Or you might bring the car in to have it looked at

You’re driving down 120 in McHenry and you suddenly notice a knocking or scraping sound you never heard before. What do you do? Well, you could turn up the stereo louder until you can’t hear the sound. But that won’t fix a problem that will probably only get worse.

Some drivers in McHenry have powerful stereos in their cars. When they turn it up, the vehicle may actually bounce in the road to the beat. A stereo like that can blot out almost any sound from a mechanical issue their car can produce. But your car stereo doesn’t have to have super-duper sub-woofers to blot out most sounds produced by your car, not to mention the errant ambulance that may come by.

As a means of dealing with mechanical problems, a louder stereo is seldom the optimal solution. In most cases, the best it will do is to allow you to ignore the problem a little longer.

Let’s say, however, that your car starts making a thumping noise. You may even feel a jerk in the steering wheel that coincides with the sound. That pull on the wheel might even come and go in beat with the song on your stereo. But it’s very unlikely that it will fix the problem.

Ignoring mechanical problems is never a good idea, whether you use the stereo to cover up the sound or not. Maybe you don’t use the stereo; you just blot it out of your mind. You don’t think about it. The problem, whatever it is, is still there.

If that thumping is a tire losing air, you may want to pull into a gas station with an air pump soon and fill that tire up before it goes completely flat. Drive on that tire when it’s flat, it will probably ruin the tire, and could ruin the wheel.

There are other mechanical sounds you may not want to ignore.

What if your car makes a loud squealing noise when you turn sometimes? You could have a defective serpentine belt, a belt that is literally hanging on by a thread. If that belt breaks, the alternator will cease producing the current that keeps the car running while charging the battery. You can lose the air conditioning and the power steering.

You may hear a clicking noise when you turn. This could indicate a defective part in the suspension or steering system. Problems in this area tend to be contagious. First there here, then they’re in another part, too, and so on. Can get darn expensive but it’s far less so if you take care of it promptly.

Brakes can make a clunking or scraping noise. By the time they make noise, they’ve reached the point where they can require replacing additional parts.

A significant scaping noise could indicate a muffler or exhaust part is hanging and scraping. A scraping muffler or pipe can send a shower of sparks you don’t see out from under the car. That’s generally not a good thing to combine with things like the flammables in your gas tank. Might also catch the attention of an officer of the law.

In any case, turning up the stereo is one way to stop hearing strange sounds that your car makes. A better idea, however, is to bring the car in to a trusted auto repair shop in the McHenry area.