Engine Sounds – What’s That Noise?

When you turn the key to your car it’s possible you’ll hear some engine noises that you haven’t heard in the past.  This could be something that alarms you and makes you want to take a look at what’s going on under the hood, but if you don’t know much about cars you might want to know why your car is making the noises that you’re hearing.  Here are some of the noises you might hear that you want to have checked out right away.

Hissing – There are many different liquid and gasses that are under pressure in your engine and when you hear a hissing noise there is a chance the car has a leak of some type under the hood.  With any leak, you could end up with a system that doesn’t work the way it should, take your vehicle to a mechanic and have this check out right away when you hear hissing.

Clunking – If you hear clunking from your car when you drive, you need to have it checked out.  This could mean you have bad ball joints, worn control arm bushings, a faulty stabilizer link pin or a chassis part that has come loose.  You might even have a loose exhaust system; no matter what the problem is, you need to have it fixed.

Engine Shrieking – You might hear some squealing and shrieking from the engine area which could mean that your serpentine belt needs to be replaced.  It also could mean this belt has become loose and need to be tightened.  If you wait too long, you run the risk of damaging more items in your vehicle, make sure you have this checked out right away.

Screeching or Groaning from the Brakes – When you push the brakes to stop your vehicle if you hear a loud screeching noise or a groan, you may need to replace the brake pads.  These items could have worn down to the indicator and need to be replaced.  This is something you can do yourself if you know how or have a professional handle the job for you.

Clickety-Clack – If your vehicle sounds like a train as it rolls down the tracks you need to have it checked out right away.  There is a good chance you have CV joints that are starting to fail and need to be replaced.  Have these parts checked out right away and stop the train noise.

Growling or Moaning – When you turn if your vehicle begins to growl or moan at you there is a good chance the power steering pump is beginning to fail and won’t last much longer.  If you have an electrically assisted steering setup you’re not going to have to worry about this, but a hydraulic pump layout can cause you trouble if this part begins to fail.

Percussion Sounds in the Engine – If you hear rattling, pinging or hammering from the engine you may have trouble in the engine itself.  One way to help correct this problem is to use higher octane gasoline, but you can also change the air filter, or run a fuel cleaner through the system to help rectify this problem from under the hood.

Clattering or Knocking – This is a noise that can mean serious trouble for you.  This may mean that valve clearances need to be adjusted and it’s something that you need to have checked out right away.  If the noise is loud and deep or sounds like hammering, you might have a bad rod bearing which means you will need to have a lot of work done in order to have the car fixed.

Crunching Sound – When you hear a crunching sound from under your transmission, especially with a manual transmission, you might need to have this component replaced.  Have this noise checked to see if you have a worn synchronizer or the entire transmission.  In either case, a crunching noise isn’t good at all when you have a manual transmission vehicle.

Howling – The rear area of your vehicle could start to howl at you which could be a symptom of the differential needing repair.  This noise could show up in a variety of situations, but it typically means you need to have the gears in the differential checked out because they need to be replaced to get you back on the road the right way.