I feel compelled to share with people who might understand...or not. Maybe I'm just crazy. Anyone else sometimes think it's a curse to notice every rattle, clunk, and squeak that your vehicle makes? I'm constantly noticing them and 99% of the time they are normal Subaru noises, but these last few days I've been hearing a weird rattle in the rear passenger side of my wrx. Just a couple of months ago I swapped out new springs & struts and the first test drive after installing revealed a clunk in the rear passenger due to the strut top not not being tight...so I know what that clunk sounds like and what I've been hearing is NOT that sound. Long story short, I hypothesize that it's the rear deck shelf rattling due to stiffer suspension so I decide to toss a brick on the rear shelf and drive around the neighborhood. Noise is still there. I say F' it and pull out the back seats to see if that would help me ID the noise easier while I'm driving. So I freeze my ass of doing that and the noise isn't accentuated at all or centralized. Getting more and more frustrated, I try to figure out what could be making just the passenger side rattle dealing with near frost-bite on my fingers. Oh, there's ice buildup where the trunk meets the rear window. Chip that off, noise goes away. I feel like an idiot. Why don't I see the easy fixes first!? Please justify my craziness.
Just like anything its a skill that becomes more honed with use imo. If you work a job where you are constantly problem solving you learn a order of operations that you follow starting with easy going to hard. Some people just take longer to make that adjustment. Some flat out never do.
the one that got me lately was there is a small bit of ice inside my spoiler that slides around. it took me awhile to figure out where it was hehe
I had a broken nail once rolling around inside my rim. Could only hear it at low speed with the windows down.
Remember, its usually the simplest solution. also you can refer to the following tool. 7 STEP PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS 1. Recognize And Define The Problem 2. Gather Facts And Make Assumptions 3. Define End States And Establish Criteria 4. Develop Possible Solutions 5. Analyze And Compare Possible Solutions 6. Select And Implement Solution 7. Analyze Solution For Effectiveness
Just remember troubleshooting is the process of figuring out what the problem isn't. You get better at troubleshooting in a given area because you learn which things to rule out first. That's why skilled techs get paid for their experience.
It is very easy to get focused on a particular line of reasoning, ignoring the simple solutions. Surly stated it well, I always try to check the easy/simple stuff first before digging too hard into it. I try to define noises by rolling up/down windows, or have a buddy ride in the back seat to determine exactly where the problem lies, before tearing components apart. I spent quite a while trying to find a small squeak until my buddy was with me, he was able to sit in the back and determine it was a small rattle with my rear seats and their latch. Simple solution is drive with the rear seats folded down.
I've found that the easiest way to troubleshoot a Subaru is 5 gallons of gasoline applied to the interior followed up by a lit road flare. It'll fix whatever problem you were dealing with.
Is it plugged in? Is there gas in the car? Unplug it, plug it back in! All day I problem solve building mechanical systems and everyday some jumps past steps 1-4 and starts at 5 then calls me. But when it comes to cars I always skip the easy stuff and makes things harder than what they are. Why I don't fix cars everyday just when I or god forbid my wife says it's been doing that for 3 months. Don't feel bad it's just experience!
