Tips on Maintaining Heavy Truck Suspension System

Most vehicles on the road today are there as a means of transportation for people. Drivers use their vehicles to get from one place to another as quickly and efficiently as possible, sometimes carrying other passengers in the process. If something goes wrong mechanically with a transportation vehicle, someone suffers a little inconvenience and has issues getting to where they want to go, and that is why it’s important the maintenance of a heavy truck suspension system.

When it comes to heavy trucks, the expectations people have of these vehicles are quite different. While heavy trucks are also used as a means of transportation, the focus is on moving heavy loads and not people. By heavy loads, we are referring to things like store merchandise, raw materials for manufacturing, building/construction materials, and heavy equipment like bulldozers. When something goes mechanically wrong with a heavy truck, stores don’t get merchandise, manufacturers can’t manufacture, builders can’t build, and lots of people don’t get paid.

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As a heady duty truck owner/driver, you rely on your vehicle to allow you to support yourself and your family. To protect your income stream, it is incumbent on you to make sure your truck is always operating as effectively and efficiently as possible.

Since you are in the business of transporting heavy loads, oftentimes over long distances, your heavy-duty truck suspension should always be one of your top concerns. It’s a part of your heavy truck’s infrastructure that requires regular maintenance and immediate repairs when needed.

Components of Your Heavy Truck Suspension

If you want to properly maintain your heavy truck suspension, you need to know which components you should be maintaining. Here is a list of the components that warrant the most care to keep your suspension in tip-top condition:

  • Shock absorbers – absorb the shock of uneven and bumpy roads
  • Struts – provide load weight support
  • Springs (coil or leaf) – help maintain an even ride on uneven and bumpy roads
  • Bushings – provides a pivot point for the entire suspension system

Tips for Maintaining Heavy Truck Suspension System

It’s important that you develop and maintain a regular maintenance schedule for your truck and more specifically your heavy-duty truck suspension. The best schedule for newer trucks would be to follow what the truck manufacturer recommends. For earlier model heavy trucks, you can peg your maintenance schedule based on time (say every six months) or miles driven. The miles-driven option would be best for long-distance haulers.

As for which parts on which you should be focusing your maintenance efforts, here are five must suspension parts for regular maintenance:

Retorquing of Fasteners

You should visually check torque level every three to six months and regardless of what you find, have the fasteners retorqued at least once a year. Signs of needed retorquing and or repair would include rust buildup around the joint.

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Check U-Bolts

Most truck suspension problems involve the U-Bolts. They are subject to loosening and breaking on a regular basis. These are the bolts that hold the clamp of the axle to the suspension, which forces them to endure great stress. Replacing and torquing of U-bolts might be necessary every 3,000 to 5,000 miles depending on road conditions covered.

Check and Replace Bushings

Issues with bushings can usually be determined via a visual inspection. You should be looking for gaps between the end caps and the fastener. An inspection should be done at least once every six months. Also, you should anticipate needing to replace your bushings maybe once a year, depending on mileage and road conditions.

Monitor Lift and Self-steer axles

This one can get a little tricky. The best way to determine if there is an axel issue is to look at the tire tread on all tires. If the tread starts to get increasingly more uneven in its wear, axel issues are likely present. For a smoother ride, regular adjusting of levelling valves could be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Shock absorber Maintenance

It won’t be difficult to tell if your shock absorbers are starting to indicate significant wear and tear. You should notice that the ride is getting increasingly more uneven, and you should start feeling the effects of every significant bump in the road. Even the top-of-the-line shock absorbers will need regular maintenance. As a rule of thumb, you might want to consider replacing shock absorbers every time you purchase new tires. It would also be a good idea to visually inspect your shock absorbers every 10,000 to 20,000 miles, again depending on road conditions covered.

When it comes time for the suspension inspections and repairs you need, you will want to put your heavy-duty truck in the hands of a professional mechanic with a great reputation. If you are thinking I need a heavy-duty truck suspension repair near me, might we recommend you consider checking out our services? They have a reputation for being one of the top big truck mechanics in the region of Laval, QC, Canada.