Car repair question/recommendation

[Aim]

My favorite honest (!) mechanic has closed his doors. I’d love some recommendations.

Sadly, I don’t remember enough from high school autoshop to answer my own questions beyond some really basic stuff, so I’m hoping one of the many experts around here has some ideas of where to start. Barring that, perhaps one of you has a GREAT mechanic you can recommend.

I have a 2005 Chevy Malibu LT. It’s a great little car and has had no issues in its 30k miles. Obviously I don’t do a ton of driving if the miles are that low – mostly around town with the occasional freeway trip of 30 miles or less.

There is an odd, high pitched sound coming from the front passenger wheel. It is *NOT* the “get your brakes done” sound, but more of a whine. It sounds similar to when you pull up next to a car with a bad belt where there is a constant high pitched sound. However, the sound in my car has some odd qualities.

It’s intermittent. It’s more pronounced on certain road textures (concrete) and disappears entirely on very smooth asphalt. It also becomes louder when I pass a solid wall or other object that bounces the noise back, or if there’s a high curb and I drive further to the right than normal. Additionally, the pitch gets lower in tone and less loud (but does not disappear) when I depress the brake pedal even slightly.

Because it’s intermittent it’s hard to pin down, and I don’t want to wind up at a brand new mechanic’s with no leads and something they can’t reproduce. That seems like a recipe for a $1k oil change ;->

I have visually inspected my wheel and tire, and there is no debris in either one. My air pressure is slightly low but I guarantee this is not a result of the air pressure (which I will remedy tomorrow.) The only out-of-the-ordinary thing I see is that there are some long, thin arc-shaped gouges in the metal on the outside of the brake pad on that side, and no matching gouges on the driver’s side. Looks like it’s possibly been scraping against the back of the spokes on the rim, or against something else I can’t see. Am I crazy or is this a possible cause of the noise? Any bright ideas or mechanic recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

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[clark5080]

does it increase in turning with either direction?

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[Aim]

No increase when turning – that was my first thought, too, if you were thinking CV. Additionally, it is driving absolutely fine. No tugging, roughness, or anything else I can feel or hear, other than the one sound.

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[clark5080]

A noisy brake pad? Not worn but it might be dragging a little. Or maybe tire noise.

Jim

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[Aim]

I’m wondering if it’s the back-side of the brake pad rubbing oddly against the inside of the rim (not sure how to explain that one, exactly, in order to convey the image)

I’ll definitely have it looked at – I just want to make sure I have some ideas in my head of what it may be so I don’t get taken for a ride, so to speak :-)

Thank you, Jim, for your thoughts. You’re always very helpful!

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[bluebird]

Could be worn wheel bearings. One of the signs is a metal on metal sound and/or a humming sound. Get it checked asap. Could go on like that for some time, but also could seize up on you.

You can jack up the suspected wheel and check for play. Should be none or very little. It can also be really difficult to tell if it’s the front or rear, so check both. If it’s the front tire bearings that are bad, the sound will decrease turning one direction or the other.

Not sure what it’ll run you to fix. You used to be able to repack the bearings yourself, but the hubs are sealed on newer vehicles.

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[Ken]

possible stuck otherwise bad caliper if it is disk brakes. The gouge on the outside rotor indicates pad not compressing evenly or maybe a busted spring depending on how the disk brakes are designed. I have not had a chevy since the 80’s.

A brake inspection is a good way to test a new mechanic for honesty.

Les Schwab will insist on replacing all rotors, calipers and pads for about half the value of the car.

:)

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[JoB]

try the chevron station on 35th and about monroe..

Randy is good and has actually talked me out of repairs i thought i needed…

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[jellyfish]

If you can’t figure it out, I highly recommend Dere Auto. Honest, fast, fair. I dropped my car off on a Friday w/ the expectation that it would take a week to fix (an assumption of mine based on prior dealings w/ another W.S. mechanic), but he did the whole thing in 1/2 a Saturday! My car was ready the very next day after drop off. And he made fix decisions that were creative and saved me money and time. I’ll do all my future work there.

9201 35th Ave SW

Seattle, WA 98126

(206) 937-6994

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[celeste17]

At times like this I miss my Dad. He was a mechanic and would be able to tell you what it was and how to fix it.

I would recommend Carl and Westside Imports on Alaska Street 937-0200. He and Gary have worked on my car several times.

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[Kevin]

I would recommend Dere Auto Repair also. I have had several major repairs done by them in the last year or so and have been VERY satisfied with both the price and the quality of work.

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[DBurns]

Lee at Dere Auto – honest, quick and capable staff.

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[Aim]

Thanks you all for the rec’s. I truly appreciate it. Dere Auto sounds like my type of mechanic(s) – my old guy was also a machinist so he did all his own clutch rebuilds, etc, which made his prices incredibly low. He also always gave the option of refurbished parts rather then new as a money-saving option. I loved his attitude of really educating the customer about all the options and then respecting their choice.

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