Quote Originally Posted by grafrich View Post

Лифт [дополз] до шестого этажа:- It does say roughly what I wanted it to, but I wanted to emphasise the idea of it juddering as it stopped.
You can use "дотрясся" then.

Quote Originally Posted by grafrich View Post
полез в карман:- is this an idiomatic use of полезть?
Gramota.ru:
3. Разговорное. Проникать, забираться рукой внутрь чего-л. Л. в шкаф за книгой. Л. в почтовый ящик. Л. в карман за деньгами. Л. в сумку за покупкой.

Quote Originally Posted by grafrich View Post
звук:- is there a way for me to know when to use звук, and when to use 'шум'?
They both fit the context. Звук is a general word for any sound. Шум is meaningless or disturbing sound (that is noise). I think these pairs of words are quite similar.