How-To Tuesday: What’s With Your Squeaky Wheels?
Squeaky wheels are never a good thing, but they do afford you the chance to do a little detective work. Which is always fun, right?
Obviously, that’s an optimistic outlook, as you’re most likely looking at a suspension problem. But hey, life’s too short not to have fun when you can. And if you’ve done your own sleuthing, you may find the problem is easily fixable. Or at least you can speak to the mechanic in an informed fashion, if it comes to that.
The detective work presented in this week’s How-To Tuesday article involves figuring out just why your wheels are squeaking. And then it will lead you in the right direction towards fixing that root problem.
The biggest tool you’ll be relying on is your ear, as you’ll need to isolate where the squeaking is coming from, and when it’s occurring. Depending on that determination, you may also need a socket set, a tire iron, a jack, and a jack stand. But the entire easy/moderate operation shouldn’t take you more than a couple of hours.
The article breaks down the detective work into four separate steps. First, determine if your hearing squeaking while driving over bumps. If so, your shocks may be worn. If that’s not the problem, then it’s time to figure out if you hear the sound while turning. If that’s the case, then your wheel bearings may be bad. Or perhaps you hear the squeak when you’re braking? Then you may very well have a dragging brake pad. Or maybe your wheels are only squeaking in cold weather? It could be a case of dry bushings.
Whatever the cause may be, this week’s article will help make your life a lot less squeaky, so what are you waiting for?
