Preventive Maintenance Checklist for Mack Trucks
by Alexis Writing
A heavy-duty diesel truck can take many forms. It can be a semi tractor for pulling large trailer loads, or a dump truck that comes with a chassis attached that can haul cars, stone or other heavy loads. Regardless, it is a big investment for most companies or individual owner operators. If you own a heavy-duty diesel truck, such as a Mack, one of the most popular brands, you will want to make sure that you perform the proper preventive maintenance as needed to keep your truck in good working order.
Lubrication
A key step to keeping your Mack truck working the way it should is to perform the proper lubrication. This includes performing the oil and filter changes that are required by the manufacturer, which are generally based on mileage or time, in months, that the oil has been in the engine. For a Mack truck, you will generally need to change your engine oil and filter every 15,000 miles with approved oil and filter parts. You will also want to lubricate the chassis, suspension and drive shaft, basically anywhere that there is a grease fitting, to extend the life of the major suspension components of your truck that are always under a heavy load.
Checks of the Braking System
Check the braking system regularly. Inspect the brake linings, drums, rotors and hydraulic or vacuum hoses at regular intervals to be sure that there are no leaking fluids, vacuum leaks, or worn or damaged parts. A brake failure in a big truck is a sure way for someone to get seriously hurt or for your investment to be lost to a serious accident. You will want to check your brake components visually before hauling any load, and you will also want to inspect them every month that the vehicle is in operation.
Bolts
It is important that you retorque and tighten all of the bolts in the chassis and suspension of your Mack truck after the first 5,000 miles of operation to ensure that they are properly tightened and have not worked loose since they left the factory. After that, you will want to inspect them regularly to make sure that none of the shackles for the springs or other components of the suspension or chassis mounting system have broken, rusted or worn out.
References
Writer Bio
Alexis Writing has many years of freelance writing experience. She has written for a variety of online destinations, including Peternity.com. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication from the University of Rochester.
