That would be your engine, sir....

[coldcupofjoe]

This has destroyed a little bit of what was left of my faith in humanity.

Pulled a repair order today that said car makes noise on start check and advise.

So I grab the keys find the car and start it up. Didn't hear anything unusual. Okay maybe it only makes the noise when it's warm. So I pull it into my bay, hose it, and leave it running for a while and go sweep part of the shop.

15 minutyes later I go and turn it off, and start it again, nothing. Sounds completely normal. I notice on the ticket that it says the guy is waiting on this so I bring him out and ask him to hop in and start it up for me and point out the sound.

He starts it and and says "That right there! Thats the noise!"

I still didn't hear anything so he restarts it. And still nothing.

So I ask him to describe it to me. He describes the sound that all engines make on their first few revolutions.

I wanted to start beating my head on the dash. Turns out his radio went out a few days ago and he started hearing what his car really sounded like. And the more he heard the more he convinced himself it wasn't normal.

I did sell him a sound system for his car though. That way he won't have to hear those pesky Normal Op. engine noises anymore...

[crazylegs]

Nice link sale, always easy to sell to pillocks.

One of my collegues bought a new car, when she heard is sans stereo for the first time she worried about a whining noise (very quiet), it turned out to be her turbo, which she had never had in a car before.

[theredbaron47]

On one hand, I have to give the guy credit for having the concern to bring his car in when it was making a noise he had never heard before.

But on the other hand....

My father has engraved in my memory that it is a ( very ) good idea always to leave the stereo off for a bit when you start the car and drive it a few minutes. Point being, to identify any kind of odd noises or other tell-tale signs of engine / tranny trouble.

[Nutjob R/T]

See, obviously these are not carnnoseurs.

The sound of an engine is beautiful music, not an aberration or gremlin to be banished.

Especially if said engine has eight cylinders. Then you turn it on just to listen to it idle. And happily melt into the seat.

[coldcupofjoe]

I like the way you think Nutjob.

Unfortunately I don't have eight cylinders, I only have four, so the melting is more of a grin of satisfaction that everything is running good.

I do need a new battery though.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

See, obviously these are not carnnoseurs.

The sound of an engine is beautiful music, not an aberration or gremlin to be banished.

Especially if said engine has eight cylinders. Then you turn it on just to listen to it idle. And happily melt into the seat.

Add a 4-barrel carb and glass packs . . . like what my Mom has on her 1973 El Camino SS.

Oooooooh, the only thing louder would be a Space Shuttle.

[Sonoma]

I once saw a repair order where the complaint was about a blue light on the dash. . . .

The tech's fix, 'turn off the high beams'.

[smileyeagle1021]

My mom has done that before... when she first got her RV the largest vehicle she had before that was 4 cylinders and she panicked because it didn't sound right... what's funny now is that she drives a 6 cyl truck she hates riding in my car because the engine just doesn't quite sound like it should (4 cyl).

[Cyphr]

All cars sound different the biggest difference is in how many cylinders it has a before last year our smallest ever was an I6 ina jeep so that had a good roar to it during idle that thing totaled and we replaced it with an Altima with the I4 engine between the tiny engine as the sound proofing I keep trying to crank it at stoplights that cant be good for the engine

[Hemily]

I wonder what car that was then, since the engine sound were wrong

i love the engine sound in my own car, and i'm excited to know what the sound will be in the new engine i'm currently swapping into my car, mmmm... V8...
(for those who know what it is, i'm swapping out a 140hp 301 out of my car, and replacing it with a Camaro 350, 300hp goodness )

[Rahmota]

Wow thats funny. I have to admit I love the soud of a good running engine regardless of how many cylinders. As long as its smooth and well tuned its good to me. Though a nice 350 v84barrell like I had in my caprice was very very sweet sounding.

Wierd thign about engine sou though. When I test drove Prius it freaked me out as I got in hit the start button and all that happened was a green light came on. I looked at the sales guy who was grinning and saidis it supposed to do that? yep. Clicked on drive and away we went. All I heard was tire noise until we hit about 30 Mph. I want one of those cars!

[protege]

My MG has its own sequence of sounds when it fires up. First there's the click as the choke is pulled out, the squeak as the clutch pedal is depressed, ending with the ticking of the fuel pump just before the engine fires. Due to a misfire and a slightly-battered exhaust, it was rather noisy I haven't heard it since the engine was rebuilt, so I have no idea what it sounds like

I've heard quite a few engines over the years--everything from 3-cylinder DKWs to V12 Jaguars and Ferraris. Those V12s can really howl if pressed, but even louder are unsilenced twins in the little NSU coupes that sometimes show up at the local race each summer.

If you really want noise, stand next to an idling diesel locomotive, or even one that's throttling up. Even better, is to be in the cab when it's in Run 8 (full throttle). During one of the PCRRHS conventions, I got to experience that first hand...during a demonstration of how to crank over an FL9 diesel by hand. (For those who don't know--many locomotives are hand-cranked, it's not like a car with keys.) Once it was running, one of our members, who used to run those engines took over...and, even though the brakes were on, the thing was rocking from side to side

Edit: One sound I *can't* stand, are those damn fart cans ricers put on their exhausts. I mean really, a bumble farting sound does *not* sound powerful--it's just annoying!

[IHateStupidCustomers]

Hehe. A friend of mine just told me a story where she parked on an incline and used her emergency brake. I guess when she left, she didn't release it all the way, so the "brake" light was showing up on her dashboard. She didn't know what the light was, thought it was odd, but drove around anyway. I don't know how long she drove with her e-brake on, but eventually she stopped at a shop to ask them what that light was for.