What on earth does it mean when your wheel makes a noise that sounds as if your partner is screeching at you for not putting the toilet seat down? Well, how much do you actually know about your car? I am young, trendy, and ignorant as I have owned a car since the tender age of 21, but I actually know very little about the workings of this incredible machine. So when it comes to maintenance and the upkeep, I am probably right down there with the people who paint their cars with Dulux! But this need not be the case…
By Juliet McGuire
After a bit of research I now know how to fix the small things and look out for the big things! So I thought it only fair to share my knowledge so that you too can look like the hero when you brake down on the side of the road or when some know-it-all mechanic tries to tell you that you need a new thing-majig and that it’s going to cost you more than you paid for the car (which happens to me all the time, although the blonde thing could have something to do with that).
So, I thought I would go in search of the common problem areas such as brakes, tyres, oil filters, fan belts and so on. Before you start, however, it is important to realise that fixing something can depend as much on your mental attitude as it does on the tools needed, believe me, a huge amount of patience is essential.
If there is sudden change in the feel of your brake pedal, it probably means something is wrong and needs to be checked out (duh). If you need to pump them to work, then they need to be adjusted. If it’s a windy day however and you hear a scraping noise, it is quite normal as it might just be small particles of sand clinging to the discs. A few quick jabs on the brake peddle will cause the sealing rings to spring back a fraction more and stop the noise. It is advisable to check your brakes on a regular basis and it can be easier and cheaper to change your brake pads yourself.
One thing that people too often neglect is their wheel alignment. If it out, then it affects so many other things, especially your tyres. It is really easy to test it yourself: let the wheel go at cruising speed on a level empty road. The car should run straight for some distance. A pull to one side could mean the alignment is out, or the tyre pressure is uneven. It is relatively easy to correct wheel alignment at home.
Always check your tyres for sidewall scuffing and cuts, embedded objects, an abnormal wear pattern and depth of tread. A band of wear at the centre of the tread often results from the tyre pressure being too high. Conversely, a band of wear at each side is due to low tyre pressure. Other regular wear patters could be from incorrect wheel alignment. Irregular wear patterns are caused by worn shock absorbers.
Wheel bearings get noisy when they are worn. It is usually possible to isolate the noisy front-wheel bearing by cornering with both the front windows open (turn your music down for this one). If the noise gets worse when you corner to the right then it is the left-hand one and vice versa.
The oil filter is one of the key components that offer a degree of protection to a car’s engine, therefore it is extremely important that the it be changed when needed.
If a screeching noise begins to emanate from your engine, and there is no evidence of a cat caught up in the gearing, it’s likely that your fan belt is about to give up the ghost. Other classic signs of a worn fan belt include low power and the engine temperature needle pointing northward. The good news about this particular malady is that you don’t have to be a mechanic to check it or even change it.
The life of your CV joints can be prolonged if you inspect them at least every 10 000 km. They usually make a clicking or knocking sound (often when cornering) when they are worn and it’s quite easy to check for this.
One of the most dangerous things on a car is worn shock absorbers, which allow the wheels to bounce and the body to roll and pitch excessively. Tyre wear is accentuated due to the irregular battering encountered and braking efficiency is drastically reduced due to tyre-to-road contact being inadequate. You can test your shocks at home without a machine and even change them yourself.
Now, print this out! Walk outside! Get under, in and around your car! Find and fix the noises that have been driving you crazy! You have no excuse anymore…
