[allan5oh]

Simply come up with a good maintenance program and inspect your truck well. Some items should be replaced periodically, but for big ticket items there's no point. Engines can give warning signs they're about to go, less oil pressure, funny sounds, and bad oil samples as well as blow by and smoke.

[GMAN]

Several years ago I had an injector put in at the CAT dealer in Denver. While there I met a guy driving a Peterbilt with over 1,300,000 miles on the engine. He was having injector sleeves installed. He said that he hasn't spent much money on his truck for major repairs. The engine had never had any major work performed.

I agree with some of the others about not replacing major components until they fail. Do the little things along. Those can be a real aggravation but won't break you. As long as you take care of your maintenance then you should not have to sorry too much about things. Go ahead and put money back for those major repairs. They will happen at some point. It will be best to be ready when they do.

[lowrange]

Yeah, I just don't know much about maintenance, and honestly, it's not something I'm inclined to read about in a book. I was just hoping there would be well thought out programs already in place- things I might not think about myself. One thing that always gets me, there's a part of the drive shaft with rust pits. I've asked about it before but was told it's thick metal and not to worry about it. Not sure if the mechanic really knew what he was talking about. I just want to get ahead of the game. Look, if my hoses will need to be replaced in the next 500,000 miles, why wait til one breaks, right? Replace it now before I lose my coolant all over the side of the interstate and have to get it replaced anyway. Rutherford highly suggests the fuel lines. Hey, I never would have thought about that unless someone had told me. What else am I not thinking about?

[allan5oh]

Todays silicon hoses last a long time, I'm talking a good 5-6 years. Honestly the OEM's recommendations are usually best. It's always best to change things before they break, but it's never good throwing out or trading in good equipment. I can give you a quick list of things I do.

Batteries - every 2 years because I'm hard on them
Alternators - every 2 years
Starters - every 5 years
Hoses - every 5 years, or depending on condition(oil/diesel will destroy them)
Belts - every 2 years
Transmission oil - 500,000 miles(OEM recommendation with synthetic)
Gear oil - every 3 years(OEM is a lot longer then that but I'm not a fan)
Power steering oil/filter - every year (OEM)
Air filter - once a year
Shocks - generally every 3 years, or if they start leaking
Air dryer - desiccant, purge valve, and heater every fall, change whole unit every 5 years
Valve set - OEM recommendations, I do it on my d12 once a year

When I do maintenance once a month, it is much more thorough then anywhere else. Of course I'm very tuned into my equipment and I know what to look for. This maintenance includes:

- Full grease job, although some items don't need grease at all(front slacks will blow seals if I grease them any more)
- Removing clutch cover and inspecting pressure plate(mostly checking for broken springs), check engagement, adjustment, and clutch brake condition
- Full brake inspection, brake stroke, wheel seal leaks(oil on drum), check for broken parking springs in brake chambers, make sure the slacks are adjusting properly
- Remove top plugs in diffs and clean. Check oil level, and quickly swap with bottom plugs(to prevent oil draining). Check/clean bottom plugs reinstall on top
- Check belts and alignment, all hoses, every inch of exhaust system
- Check battery terminals for corrosion and looseness
- Check alignment(toe in)
- Check front wheel bearings/oil
- Check for air leaks, spray air bags and fittings with soapy water

Whenever I replace or repair something, I always try to improve the design and/or prevent corrosion. One of my favorites is stainless steel bolts. Quick disconnect air fittings are a PITA, I always try to change them out with compression fittings. They always leak.

Some examples of improving are putting in better batteries, gear reduction starters(39mt or denso), delco-remy 35si, 36si, or 40si alternators, oil bypass filters, extended life oil filters, haldex lifeseal brake chambers, red coolant, synthetic oils, magnets to catch iron, compression fittings, stainless steel(bolts/hardware/brackets) on and on....

I also have a lot of spare parts. Hoses, belts, filters, purge valve, air fittings, air lines, alternator, fuses, lights, relays, breakers, wiring, fluids, and LOTS of tools.

Wear items that are high $ suchs as kingpins(looseness), springs(looseness, clunking), clutches(rattling/clanging), bushings(cracking and falling apart), motor mounts(cracking, falling apart), CAC(test with CAC kit), radiator(leaking), turbo(whining), air compressor etc... are changed on "it needs changed" basis. Usually you can catch this kind of stuff before it goes. U-joints should last a long time if the drive line alignment is correct and they're greased properly(some only need every 300,000 miles, do it before that you're actually hurting them).

Other things that you can do include oil analysis, and many engines have some sort of diagnostics. For example most engines you can do an "idle injector test" that tests how much each cylinder is contributing. Dyno/blowby tests can reveal problems as well. Manual compression tests as well.

Simply rebuilding your truck as new and expecting it to last forever is a recipe for disaster. You need to learn what your truck needs! Even brand new trucks need maintenance within the first year.

[lowrange]

Oh, that hurts my head. Whenever I look at anything mechanical, my first response is deer in the headlights...ddduuuuuhhhhh......

It's only when I actually get my hands on something that I begin to feel comfortable. I don't have a shop and I'll be honest, I hate getting under my truck.

Even so, I saved that checklist. I've got to do some of this stuff. It's not likely I'll be taking soapy water to my airbags anytime soon but I didn't know alternators go out so quickly. Alternators don't just die overnight, do they?

I had an airleak behind the dash. It has stopped leaking for whatever reason. Now, that's my idea of maintenance. :thumbsup:

[lowrange]

I better respond to this point by point

Originally Posted by allan5oh

Batteries - every 2 years because I'm hard on them new, check
Alternators - every 2 years last time it gave me problems with my autoshift, so that's what I'll wait for (I still should be able to get it into a shop)
Starters - every 5 years not that old, check
Hoses - every 5 years, or depending on condition(oil/diesel will destroy them) I probably ought to do this. The lease purchase truck I had left me on the side of the highway
Belts - every 2 years broke last year. I was able to make it to a shop, thank you, Jesus. check :banana2:
Transmission oil - 500,000 miles(OEM recommendation with synthetic) Three box not so long ago, check
Gear oil - every 3 years(OEM is a lot longer then that but I'm not a fan)
Power steering oil/filter - every year (OEM) News to me. Ok.
Air filter - once a year On it. check
Shocks - generally every 3 years, or if they start leaking relatively new, I check tire wear, for one. 45,000lbs of liquid, I may change them early
Air dryer - desiccant, purge valve, and heater every fall, change whole unit every 5 years I'm not lying, I don't know what this is
Valve set - OEM recommendations, I do it on my d12 once a year Not so long ago, I want to find a place that'll do it for less than $400

When I do maintenance once a month, it is much more thorough then anywhere else. Of course I'm very tuned into my equipment and I know what to look for. This maintenance includes:

- Full grease job, although some items don't need grease at all(front slacks will blow seals if I grease them any more) Speedco? :block:
- Removing clutch cover and inspecting pressure plate(mostly checking for broken springs), check engagement, adjustment, and clutch brake condition I'm thinking when it starts failing, I'll still be able to get to a shop
- Full brake inspection, brake stroke, wheel seal leaks(oil on drum), check for broken parking springs in brake chambers, make sure the slacks are adjusting properly company mandatory quarterly inspection!?
- Remove top plugs in diffs and clean. Check oil level, and quickly swap with bottom plugs(to prevent oil draining). Check/clean bottom plugs reinstall on top Speedco!
- Check belts and alignment, all hoses, every inch of exhaust system reminds me, I want to get a freeflow muffler. Exhaust pipe is new from muffler to the flex coming off the engine.
- Check battery terminals for corrosion and looseness Yeah, I keep meaning to clean my terminals. A corroded wire at my cut off switch cost me a late delivery. Thankfully, I was at a TA that night. Since then, all the those connectors have been replaced.
- Check alignment(toe in) I just pay attention to any pull and respond accordingly. check, I hope.
- Check front wheel bearings/oil Mine are sealed
- Check for air leaks, spray air bags and fittings with soapy water Probably not in this lifetime. :banana1:

Whenever I replace or repair something, I always try to improve the design and/or prevent corrosion. One of my favorites is stainless steel bolts. Quick disconnect air fittings are a PITA, I always try to change them out with compression fittings. They always leak.

Some examples of improving are putting in better batteries, gear reduction starters(39mt or denso), delco-remy 35si, 36si, or 40si alternators, oil bypass filters, extended life oil filters, haldex lifeseal brake chambers, red coolant, synthetic oils, magnets to catch iron, compression fittings, stainless steel(bolts/hardware/brackets) on and on.... Maybe I should have one of those Visi-checks done. You know, the vibration. Opinion?

I also have a lot of spare parts. Hoses, belts, filters, purge valve, air fittings, air lines, alternator, fuses, lights, relays, breakers, wiring, fluids, and LOTS of tools. Plenty of duct tape. check. :banana3:

Wear items that are high $ suchs as kingpins(looseness), springs(looseness, clunking), clutches(rattling/clanging), bushings(cracking and falling apart), motor mounts(cracking, falling apart), CAC(test with CAC kit), radiator(leaking), turbo(whining), air compressor etc... are changed on "it needs changed" basis. Usually you can catch this kind of stuff before it goes. Groovy U-joints should last a long time if the drive line alignment is correct and they're greased properly(some only need every 300,000 miles, do it before that you're actually hurting them).

Other things that you can do include oil analysis, and many engines have some sort of diagnostics. For example most engines you can do an "idle injector test" that tests how much each cylinder is contributing. Dyno/blowby tests can reveal problems as well. Manual compression tests as well. oil analysis, check.

Simply rebuilding your truck as new and expecting it to last forever is a recipe for disaster. You need to learn what your truck needs! Even brand new trucks need maintenance within the first year.

[matcat]

Originally Posted by lowrange

I had an airleak behind the dash. It has stopped leaking for whatever reason. Now, that's my idea of maintenance. :thumbsup:

Probably a gladhand that wasn't sitting right

[lowrange]

Originally Posted by matcat

Probably a gladhand that wasn't sitting right

Actually, this one was up in there behind the dash. I've been all up in there already. That's part of the reason I didn't want to do it again.

[YerDaddy]

Originally Posted by lowrange

Alternators don't just die overnight, do they?

They sure do, literally! My original Delco with @ 400K miles on truck died one cold and windy night in OK. So cold I had the heater full blast and truck idling at 900 rpm. I awoke at 4:00 am as the engine shut off and I'm wondering what the heck just happened and I'm gonna be freezing my nads off in short order. Try to start truck... nothing. Volt gauge low. OK my scientific brain now realizes what just happened. Solenoid on fuel pump hung in there until voltage dropped to about 10 volts which happened quickly since the blowers were on high speed. So I put on a few layers of clothes and shivered under the covers until the KW shop 2 blocks up the road opened up. They came and jumped me and charged batteries enough to drive to shop and put in new alternator under warranty of course.

I put in an amp gauge after that so I knew if the alternator was charging or not before I get another nice surprise.
[hr]

Your post sounds more like PM than refurbishment. I would think refurbishing would include things like new upholstery, new paint job, chrome, lights.

For a guy who doesn't care to get intimate with your truck's parts, refurbishing/rebuilding could get expensive. Give me $30,000 and 6 months and I'll get her fixed up for ya!

[lowrange]

Originally Posted by YerDaddy

They sure do, literally! My original Delco with @ 400K miles on truck died one cold and windy night in OK. So cold I had the heater full blast and truck idling at 900 rpm. I awoke at 4:00 am as the engine shut off and I'm wondering what the heck just happened and I'm gonna be freezing my nads off in short order. Try to start truck... nothing. Volt gauge low. OK my scientific brain now realizes what just happened. Solenoid on fuel pump hung in there until voltage dropped to about 10 volts which happened quickly since the blowers were on high speed. So I put on a few layers of clothes and shivered under the covers until the KW shop 2 blocks up the road opened up. They came and jumped me and charged batteries enough to drive to shop and put in new alternator under warranty of course.

I put in an amp gauge after that so I knew if the alternator was charging or not before I get another nice surprise.
[hr]

Your post sounds more like PM than refurbishment. I would think refurbishing would include things like new upholstery, new paint job, chrome, lights.

For a guy who doesn't care to get intimate with your truck's parts, refurbishing/rebuilding could get expensive. Give me $30,000 and 6 months and I'll get her fixed up for ya!

Hmpf. I've got a voltmeter, but I don't know about the amp gauge. When I first got my truck I was having trouble with the autoshift. Turned out the problem was with the alternator. If that would happen again, that might be just the clue I need to replace the alternator. The autoshift didn't fail completely, it just gave me enough headaches until I made it a point to get it into the shop.

Refurbish might not be the best word. Seriously though, I was hoping someone would offer a service of going over the truck with a fine toothed comb and preparing a project list to set the truck up for hundreds of thousands more miles. Now that I think about it, Rutherford has talked about a managed maintenance program where they keep track of things like the alternator's life and change it out before it has a problem. Maybe I ought to go over there and ask who was doing that.

Oh, but I do need a new seat. The plastic holding my cigarette lighter is broken, too. I keep a pair of underwear in between where my cabinet doors close to keep them from rattling. My truck could use a new top coat of paint. Things like that.

The original premise is that the alternative of going out and spending 30-60 thousand on another truck with who knows whatever bugs such a truck would have- now all of a sudden the idea of fixing up the truck I have starts sounding cheap.