Service life on parts

Ontario Outlaw

Hozer Witta Hood
@mndriver had some great advice on replacing stuff before it breaks. How do you figure out what parts to replace at what intervals?

I did steer tire shocks last summer, when I put new steers on. Did an alignment at the same time. Now my drive shocks are leaking. Do I do all 6 shocks, or just the problem ones?

Ujoints- I did the rear two not long ago. Do I drop the front shaft and inspect them, or just drop the shaft and replace them so they roughly match the rear shaft for age?

Alternator I haven't done yet. Spare sitting in the truck. Do I change it just to change it? Batteries and starter have been done

Belts and hoses- mndriver said 5-6 years on hoses. I'm still thinking to change hoses just because. Belts were new last year, I'm thinking maybe 2-3 years cycle on belts. I carry a spare and a belt isn't a big deal to change out

Fuel lines- same thing thinking on changing them just because

Brake chambers- either all new within the last year or new diaphragms. Spare diaphragms on board now, they aren't hard to change

What's your thoughts?
 
Belts and hoses are 6 years from date of manufacture according to the manufacturer. On hoses, they print dates on them. That's what I go by. Since I'm putting a clutch in next month due to it not releasing on a random occasion that at times is most unwanted, I will have them replace all the fuel lines at the same time since the transmission will be out and the fuel lines are 4 1/2 years old going on 5. Replaced winter 12/13, it's time.

That's how I plan repairs at times.

I also started to heavily rely on this manual to determine level of precedence for my repairs. If it's in it, it's a "do now" type things. If it's not, we do it when I feel like it.


http://www.azrockproducts.org/wp-content/uploads/April-1-2016_OOSC_U.S._Blue_Paper.pdf
 
Shocks every year.

Alignment when the tires tell you it's time.

Air dryer... Bendix say rebuild at 300k. Replace every couple of years minimum.
 
Shocks are actually considered a service item to be replaced every 150k. Always replace shocks in at least pairs so the axle with have the same resistance on both sides.
 
As for the rest, alternator replace when faulty, belts every 24 months or sooner depending on usage, hoses(anything rubber with a petroleum product or coolant) every 5 years,

Ujoints replace based on wear or if you upgrade torque in your drivetrain they become the weak link and you might want to look at upgrading.

Brake chambers replace on failure or based on corrosion.
 
As for the rest, alternator replace when faulty, belts every 24 months or sooner depending on usage, hoses(anything rubber with a petroleum product or coolant) every 5 years,

Ujoints replace based on wear or if you upgrade torque in your drivetrain they become the weak link and you might want to look at upgrading.

Brake chambers replace on failure or based on corrosion.
So drop front driveshaft to inspect?

Ok so brake chambers should be 2-3 years away from replacing. Belts maybe 2-3 years so look at next summer, but still carry spares

Maybe I will do all six shocks

Sounds like I'm farther ahead to do coolant hoses and fuel lines now
 
So drop front driveshaft to inspect?

Ok so brake chambers should be 2-3 years away from replacing. Belts maybe 2-3 years so look at next summer, but still carry spares

Maybe I will do all six shocks

Sounds like I'm farther ahead to do coolant hoses and fuel lines now

Personally, and how we inspected them at the dealership. With drive line installed hold the yoke in one hand and the drive shaft in the other. Twist in opposite directions. Any movement felt at all replace then push drive shaft up down and side to side any movement felt at all replace.

If you keep the ujoints well lubed you can get hundreds of thousands of miles out of them.
 
Personally, and how we inspected them at the dealership. With drive line installed hold the yoke in one hand and the drive shaft in the other. Twist in opposite directions. Any movement felt at all replace then push drive shaft up down and side to side any movement felt at all replace.

If you keep the ujoints well lubed you can get hundreds of thousands of miles out of them.
The rear one, on my rear shaft was showing signs of pitting. I'd prefer to fix it at home than on the road
 
The rear one, on my rear shaft was showing signs of pitting. I'd prefer to fix it at home than on the road

Like you took it apart and checked inside the caps?

Rust putting on the exterior isn’t a super big deal. However if there is piting in the caps or the needle bearings are starting to rust that’s an issue, cause by either lack of lubricant or getting a cheap grease that has water in it. Make sure it’s at least a Ronex MP grease or higher quality.
 
Personally, and how we inspected them at the dealership. With drive line installed hold the yoke in one hand and the drive shaft in the other. Twist in opposite directions. Any movement felt at all replace then push drive shaft up down and side to side any movement felt at all replace.

If you keep the ujoints well lubed you can get hundreds of thousands of miles out of them.

And how do you grease the ones with no zerk? My entire drive shaft has no zerks, and I can't figure out how to grease them without dismantling them.??
 
And how do you grease the ones with no zerk? My entire drive shaft has no zerks, and I can't figure out how to grease them without dismantling them.??
Some manufacturers install these from the factory. Best thing to do is replace them with greasable ones. And IMO you should do it upon discovering they don’t have zerks instead of waiting for failure.
 
And how do you grease the ones with no zerk? My entire drive shaft has no zerks, and I can't figure out how to grease them without dismantling them.??
Some manufacturers install these from the factory. Best thing to do is replace them with greasable ones. And IMO you should do it upon discovering they don’t have zerks instead of waiting for failure.
Holy cow, those are original. Got about 1.3 million km on those puppys then! Amazing!

The manufacturers claim that the non greasable joints last longer, as having to allow for grease to exit the seal also means water has a way in. The no lubes joints have a much better seal on them.
 
My truck came factory with RPL35 and RPL25 ujoints.
Meritor - Drivelines | Permalube RPL Series Drivelines

Meritor - Drivelines | Maintenance Manuals

I'm now at 1.2 million miles and still the same ujoints.

Every time I go to get them replaced, I get told to just run them unless I have a vibration. They are all still tight and show no sign of looseness. The only drive line item that was worn was the carrier bearing. And I replaced it with the OEM meritor part as well. Again, greaseless.

They work just fine in the 6 years I've had the truck and 500,000 miles.

Buddy has a w900 and he swears you need a greased driveline. He's replaced all his ujoints several times over and greases his truck weekly when he's home before returning to Florida. He runs Chicago to Florida weekly.

He could have bought my driveline 4 times over for what he's spent already.

According to what I read on meritors website, I'd say they call it a 900,000 mile service life. So yeah, I consider myself on borrowed time with it.

Likewise, my turbo, Borg Warner 171702 non-waste gated, has a listing of 450-550,000 miles. I'm at 250,000 miles. History suggest a life of about 300,000 miles. I've got a hard to locate exhaust leak that seems to be coming from the exhaust mount on the turbo.

At a $650 cost to replace with a threat to a $24,000 in frame, I'll replace the turbo long before I touch the driveline.
 
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I also seem to have better service life from zerkless/pregreased/whatever ball joints/tie rods/etc in my personal vehicles.

Whatever is in there stays in there as opposed to oozing out and letting moisture & debris in.
 

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