My Students’ Blog

Before You Call a Mechanic

By Kyle B.

One skill that I think is very important for everyone to learn is how to identify when something is wrong with your car, and how you could go about fixing it yourself. This is important because it could save you money down the road. In this blog, I will tell you how to get started, why it’s important to learn, what to look out for, and how you could be prepared.

Doing general maintenance is a great skill to learn. This saves money and trips to a mechanic for something that you can fix on your own.

Learning how to do basic maintenance on your car will save you a lot of money in the future. This is important because you don’t want to go to the mechanic when you could change your brakes yourself. I learned from my shop teacher, Judd Hankins of Mossyrock High School. He is very knowledgeable about cars, having spent years fixing a lot of maintenance issues with his cars. He says it saves him a lot of time and money. Hankins has experienced changing his oil, brakes, and just a general tune-up. He says, “If I have the time, I like to fix it myself.” But if he doesn’t have the time or the tools for the job he will have somebody else fix it. Doing general maintenance is a great skill to learn. This saves money and trips to a mechanic for something that you can fix on your own. Oil changes you can save up to $75 by doing it yourself. For brakes, you can save up to $500 per axle.

How do you get started? Well, how you get started is first you would have to notice something is wrong with your car, whether it be that you smell something, hear something or you feel something. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, watch this video. It is about different car noises and it goes through, step by step, on where the car part is that needs to be replaced, and even how to fix it. What makes me think that this is a great source is that Hankins, my shop teacher, says that YouTube is his favorite tool, because, if you hear a noise coming from your car you’ve never heard before, you would be able to watch a couple videos and be able to check different parts of your car, and even be able to fix it. Hankins also says that a proper diagnosis is key when you’re trying to fix your car, because if you try to just change parts out that don’t need to be replaced, you could be wasting money instead of saving money.

But what should you look out for? If your car starts randomly making a noise you should identify where it’s coming from; brakes – screeching/grinding; belt – chirping/squealing; steering fluid – groaning/whining; wheel bearings – low rumbling CV axle – front; end clicking sway bar links – clunking; exhaust shield –  rattling/buzzing; exhaust leak – loud running.

 This is another great source. AAA is a company that specializes in roadside assistance, and this article talks about different noises that you could hear with your car and what it means, but also it explains how it could have caused the problem. For instance, “A knocking noise under the hood is a clear indication of engine trouble. Often, this is caused by low oil levels, which can lead to engine damage if not addressed. Check your oil level with a dipstick and monitor your oil pressure. If the knocking continues, despite having enough oil, seek help from a mechanic right away to prevent major engine damage. Learn how to check your engine oil.” Reading this article would have helped me in the past because I ran my car out of oil, and it was making a weird noise, but I didn’t think anything was wrong at first. Now my car does not run like it should because I damaged the engine when I ran it without oil.

You have to learn how to be prepared. When you buy a car you should look up the most common problems that the car has and what key noises you could listen for, to make sure that when a problem occurs, you will be able to identify the noise and fix the problem before it costs you a lot of money out of pocket. Blue Book is a great source when you’re looking at a car, because it shows you what problems occur commonly with that vehicle. You could use your other resources to identify the problem quickly before you have to pay a lot out of pocket. 

How will you know when it’s time to call a mechanic? McKinney Motor Company is a really good source that tells you what to look out for and when it’s time to call the mechanic. But also, you could use your own judgment. If you don’t have the tools, nor have the time, it’s time to call a mechanic. My shop teacher Hankins told me that he fixes everything he can, but, if he doesn’t have the tools or the time, he will go to the mechanic.

I feel that the skill of identifying what’s wrong with your car and learning how you could go about fixing it is very important. Learning this prevents you from spending lots of money at car repair shops. I’ve learned from personal experiences with my wheel bearing going out. I didn’t know what to listen for or feel for when I was driving, so I almost ruined my car. If I would have learned the skill earlier, I would have been able to identify something was wrong and be able to fix it on my own. ording to your lifestyle is important, but make sure to discipline yourself to reach your goals as well.