How To Speak Mechanic

How To Speak Mechanic

What's That Smell

Possible Problem Smell

Antifreeze or coolant leak

sweet odor, usually accompanied by steam from under the hood

burning oil

thick heavy odor, sometimes Accompanied by smoke from under the hood or from the exhaust

Electrical short

acid odor, like burned toast

emission

Continuous, heavy sulfur odor like rotten eggs

overheated brakes or clutch

burning rubber odor

engine overheating

hot, metallic odor usually accompanied by antifreeze/coolant odor

Fluid Leak

Possible Problem	Stain
axle leaks	black stains with heavy, thick consistency
coolant leaks	yellow, green, pink. or orange stains that are lighter than oil
crankcase oil, power steering fluid leaks	brownish stains
transmission oil leaks	reddish stains

It's Not Running Right

Driveability Symptom	Description
cuts out	temporary complete loss of poser
detonation	mild to severe pings. usually worse under acceleration. sounds like popcorn popping.
dieseling	engine runs after ignition switch is turned off. runs unevenly and may make a knocking noise
hesitation	momentary lack of response as accelerator is pressed.
miss	pulsation or jerking that changes with engine speed. exhaust has a steady spitting sound at idle or low speed.
rough idle	engine runs unevenly at idle. may cause a shake.
sluggish	engine delivers limited power under load or at high speed. wont accelerate as fast as normal
spongy	little or no increase in speed when accelerating
stall	engine stops running or dies. may occur at idle or while driving.
surge	vehicle speeds up and slows down with no change on accelerator pedal. can occur at any speed

Handling Issues

Handling Symptoms	Description
Bottoming	suspension moves to extreme end of travel and hits compression bumpers. feels like a heavy thud.
Brake fade	Stopping distance increases causing longer braking distance
excessive play	steering wheel must be turned unusually far before vehicle responds
hard steering	excessive effort steering worse during parking
low brake pedal	brake pedal must be pushed unusually far to engage brakes
brake pulsations	brake pedal fluctuates while brakes are applied
Pulls	Vehicle moves to side when steering wheel is released
grabs	vehicle has a tendency to move left or right when brakes are applied
shimmy	rapid side to side motion of both front wheel felt in steering wheel
sway / pitching	mushy or spongy ride, vehicle takes a long time to recover from bumps
vibration	vehicle shakes
wanders	vehicle meanders, requiring frequent steering adjustments to maintain direction