Who does their own maintenance, and how in depth do you go with it?

[greasytshirt]

As a mechanic that doesn't drive trucks unless he absolutely has to, I sometimes wonder why some trucks show up at my shop needing repairs that are really pretty simple. Granted, what I consider simple might be completely skewed, but still.

I'm mostly referring to class 6 and up vehicles, but whatever.

Who replaces their own brakes? Brake pin bushings, s-cam bushings, brake chambers? Changes tires in the driveway? Tests batteries, chases parasitic draws, can figure out why the stupid box lights stopped working? Run their own overhead? Who owns a code reader?

If you do, great. Tell me about it. If not, why not? Lack of knowledge, tools, schedule too tight, never get home? Tell me about it. I just want to know.

 

[Greg]

I leave brake work to a pro. I will do a lot of my own maintenance myself, when time and conditions permit. Alternators, belts, hoses, batteries, lights ,oil and lube, just about any fluid change,radiators, etc. I like getting in/ under my truck and see what's happening. Sometimes I might find something else that needs to be addressed or something to keep an eye on that will soon need my attention. Tires...nope, I'll pay the guy to change them. New rubber is expensive, might as well start out with a good balance and alignment when changing tires and just get it done all in one stop.

 

[greasytshirt]

Part of the reason I posted this is because a forum member stopped by my house, and we pulled his intercooler out, cleaned out the radiator fins, spent a good hour straightening fins on the radiator (previous owner powerwashed it and basically ruined it), disassembled and cleaned out an egr valve, chased down a refrigerant leak in the sleeper air conditioning, located a few pesky air leaks, and isolated an issue with the headlights. Plus some other stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting. This involved basic hand tools and a used refrigerant detector that I bought for $45. I'm sure the bill would have been over $1500 if taken to a shop. This took about six hours, which included two trips to NAPA and a pizza run.

 

[Greg]

Not everyone has basic mechanic skills. there's a lot of people who can drive but have no idea how things work to make it drive . I know a lot of people are just fine with paying someone else to do all that basic work, personally, I like to know what's going on as much as possible with my vehicle. Of course, some of the stuff you listed is very basic ,routine maintenance. Even if the owner wasn't going to be able to do it, they should have had someone fix those things as those problems came up

 

[Deville]

I do my fair share and than some. I have a lot of tools and I enjoy buying news ones for my collection even if I just use them once. I have a code reader, though my truck is pretty basic compared to what is out there now.

I have changed sensors, turbo pipes, hoses, valve blocks, switches, climate control panels, hand pumps, expansion tank, batteries, endless lights, refilled Freon, flushed cooling systems, tracked down shorts, rewiring, to name a few things.

 

[bubblehead]

I do most of the above mentioned work plus rebuild/re-pin wire harness and terminal blocks, fabricate parts as needed from sheet metal and rolled steel, refinish cargo floor (reefer unit) repair reefer including exhaust and panel work. I do it mostly because I got tired of the poor workmanship and theft when I took the truck to a shop...kinda of like fix one, break another, parts swapping eg. Had a Webasto Heater installed that resulted in a fire because the shop didn't follow the manufacturers directions on how to route the exhaust. When I down loaded the instructions, there was a warning in bold print concerning the potential for fire if not installed correctly. Another shop mis- routed my airlines a put my lift axel on the primary tank... if I lose a bag on that axel, I would quickly lose my brakes. Another shop left someone elses yellow brake pull knob on my parking brake...I could go on but I think you get the idea. My local shop told me that when some places see the FEDEX logo, they assume it is a corporate truck and the driver doesn't pay attention making it easy to pillage.

 

[paullud]

I think for some repairs are done on home time so they don't want to deal with work stuff during vacation. I have helped rebuild entire brake systems, changed tires, body work, radiators, etc at the company shop. I have gained valuable knowledge on how different systems work which makes it easier to diagnose problems and sound knowledgeable when talking to mechanics which I believe would keep me from getting ripped off. I have done simple repairs out on the road like changing an alternator in a parking lot or hoses but I don't like to risk making a problem worse or being stressed about bigger repairs while I'm under load or trying to get one because that could cost me more. If I was at home or company shop then I would be willing to take bigger risks.

 

[Deville]

Had a hose burst at the connection of the radiator expansion tank today. Just the outer cover opened up the inner tube was till intact, picked it up during my run while I was fueling up. I had a hose bandage that I was able to use to cover it up so I could complete the run and make it back to my yard. Picked a hose up and 6 gallons of anti freeze, a couple of gallons of water and rad flush and did a complete cooling service.

I am surprised that hose burst because I had just put it on last summer. when I changed the hoses and did a radiator flush. It must have just happened because it was not there when I did not my post or pre trip and I have been trying to track down an annoying slow leak in my A/C system so I have been under the hood a couple of times a day looking for that. I am Just glad it didn't happen on the road, but that's what I carry 3 gallons of water and coolant and a decent tool set.However, the hose bandage is a real life saver. I picked it up years ago just to have and sure enough it worked well enough to get me through the day.I need to pick another one up.

Only down side was I wasn't really dressed to be climbing in the engine or crawling underneath it and I was filthy when I got home.

 

[mugurpe]

I used to do all sorts of stuff. On my first commercial truck, a '94 E350 14' box truck I spend $2000 to buy it and then another $2000 in parts and repairing it for the next 2 weeks. For example it needed a new oilpan which meant unbolting the engine from the motor mounts, taking half the crap off the top of the engine and jacking it until it hit the top of the engine compartment. All that just to swap in a new oil pan. Since then I've been doing less and less work myself. Now really if it takes less time than hiking the truck to the garage we use, I do it myself, otherwise I take it to get it fixed. But we have a real good mechanic we work with now which changes everything.

 

[Ragman]

If not, why not? Lack of knowledge, tools, schedule too tight, never get home? Tell me about it. I just want to know.

I do no work on any

I am a truck driver, you are a mechanic. We each have our job to do.

 

[vandriver2]

Only change my oil, filters, bulbs, generator oil every 100 hrs.. Tires I buy through Discount Tire with Free Rotation & Balance every 5-10K miles.
I'll research online and buy brake pads, glow plugs, filters in bulk to try to save $.
The rest I leave to those who do it repetitively for a living with the expertise I lack.

 

[FlyingVan]

I am not driving a truck, only a lowly sprinter, but i do all the work on it, from oil changes, to water pumps, to leaky injector, etc. I decided a long time ago that I can't trust the work of some/most mechanics out there.
I took my van in a couple of times under waranty for different things and you wouldn't believe how many lies I heard, from 'we checked the air filter and it needs to be changed', even though I personally changed it less then a month prior. I checked it again after just to be sure, and it was still looking brand new.
Other thing I took it in for was a leaky intercooler hose, I thought it was covered under the 100k powertrain warranty. It wasn't, they wanted to charge me $600. When I told them to leave it alone that I will change it myself, they found out that it covered by the 100k emissions warranty.

Since that day I decided to not pay thieves for inferior work. I started educating myself and since then I was able to keep my van far away from so called 'experts'. As a result, my van has survived for more than 600k with only myself touching it. Maybe that is why it has survived.

 

[bubblehead]

[QUOTE=" Maybe that is why it has survived.[/QUOTE]...and why you survived in this business. At $90-120 per hr rates and many, many times the one turning the wrench on your vehicle is less qualified than you... and certainly less caring. I am lucky in that I enjoy working on my truck and I have a lot more confidence going down the road knowing things were done right. I have amused DOT when I get pulled in for a level one and before the inspector arrives to my truck, I already have my chocks in place, my mechanics creeper out, triangles and fire extinguisher in plain view.