diff --git a/vfs/disk_health_test.go b/vfs/disk_health_test.go
index a3246ad062..55243600de 100644
--- a/vfs/disk_health_test.go
+++ b/vfs/disk_health_test.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"math"
 	"os"
+	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -250,7 +251,7 @@ func TestDiskHealthChecking_File(t *testing.T) {
 		{
 			op:               OpTypeWrite,
 			writeSize:        5,
-			writeDuration:    25 * time.Millisecond,
+			writeDuration:    5 * time.Millisecond,
 			fn:               func(f File) { f.Write([]byte("uh oh")) },
 			createWriteDelta: 100 * time.Millisecond,
 			expectStall:      false,
@@ -258,14 +259,14 @@ func TestDiskHealthChecking_File(t *testing.T) {
 		{
 			op:            OpTypeSync,
 			writeSize:     0,
-			writeDuration: 25 * time.Millisecond,
+			writeDuration: 5 * time.Millisecond,
 			fn:            func(f File) { f.Sync() },
 			expectStall:   false,
 		},
 	}
 	for _, tc := range testCases {
 		t.Run(tc.op.String(), func(t *testing.T) {
-			diskSlow := make(chan DiskSlowInfo, 1)
+			diskSlow := make(chan DiskSlowInfo, 3)
 			mockFS := &mockFS{create: func(name string) (File, error) {
 				return mockFile{syncAndWriteDuration: tc.writeDuration}, nil
 			}}
@@ -283,7 +284,7 @@ func TestDiskHealthChecking_File(t *testing.T) {
 
 			tc.fn(dhFile)
 
-			if tc.expectStall { // no false negatives
+			if tc.expectStall {
 				select {
 				case i := <-diskSlow:
 					d := i.Duration
@@ -292,14 +293,14 @@ func TestDiskHealthChecking_File(t *testing.T) {
 					}
 					require.Equal(t, tc.writeSize, i.WriteSize)
 					require.Equal(t, tc.op, i.OpType)
-				case <-time.After(200 * time.Millisecond):
+				case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
 					t.Fatal("disk stall detector did not detect slow disk operation")
 				}
-			} else { // no false positives
+			} else {
 				select {
 				case <-diskSlow:
 					t.Fatal("disk stall detector detected a slow disk operation")
-				case <-time.After(200 * time.Millisecond):
+				case <-time.After(2 * slowThreshold):
 					return
 				}
 			}
@@ -457,7 +458,12 @@ func filesystemOpsMockFS(sleepDur time.Duration) *mockFS {
 func stallFilesystemOperations(fs FS) []filesystemOperation {
 	return []filesystemOperation{
 		{
-			"create", OpTypeCreate, func() { _, _ = fs.Create("foo") },
+			"create", OpTypeCreate, func() {
+				f, _ := fs.Create("foo")
+				if f != nil {
+					f.Close()
+				}
+			},
 		},
 		{
 			"link", OpTypeLink, func() { _ = fs.Link("foo", "bar") },
@@ -493,11 +499,17 @@ func TestDiskHealthChecking_Filesystem(t *testing.T) {
 	// Wrap with disk-health checking, counting each stall via stallCount.
 	var expectedOpType OpType
 	var stallCount atomic.Uint64
+	onStall := make(chan struct{}, 10)
+	var lastOpType OpType
 	fs, closer := WithDiskHealthChecks(filesystemOpsMockFS(sleepDur), stallThreshold,
 		func(info DiskSlowInfo) {
 			require.Equal(t, 0, info.WriteSize)
 			require.Equal(t, expectedOpType, info.OpType)
 			stallCount.Add(1)
+			if lastOpType != info.OpType {
+				lastOpType = info.OpType
+				onStall <- struct{}{}
+			}
 		})
 	defer closer.Close()
 	fs.(*diskHealthCheckingFS).tickInterval = 5 * time.Millisecond
@@ -507,6 +519,11 @@ func TestDiskHealthChecking_Filesystem(t *testing.T) {
 			expectedOpType = o.opType
 			before := stallCount.Load()
 			o.f()
+			select {
+			case <-onStall:
+			case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
+				t.Fatal("timed out waiting for stall")
+			}
 			after := stallCount.Load()
 			require.Greater(t, int(after-before), 0)
 		})
@@ -521,27 +538,53 @@ func TestDiskHealthChecking_Filesystem(t *testing.T) {
 // multiple times.
 func TestDiskHealthChecking_Filesystem_Close(t *testing.T) {
 	const stallThreshold = 10 * time.Millisecond
+	stallChan := make(chan struct{}, 1)
 	mockFS := &mockFS{
 		create: func(name string) (File, error) {
-			time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
+			<-stallChan
 			return &mockFile{}, nil
 		},
 	}
 
-	stalled := map[string]time.Duration{}
+	files := []string{"foo", "bar", "bax"}
+	var lastPath string
+	stalled := make(chan string)
 	fs, closer := WithDiskHealthChecks(mockFS, stallThreshold,
-		func(info DiskSlowInfo) { stalled[info.Path] = info.Duration })
+		func(info DiskSlowInfo) {
+			if lastPath != info.Path {
+				lastPath = info.Path
+				stalled <- info.Path
+			}
+		})
 	fs.(*diskHealthCheckingFS).tickInterval = 5 * time.Millisecond
 
-	files := []string{"foo", "bar", "bax"}
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 	for _, filename := range files {
-		// Create will stall, and the detector should write to the stalled map
+		filename := filename
+		// Create will stall, and the detector should write to the stalled channel
 		// with the filename.
-		_, _ = fs.Create(filename)
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func() {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			f, _ := fs.Create(filename)
+			if f != nil {
+				f.Close()
+			}
+		}()
+
+		select {
+		case stalledPath := <-stalled:
+			require.Equal(t, filename, stalledPath)
+		case <-time.After(10 * time.Second):
+			t.Fatalf("timed out waiting for stall")
+		}
+		// Unblock the call to Create().
+		stallChan <- struct{}{}
+
 		// Invoke the closer. This will cause the long-running goroutine to
 		// exit, but the fs should still be usable and should still detect
 		// subsequent stalls on the next iteration.
 		require.NoError(t, closer.Close())
-		require.Contains(t, stalled, filename)
 	}
+	wg.Wait()
 }