Spring Semi-Truck Maintenance: 5 Checks to Prevent Expensive Repairs

Cold winter weather can take its toll on semi truck parts, from the exhaust hardware and bolts (these can become brittle and snap off) to the air filter pleads getting clogged with debris and salts from melted ice crystals. 

Winter trucking is a battle; spring is the recovery period. 

It's the perfect time to deep-clean and inspect your truck.

After talking to a few owner-operators, here are the top five expense-saving tips for maintaining and cleaning your semi truck. 

#1. Replace the Windshield Wipers

Rainy season is coming.

Now is the best time to swap out worn wipers. Ice and snow tear down the rubber edges of the wiper blades.

While you’re swapping out windshield wiper blades, check on the roof-mounted cab lights and marker lights for any potential moisture intrusion, and inspect the rubber weather seals around the windows for any cracks that might have appeared during winter. 

RELATED: Seasonal Semi Truck Maintenance Guide

#2. Deep Clean Your Truck to Remove Chemical Additives

Deep cleaning your truck means doing more than just power-washing corrosive street salt and grime off of your body paint, undercarriage, and frame rails.

The water on highways contains toxic chemical compounds and harmful contaminants like calcium chloride and magnesium chloride.

These chemicals don't just stay on the paint's surface; they work their way into the truck's electrical connections. 

If you don't regularly power wash your truck, the toxins travel deep into your ECG system. 

We've even seen residual crud reach all the way into the driver's front dashboard!

Over time, they reach the truck's electrical connection points and hookups- causing wire corrosion. 

That's when ghost symptoms show up.

You won't know exactly where the issue is coming from, but it'll keep happening.

It could be a flickering light, a warning light on the dashboard, or certain dash icons not turning on when you flip a switch from your front dash. 

The Solution:

Disconnect everything and degrease it, including dual-function light wiring.

Then, you put it all back together.

Is this time consuming? Absolutely.

But in the long run, it's worth it. 

Final Tip: While it's disassembled, check your battery terminals and braided ground straps for any more "ghost issues" in the truck's electrical system.

#3. Full 5^th Wheel Cleaning and Inspection

Cleaning the fifth wheel is a dirty, greasy, and time-consuming job. 

While most truckers would rather pay a mechanic shop to do the work, that can quickly become expensive. 

Spring is probably the best time of year to roll up your sleeves and get this job done yourself. 

To properly inspect the tilt, alignment, and overall adjustment of your semi-truck fifth wheel, you first need to remove the grease from the top plate.

You can use degreaser, high-powered steam, or a power washer to strip it clean. 

Old, stuck grease doesn't adheve well. Fresh grease performs much better. 

Every so often, no matter the season, you need to remove the old crud and add a fresh new layer of grease to it. This will keep it functioning well. 

Here's an alternative option: Add a No-Lube Fifth Wheel. This material feels a lot like a plastic cutting board. Once it's on, you can't add grease to it. This will ruin the material. The upside? You never need to grease the fifth wheel ever again. 

Once you've gone through the painstaking trouble of removing the grease, you can inspect it thoroughly for any structural issues.

Once done, apply the fresh grease to it. 

#4. Check the PH Levels on Your Antifreeze Coolant

Spring is the best time to begin checking your fuel separator, cabin air filter, and, of course, the anti-freeze. 

Test your pH levels: 8.0 to 11.0 is ideal. If they're below 7.0 or 8.0, it's acidic. You need to replace it.

This simple checkup can save you thousands of dollars and avoid potentially business-ending, nightmare scenarios.  

We knew one customer who had spent 3 days stranded roadside after his diesel engine suddenly hydrolocked. It wouldn't move.

Several weeks prior, he had mixed tap water with the engine coolant. Tap water and well water often contains corrosive compounds that will not blend with the anti-freeze solution. 

Improper pH levels destroyed the protective inhibitors that lead to an acidic fluid. This led to corrosion and cavitation of the engine's cylinder liners.

While the truck was down, had to stay in a hotel while mechanics inspected the damage. 

Coolant had leaked past the cylinder liners into the combustion chamber, and the entire engine needed replacement.

The bill reached at least $25,000. The truck was also idle for several weeks - generating zero income for his business! 

The failure wasn't something obvious - like a broken hose or coolant leak - it happened quietly over time, as the acidic coolant tore a hole in the liners and destroyed the engine. 

A pack of coolant test strips often costs around $50 to $60. Compared to a $25,000 engine replacement, hotel expenses, towing, and weeks of lost income, it's well worth the cost.

Test the engine's coolant and spot the red flags before it becomes an expensive problem. Do this every so often, especially in the spring.

#5. Brake & Air System Check

Inspect and replace the air dryer cartridge. If you haven’t replaced the air dryer cartridge recently, now is the best time. As usual, check your tire pressure, wheel seals, and check for loose lug nuts and inspect the nut covers more missing or damaged pieces. 

Review your brake linings and brake drums. Look for cracks or “heat checking” in the brake linings that might have occurred during winter. Make sure the S-cams and slack adjusters are properly lubricated and move freely.

The Importance of Preventative Maintenance All Year Round

When it comes to trucking, the little things add up. Don’t sweat the “small” preventative maintenance expenses.

Spending some dough on little things will often end up saving you enormous amounts of time, headache, and money.

Whether it’s changing your engine oil, brake fluid, testing wire connections, or getting the right psi tire pressure, good preventative maintenance protects you from encountering massive amounts of downtime and hefty repair costs.

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