Strange sound coming from daughter's car

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December 19, 2009

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Q: My daughter's 1997 Mercury Mountaineer makes a strange sound only while moving. It sounds like a jet engine as we pick up acceleration. The transmission shifts fine. I thought it was an exhaust problem, but I crawled under the car when I put it on ramps and could find nothing. The front bearings have been changed in the last two years. Any suggestions would be a blessing.

A: There are many components that make noise on a car as you move. Just because you had your bearings changed a few years ago does not guarantee they haven't failed. Among the top items to consider would be, of course, hub bearings, the transmission planetary gears and the tires. What I would do is take it to a professional shop and let them analyze it on the lift. You may have a safety issue and don't realize just how bad it is.

Q: In 2005, I bought a 2002 Subaru Forester from a nearby dealer with 30,000 miles on the odometer. Over the past four years, I have had this work done on the vehicle: 60,000-mile service; four tires at 73,000; replaced rotors and brakes 89,000; replaced front A/F sensor at 91,000; timing belt, water pump, cam seals, etc. at 104,000; replaced defective thermostat at 100,000; replaced catalytic converter at 105,000; left rear wheel bearing at 110,000; and transmission at 113,000. During the transmission change, the mechanic thought that it was odd that it would fail after so few miles. His experience was that they lasted many more miles.

That got me to thinking about when we bought the vehicle. I remember vaguely that there was a hole in the carpet under the gas pedal. I think I was suspicious, but other than the carpet hole the car looked good and ran well with good gas mileage. I accepted the repairs as "things wear out and you fix them." Now, I think the car had more than 30,000 miles on it when I purchased it. Is there any way to tell the real mileage? Is there some EPROM that mileage is kept in that cannot be changed? I recently saw a British TV car show where a person changed the mileage on an MB E320 from 90,000 to 30,000 miles in under two minutes.

A: As I read through the list of repairs, I don't really see anything out of the normal. However, to relieve your own mind, there are a few things you can do. If the car was registered in Massachusetts the entire life of the vehicle, the Registry can trace the mileage of all the state inspection stickers, and you can see if the mileage is consistent. The other thing you can do is find out who the original owner was, make contact with that person and find out the mileage at the time of the sale.

Car Care Tip: Some car washes are open year-round. If you have the chance to wash the salt off the bottom, your car body may last longer and not rust out so soon.

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Larry Rubenstein is a master technician who owns a North Shore service station. His column appears every Saturday. Write to Larry at The Salem News, c/o Auto Scanner, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915, or send e-mail to scanauto@aol.com.