How to Avoid Costly Truck Repairs
Even expensive special equipment has its Achilles heel. And it is not important whether your truck fleet consists of new vehicles or old dump trucks of the last century… It is clear that the main cause of truck failures is heavy (sometimes even exorbitant) loads. Sooner or later the chassis, transmission, body, steering system, and other units start to malfunction, and then flatly refuse to work. Let’s find out what malfunctions more often and how to avoid expensive repairs…
The Main Faults of Trucks
Now I will list the most common causes of “malfunctions” of heavy trucks, which are addressed in services:
· Undercarriage. Because of overloading and bumpy roads, it is the chassis that absorbs the biggest part of the damage.
· The hydraulic system. It will be damaged if you don’t pay attention to problems with the running gear for a long time. Then a costly repair is inevitable.
· An engine. When it is the cause of truck breakdowns, then it turns out that the cylinder block is dirty or covered with cracks, valves, crankshaft, pump, and other elements are faulty.
· Electrical equipment. For this reason, masters often hear such complaints: the starter does not crank after turning the key, the control panel or electrical appliances refuse to work, etc.
· Fuel equipment. It is affected to a greater extent by bad fuel, which breaks down first the catalyst, and further, down the chain there are new “symptoms”.
· Brake system. As soon as you notice that the braking distance has increased, there are skidding during braking, the brake pedal is jammed or failing – that is a reason to eliminate such faults immediately!
· Crane units. For the trucks, which act as a crane, such failures are as urgent as problems with the engine or brake. Frequent calls to the car service concern the boom, noise/vibration during lifting operations, hydraulic problems, corroded cables, or problems with the boom flying, corroded cables.
This list could go on with a host of other breakdowns, from transmissions to body deformations, but we’ll stop for now…
Truck Body Repair, How To Do It Right?
Everyone who is engaged in trucking knows that after some time of active work on a large-sized vehicle, it is necessary to do the repair of the machine. And, if there was an accident, then there is an even more complicated situation. After all, you need not only bring the truck in a proper state of appearance but strictly follow all the points of safety. When using a damaged machine in the future, you need to make sure that the load lifting capacity of the frame, to which the units, mechanisms, and other systems are attached, is at the starting level.
You Can Consider Repairs Through Your Own Efforts to Avoid Costs
1). Fight with the centers of corrosion. Here you need a welding machine, corroded places are welded with metal. Now there are possibilities of repair of this type and without welding. This is done thanks to special compositions that are made on the basis of epoxy resin with the use of fiberglass.
2). Repair or integral replacement of aluminum body parts. This is a complicated type of work. It cannot be done by yourself, here requires argon welding, which is needed to weld aluminum parts.
3). Cosmetic repair (work with small chips and scratches on the body). This type of repair can do on their own and inexperienced drivers. The work does not require a lot of time, tools – and auto pencil or polish.
In a situation of complex repair of the car, you should not experiment on your own, and it is better to turn to specialists. To do this, you need to assess the degree of damage and decide how to organize the repair, in how many stages, and how much it will take. It is also possible to do some part of the repair by specialists, and, for example, to carry out cosmetic repairs yourself.
In Terms of Scope, The Diagnosis of American Trucks and Their Repairs Can Refer to One Of Three Types of Work:
· Preventive inspection. At this stage, the main mechanisms of the truck are diagnosed for compliance with the established technical standards. The most thoroughly checks the fuel system of the truck – it is the fuel system that more often fails due to the use of low-quality fuel and various additives. In order to avoid expensive repairs, the driver should periodically replace the air, oil, and fuel filters.
· Minor repairs of trucks. This category of work includes painting the car body, removing dents, fixing minor problems in the functioning of the systems of the truck, replacement of individual parts and mechanical units.
· Major repairs of trucks. The complex overhaul includes the most complex tasks: assembly and disassembly of transport, complete renewal, and replacement of electrical wiring and equipment, repair of the internal combustion engine, hydromechanical transmission, cab, chassis, and other components of the machine.
The frequency of truck repairs depends on the specific make of the vehicle and averages from 20,000 to 120,000 kilometers of mileage. In order for the truck to last as long as possible, one should not forget about service inspections, which will allow detecting and eliminating malfunctions of the truck in time. This measure will save you from expensive repairs, including the replacement of the main mechanisms of the machine. If the driver has already detected a strange behavior of the truck during driving, it is not desirable to drive it anywhere. In such cases, it is recommended to contact service centers that are ready to send their specialists to the place where the machine is standing.
Thus, today for the diagnosis of trucks is used high-tech equipment and tools that can quickly check all systems and vehicle components for malfunctions and damage, as well as monitor the individual components of the car. It is necessary to understand that regular and correct diagnostics allows not only insuring your car against sudden breakdowns but also performing repair of American trucks with minimal expenses. According to the results of diagnostics of the engine compartment, electrical components, brake system, transmission, pneumatics, running gear, and other elements, specialists can determine what kind of transport the vehicle needs.