How does a tech go about diagnosing & fixing a rattle/squeek

[T1Kaiju]

I would love to know how a pro approaches this work.

[autoplex]

First you determine when it is present, highway driving, not moving, engine running, intensity, all attempts to determine source then cause, it is really all steps to see what it isn't then what it is, if it is very hard to pinpoint there are tools available to help, chassis ears, audio test cds etc.

[Doug_Scott]

It used to be a lot easier to correct squeaks and rattles. In the last 20 years build quality has really gone up, any squeaks and rattles these days are a lot more selective as to when they happen. Any squeak/rattle I have had in any new vehicle I have had may have a noise in the dash, but, only at very specific temperatures. Essentially a couple of days a year I will hear a noise in the dash area. If I make an appointment to get ti fixed, by the time it gets to the shop, the noise is gone till the next major season change. A good trim mechanic is worth his weight in gold.

But, to answer your question, a good trim guy will go with the customer to hear the noise the customer is hearing, and try to see how the customer is re-creating the noise. For some reason, once a customer has heard a noise, they will start drive the exact way necessary to get the noise to happen. They do not do this on purpose, it is just one of those things that happens. Sometimes all the trim guy has to do is get the noise to not occur when driven a certain way.

[jhm]

i had a noise that drove me crazy. 1st service mgr rode with me and said it was piston slap-nothing can be done. ended up getting the free 5yr 100k warranty they were giving as substitute for fixing it. 6 months later i go back because could not drive the truck with the noise. new service guy. he gave me a loaner kept my truck for 3 days even drove it back and forth to his home. took dash off and drove around with a tech with a light. they found the 4 wd selector lever had a broken piece of plastic resonating. all comes down to how committed they are to finding the noise.

[mike94silverado]

I used to like when the customer would let me "live" with the vehicle for a day or two, drive it home, etc would almost always be able to find and fix their concern but the management put a stop to that because they couldn't bill enough time.... I would just put the repair on the ticket I never cared that I diagnosed it on the ride home they did apparently

 

 

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