Mechanic's Stethoscope?

The message from Z contains these words:

Generally yes. A doctor's steth has a diaphragm adapted to dealing with soft tissues, and mech's a metal rod which is more suited to pressing against metal surfaces. For one thing, finding a large enough flat area on the engine where you're interested in is slim, wheras a slim metal rod can make good contact just about anywhere. Also it's easier to reach down the back of the engine to listen to rumbly diffs (with a wheel jacked up, of course) than a doctor's steth.

Yes, the mechanics one using a metal probe which goes to a diaphragm, doctor type is a diaphragm that goes to the earpieces. The difference is that a doctor one is used for listening to very faint sounds like air movement and heart/blood sounds, whereas the mechanics one is listening to rumbling mechanical bits and vibrations rather than very faint sounds (people don't virate a lot)

It takes a lot of listening with a stethoscope on good engines till you can use it to diagnose faults except the grossest ones, very interesting though. Very useful for wheel bearing noises, alternator bearings, idler pulley bearings and the like, the sound of injectors opening is interesting too.

mrcheerful

Why bother, just use a long screwdriver to your ear. Works great!

Yes, that works well. the only problem is if you are faintly unlucky the screwdriver slips, your head jerks with it and hits something. you also have difficulty moving the tip to where you want to listenm because your eyes are at right angles to the tip. and believe me it hurts when you get a fan blade wach the screwdriver you are listening at, all in all get a stethoscope.

with my one you can remove the probe and use the tube to listen for air/vacuum leaks in comfort as well.

mrcheerful

I'd have said yes.

A medical one is for picking up a "wide area" sort of noise.

A mechanics one (I've found anyway) is for picking up a very specific noise from a small area.

This is assuming that the mechanics version is the same sort of stiff metal rod I've used in the past. Hell, I normally just use a long screwdriver myself! Jam the blunt end in one ear, and shove the pointed end onto the bit under test.

Pete.

I got a disposable doctor's one from a medical supplier. Cost only a few pounds.

In article , Dave Plowman writes

Any success with it?

In article , MrCheerful writes

What brand is it?

In article , MrCheerful writes

I used one of those probe ones when I worked offshore and had to fault find on electrical rotating machinery, top drives and big diesel engines and their generators. I'd generally use electrical supply measurement to identify bearing faults in electrical rotating machinery but there is not that luxury with diesel and petrol engines. The probe stethoscope I used wasn't much cope, particularly with the high ambient noise.

In article , Martin writes

Not good for the ears though, you can introduce a lot of problems to your hearing with conduction noise.

In article , MrCheerful writes

If they did 7Hz is approximately the resonant frequency of a human body. At high levels a 7 Hz +/- signal would resonate and disintegrate the body.

MAC tools (fairly sure, no brand written on), I think it was about 7 pounds or so.

mrcheerful

It worked fine for the purpose - tracing a slight exhaust leak.

I don't fancy the screwdriver in the ear thingy - if the engine kicks it could hurt.