At the first stage of owning a personal vehicle, the owner is mainly focused on the traffic situation. Over time, an understanding of certain features of your car comes. It becomes possible to independently diagnose car breakdowns (there was a knock when turning the steering wheel, for example).
Self-diagnosis: easy to master
This does not come, of course, right away, but with the acquisition of experience, a person with a minimal propensity for technology can very well determine a number of regular breakdowns of his car. To some extent, the skill of self-diagnosis is also due to the high cost of maintenance, and sometimes the incompetence of specialized personnel at the service station.
What is characteristic, the ability to correctly determine the breakdown of a car will be useful to you in any case, regardless of the selected auto brand. First of all, the chassis of the car suffers - most often due to poor roads. We will try to understand the reasons for the rapid wear of the chassis of the currently popular brands. We will describe the possible options for their breakdowns, learn how to diagnose them by symptoms (knocking in the steering wheel when turning, for example), and also consider options for quick maintenance and prevention of your “iron horses”.
Domestic does not mean bad
It's no secret that today the most popular are the cars of the so-called consumer class. A rather large segment of sales in this sector is the domestic auto industry. As a rule, the consumer who bought such a car is guided by the affordable pricing policy of the manufacturer, with quality almost up to world standards. And so we are more and more in our streets see the brand new "Lada", in which we no longer even recognize the features familiar from childhood.
Almost all modern innovations available for cars of such a modest class are embodied in the new Grands, Priors and Kalina. But are they reliable? The latest generation of VAZs, the famous "eights", "nines" and "tens" quite often lost in reliability and adaptability to our roads, even foreign cars of the old model. They were bought anyway because of a modest price, but they were still considered more as a temporary component of their life, hoping in the near future to transfer to more comfortable and reliable cars of Western or Asian production.
As already noted, most often in modern road realities, the undercarriage of the car fails. Is it reliable in modern VAZs? The answer is clear: yes. Engineers and designers tried to make life easier for the modern driver.
Repair is expensive
However, the use of innovation and increased reliability have a flip side to the coin. Modern mechanisms are much more difficult to repair (and we are talking not only about technology, but also about money). And although the repair of the "running" VAZ, of course, can not be compared with the repair of a similar Western product, but from the past cheapness there was no trace.
Based on this sad fact, the financial risks of a modern driver choosing a product of a domestic manufacturer or an imported car vary significantly. Consequently, the value of self-diagnosis of auto malfunctions of a car, at least as widespread as a knock on the steering wheel during a turn, has significantly increased.
Knocks on the steering wheel - what to do?
Believe me, if you clearly define what exactly is malfunctioning in your car, you will spend much less money on service stations. The reason is simple: you do not have to pay for something that you do not need (but that they can try to impose on the service station).
So, consider the situation. You went to the sea (to the mountains, out of town - it doesn’t matter) and you heard a knock when you turn the steering wheel (“Priora” is your relatively new one!) Do not rush to go to the service right away. Try to figure out the problem yourself. The set of regular and non-regular situations for such breakdowns is quite limited.
Let's consider the main options. The most common critical situations are related to the steering gear. The first thing to determine is the nature of the knock. It is "plastic" and "metal."
Shattered plastic protection
If with a sharp turn of the steering wheel the knock is similar to the friction of plastic, almost 100% with the machine everything is fine. As a rule, such sounds are made by a poorly fitted wing protection. When the front wheels are inverted, very often we touch and slightly deform the plastic locker. It is he who makes such unpleasant, but rather safe sounds.
However, do not completely ignore this. The fact is that the plastic protection is attached directly to the "skirt" of the front bumper. And if it is completely deformed, it is possible that one fine day at the next turn you will simply tear it (and at the same time damage the bumper). Therefore, it is better not to rely on "maybe", but to adjust the protection.
When parts are to be replaced
The situation is much more serious if the knock when turning the steering wheel is more like a metal crack or rattle. This means that in the near future you will face significant financial expenses. And in order to reduce them, you yourself need to figure out the reasons.
When there is a “gurgling” knock when turning the steering wheel, the simplest explanation for this is the wear of the tie rod ends. Quite an unpleasant phenomenon requiring attention. After all, if the wear process continues, the entire steering mechanism may fail, and as a result, costly repairs, and maybe even an emergency on the road. Repairing is not very expensive, although the tips usually change in pairs - on both sides of the car. The main difficulty lies in the subsequent work on the alignment.
Another fairly common problem, when there is a knock when turning the steering wheel (Kalina or Priora are subject to this “sore), is associated with wear on the bearing of the upper support of the shock absorber strut. The disease is unpleasant, but quite easily eliminated. The bearing itself is not very expensive, and work on its replacement will not take much time.
From a bursting spring to replacing shock absorbers
A rather unpleasant knock when turning the steering wheel is released by bursting springs. Repair is associated with the analysis of the front struts and, as a result, the possible replacement of the same bearing of the upper support. It should be noted that in case of incorrect diagnostics or other reason why you can not carry out this repair, the consequences for you will be very serious. A bursting spring will not be able to take on that part of the load that it experiences with the vertical swing of the car. In this regard, there is an additional effect on the shock absorber strut, which can lead to breakage. But this is a full-fledged repair of the front suspension of your car. It is not difficult to calculate financial losses in this case. You will have to buy not only new springs, but also new shock absorbers, which in most cases change in pairs.
If a knock when turning the steering wheel to the right or left is also accompanied by a hum, this is a direct consequence of the failure of the front wheel hub bearing. It’s sad. The complexity of the repair lies in pressing out the old bearing from the hub (a very long and expensive operation). Such a breakdown may be “lethal” for all front-wheel and all-wheel drive cars. In the event of complete wear of the hub bearing, the front suspension may be destroyed and - God forbid, of course! - emergency on the road.
How to diagnose CV joint wear
Let's move on to the main and most serious noise that you can hear: a knock when you turn the steering wheel (“Kalina” or “Priora” - it doesn’t matter) in one direction or another. A metal crack with a complete inversion of the steering wheel indicates the failure of the SHRUS or, as it is also called by the people, “grenades”. When the crack is heard both on the right and on the left, this means that both of your “grenades” must be replaced. If, when you turn the steering wheel to the left, a knock is heard from the same side, you know exactly which part is more worn out.
The situation with the failure of SHRUS, as a rule, is associated with damage to the rubber boot, which protects the metal case of this mechanism. Even a small gap can lead to the replacement of one of the most expensive components in the chassis of your car. Therefore, once a month it is better to check the anthers of both grenades for damage.
Monthly Noise Prevention
Noises and cod on VAZs can occur due to the weakening of numerous threaded connections. These are easily diagnosed moments and just as easily removable. The main thing is not to panic, but to call in on a good lift or a “hole” in the garage. Then, armed with a wrench of the right size, just pull up all the loose and knocking joints, including the wheels of your car.
Foreign brand does not guarantee no damage
The situations described above are typical not only for Russian cars. In principle, an expensive foreign car is not immune from this. The whole question is how often this will happen.
As already noted, the quality of cars produced in Russia has improved significantly. This applies to both true Russian VAZs and cars manufactured under our license. The percentage of factory defects is significantly reduced: a knock when turning the steering wheel (Logan, for example, is assembled in Russia) does not appear immediately. And to avoid such situations is quite possible. Experts advise once every six months to undergo the necessary diagnostics at specialized service stations, without bringing to the notorious “knocks and crackles” in the chassis.
In addition, given the not always high-quality road surface, it is necessary to observe the speed limit and take security measures to cross difficult or simply bad sections. If these simple recommendations are followed, your car will serve you for many years without any breakdowns, and the funds not spent on repairing vehicles can be used for anything else.