Clicking in Engine

[Mike Arman]

>Clicking in Engine

<snipped>

>
>I use a 3 foot long wooden dowel to try and find noises.  You can hold one
>end up to your ear, and place the other end of the dowel on various parts of
>the engine.  Don't laugh, it works surprisingly well :-)
>
>I always place the dowel on the engine first, then move my ear near it, but
>always such that the dowel goes past my ear.  Be very careful near the fans
>and belts.  Some of the bearing noises on the pumps and such are
>interesting.  Noises are surprisingly local.
>
>Best,
>
>Bernard Littau



Bernard has this exactly right. This is the "stethoscope" method, and it
does work very well. I've also used a long screwdriver.


I also second the motion to be careful around moving parts! The last time I
used this method to localize "a funny noise" was on an airplane engine,
with a 70" diameter propellor spinning merrily not very far away at all -
tends to do marvels for one's concentration. Turned out to be an expensive
funny noise, too. Center main bearing (on a flat four), so it was engine
overhaul time. Ouch.

This is why I drive an old Audi  - so I have money to fix my airplane,
instead of dumping it into car payments. Besides, by the time there are no
more car payments, I'd have an old Audi anyway, so I just bypassed the
whole part about the payments, and went directly to outright ownership of
the old Audi. ;-)

Best Regards,

Mike Arman





Best Regards,

Mike Arman