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Monster Mash Semi Truck Maintenance | Semi Truck Repair

Spooky sexy semi trucks

It’s October. Boo. (Double pun intended.) Somehow we flew through 9 months and again we find ourselves in the last quarter of another year gone too swiftly by. Is it just me or does time start picking up that snowball-down-an-incline-speed with each year that passes?

Either way, since we’ve got another month before we start heavy drilling winter prep work at you and your fleet, we thought we’d take this month to hit you with a few ‘scare’ tactics about the top 3 expensive issues we’ve seen in-shop lately. (Made even scarier by the fact that they could’ve all been easily prevented with some MINOR maintenance.)

The first one we’ve seen a couple times over the past few months is on trucks that have to be towed in ($$$) because their drive shaft came loose/off/etc. In most instances, the U-joint caps and bearings get dry, causing them to come apart like a poorly designed mummy costume mid trick-or-treat. Without the bearing and the cap, the u-joint will break and you’re stuck like Chuck(ie). (Sorry not sorry; I can’t help myself. It is Halloween season after all.) So on top of that tow bill, you’re now paying several hours of shop labor and parts to get your truck rolling again. Double boo.

The second issue we’ve seen more than once (and one time very recently) comes from those who prefer toe-only alignments. Yes, a toe-only alignment will suffice to get your steer tires moving in the same direction, which can alleviate vibration and pulling in the steering column. However, ignoring the back two drive axles can throw your front axle back out of wack and you can potentially end up running through steer tires like you didn’t just get your front axle aligned. Steer tires aren’t cheap and neither is getting multiple alignments when you could just get it all done the first time.

The third issue we’ve seen on multiple trucks is leaking wheel seals. After speaking with several drivers, we found a lot of them feel it’s not a big deal to drive on them for a while.  The truth of the matter is that if the leak isn’t too severe, you could add oil and drive a few miles on them. However the old adage “out of sight and out of mind” is true here. If a driver is going to ignore it “just for this trip” chances are, it’s not going to be a priority for ANY trip. So what starts as a little leak can end up with burnt up bearings seized to spindles, and busted hubs. We’ve truly seen it all. Your best bet? Fix it when you find it.

Long story short?  Routine preventative maintenance will leave the scary stuff where it belongs – in haunted houses and campfire stories, not detracting from your bottom line.  And what’s even better? If you or your mechanic doesn’t have the time to take care of it? Our service centers can help you out – and not for a price that would make you scream.

Post On: September 27, 2019
Tags : Preventative Maintenance | The bottom line | Tires |
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