change when you brake? Obvious, but worth separating. Noise only under braking is pads, rotors or a caliper. Noise that goes away under braking is often a bearing, because braking momentarily takes load off it.

Does it change over bumps? Suspension and exhaust. Clonks over bumps are usually bushes, links or a loose exhaust hanger.

Answering those before you arrive gives any mechanic Croydon drivers use a real head start.

• Squeal when cold that disappears after a few stops. Surface moisture on the rotors. Normal.
• Constant squeal that stops when you brake. Pad wear indicator. It is designed to do exactly that.
• Grinding under braking. Pads are through to the backing plate. Stop driving it.
• Rhythmic clicking on full lock. Outer CV joint.
• Hum that rises with speed and changes when steering. Wheel bearing.
• Clonk over bumps at low speed. Sway bar links, most often, and one of the cheapest repairs on a car.
• Squeal on start-up that fades. Accessory belt, glazed or loose.
• Ticking that rises with revs. Exhaust manifold leak or a valve train noise.

Some noises will not perform on demand. If it only happens cold, we keep the car overnight and start it cold. If it only happens at 80 km/h, we drive it at 80 km/h. Guessing at parts to chase a noise nobody has heard is how people end up paying for repairs that change nothing.

2/208 Grange Rd, Flinders Park, five minutes from Croydon. If you would rather describe the noise in person, ring first and a mechanic Croydon residents deal with regularly will talk it through with you.

Call (08) 8443 7900.

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