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adventure_is_necessary

Rocky Mountain Region Local Expert Kansas
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Traveler III

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Bonner Springs, Kansas, United States
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Lucas
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Antes
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What general maintenance (not upgrades or add-ons) do you have planned to do or already have done to your rig? With most of us, we have aging rigs that have a good amount of miles, wear and tear, and may not have been kept up with by previous owners. I want to put together a general list of things to keep on the radar over many upgrades. I feel like this is a topic that sort of goes without saying but should be covered more for the sake of having reliability among the capability of our rigs. Let me know what you think should be on the list to be helpful when planning out a build or just taking care of everything. Thanks!



Body/frame - cabin filter, address rust/paint issues, body mounts, motor mounts/bushings, liftgate/glass struts, door/weather seals, glass

Driveline - U-joints, driveshafts, axles, grease fittings, wheel bearings, ball joints

Engine – oil/filter, belts, pulleys , air filter, sensors

Fuel system - injectors/carb, fuel pump, fuel filter(s), lines

Exhaust – gaskets, manifold, muffler, O2 sensors, cat(s)

Cooling system - coolant, water pump, heater core

Steering - steering stabilizer, ball joints, power steering pump, power steering fluid, tie rods

Brakes – lines, fluid, rotors, pads, calipers, drums/shoes

Lighting - bulbs w/ dielectric grease, lenses

Electrical – fuses, battery, battery terminals

Interior -

Suspension – bushings, end links, shocks, springs, control arms, track bar, sway bars

Transmission – fluid, filter(s), gasket

Diffs – gasket, gear oil, gaskets

Transfer case - gear oil, seals
 
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smritte

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This is a good idea for a thread. Ill throw out my OCD maintenance items as well as a few reasons for doing so.
Your owners manual has a "normal" and "severe" section. The severe is what I call half life. 6000 mile oil changes are 3000...ect.
The problem most of us have, is when we mod our vehicles we don't fall into those categories any more. Some things will though. All my vehicles are modified. I don't fit owners manual but, unmodified I would keep to the severe part. Ill try not to give long winded reasons on some to keep mine short.

Basics
1. Engine Oil. I run synthetic (Mobil 1) and either the Mobil 1 Filter or the Puralator (one for synthetic)(cant remember name). Send a sample out to blackstone lab or another oil analyzer to see if your changing it too much. My jeep is 7k miles and my 05 Tacoma was 10k.
2. Coolant. Every year. make sure you run proper type. I clean system completely of old and put new.
3. Brake fluid. Every year. Brake fluid absorbs water. Boiling point starts to drop. Depending on how old will start turning to acid. Brake fluid manufacture recommends 1-2 years, no longer than 4. Acid eats the silicone in the rubber and then starts working on the metal.
4. Transmission (auto). Every year (ish) Big tires, small trailer, mountain driving all generates a ton of heat. ATF hates heat. Breaks down fluid causes wear.
5. Diff's. Every year. Big tires, more heat, dirt, water crossings...
6. Transfer Case. Same as 4, 5
7. Power Steering. Every 2 years. No one ever changes this for some reason.
8. Belts/hose's. Ehh I watch them close. Oil leaks on these will rot them, cleaning oil off them helps some but, not much. If you have 100k make sure all hoses are new. No one replace's heater hoses for some reason.
9. Air Cleaner. The single most over replaced item. I take it out once in a while and blow it out. I have a gauge on air box that watch's for restriction. When gauge drops a little I replace. Been well over a year so far.
10. Tire Rotate. Each oil change or every second.

Non Basic. 50-100k or higher mileage
1. Brake lines. Life span is actually about 100k IF you replace brake fluid regularly. Acid build up eats the rubber lining making it brittle on the inside. Rubber can flake off and clog things.
2. Water Pump. Life span is normally 60-150k.
3. Plugs/Wires/Cap. My preference is 50-70k. I only buy OE parts here. Be careful with non oe. Some plugs can have wrong heat range even though the part says it fits.
4.Ball Joints. 100k or when I feel play. Big tires and dirt roads play hell on these. Learn how to test them and if your unsure, replace. My 04 TJ with 37's broke one at 20k. I replaced with very expensive aftermarket because the Jeep ones were junk.
5. Tie Rod's. When I see play in them.

Im sure I forgot some things. My new to me Land Cruiser was bought with 200k on it. Every thing on the top list and most of second list was replace in the first year I owned it. That set my baseline for the vehicle. I didn't want to get into too much detail about why some things look like their replaced too often. These things Ive learned from being a tech for GM for 30 years and then an Instructor for the last 13 years as well as an avid (obsessive) off road/explorer all my life.

Scott
 

smritte

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Forgot brakes
If you run bigger (taller) tires, or increase vehicle weight, you may need to upgrade your brakes. You need 2 things in order to stop, Force and Friction. The definition of a braking system is converting kinetic energy to heat through friction. Heat is your enemy.
Taller tires means means more leverage on calipers. More weight means more kinetic energy to get rid of. That means you need to increase either force, friction or run a bigger rotor to offset it.
The easiest way to cure this is to run a higher friction pad. Now you destroy your rotor unless you have good ones. If you over heat them several things happen. First is fade (loss of friction through heat). next is warpage (hot enough to buckle rotor) and last glazing (got pad hot enough to turn the surface to glass) (less friction).
I only run premium brakes or better (OE is considered premium). I'm a fan of stop tech products. There's a number of good ones and more bad ones then I can count. Bigger, heavier means you go through brakes. I get about 2 years on my pads. I can stop hard, heat them with little fade and don't glaze. When it comes time to change them, I put a dial indicator on my rotor and check for runout (warpage). I have zero normally.

Scott
 

TerryD

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My 2007 Xterra currently has around 167k miles on it. Only about 23k of that has been under my care. I bought it with a rebuilt transmission which was needed because of an issue with the transmission cooler in the radiator. It also had the secondary timing chain tensioner issue which is common in the 05-08 VQ40DE engines. I had a dealership do the repair work to the timing chains as well as replace the water pump and radiator to fix these issues.

I doubt that any of the other services were ever done so I changed the fluid in both axles and the t-case. I used Amsoil products for all three.

My upcoming maintenance projects are to fix a few small leaks and do some standard maintenance to it.
  1. Fix timing cover inspection port leak. The dealership that did the timing set work had to go back in because the tech had one cam a tooth off and it was causing over timing issues. Warranty work doesn't pay and techs do shitty work when they have to go in a second time. It's just how it is....l
  2. Fix leak between t-case and transmission. I'm not sure how much is going to be involved with this but I know I have to drop the t-case for it. Either the transmission output seal or t-case input seal is leaking. It's not enough to cause any issues, just leaves a damp spot on the outside of the cases and I'd like it fixed.
  3. Replace spark plugs. I've never done it and I have my doubts that it was done by the previous owner based on other maintenance items being skipped.
When I lift it, I'm also going to do some maintenance things since I'll have some of the parts disassembled anyways.
  1. Replace brake hoses. Since I'm lifting, I'll need new rear hoses to accommodate the lift. There are 6 hoses all together and I'm going to replace them with the braided stainless lines that will hold more pressure. This also gives me opportunity to change brake fluid.
  2. New upper ball joints come with the new upper control arms needed for the lift I'm doing. I'll probably replace the lower control arms as well and have new ball joints there too.
  3. Shocks will be replaced as well, that counts.
Now, I'm planning on doing some more maintenance when it hits 200k miles.
  1. Replace both inner and outer tie rod ends.
  2. Replace sway bar bushings
  3. Replace steering rack bushings
  4. Change transmission fluid
  5. Change t-case fluid
  6. Since the plans are to swap axles to a lower geared set in the future, I'll just check fluid levels in the current set for now.
  7. Inspect all u-joints for unusual wear. Off-roading standard, non-greaseable joints can cause premature wear on them since you cannot purge them with grease occasionally. If I find any showing wear, I'll replace them with Spicer brand greaseable joints.
  8. Replace crank position sensor and both cam position sensors with OE Nissan parts. These are known failure points on the VQ40DE and will strand you.
Maintaining a vehicle is a constant thing. I do my own oil changes and while the oil is draining, I take the time to wheel around under it on my creeper and look for leaks or unusual wear. With the vehicle in neutral, parking brake on, and scotched, give your drive shaft a wiggle at the joints. Look for movement in the pinions (in/out and up/down). Check for dampness around your brakes. This could be brake fluid or axle oil.

Inspect your shocks. If they are wet with oil, chances are you've blown a shock out and you'll need to replace/rebuild them. Look for deformed or missing bushings on shocks, control arms, sway bar mounts and links, and springs. Inspect leaf springs for missing wear pads, broken clamps or loose/broken u-bolts. It's a bad day when your axle decides to take a different path from the rest of the vehicle.

Some drive shafts will have grease fittings on the slip yokes. A shot or two of grease in them will go a long way toward keeping your slip splines from wearing due to dirt infiltration and most of the time, there is a drain hole where the grease will purge most any dirt or water that is sitting in the dead space at the front of the slip yoke.

Once the vehicle is back on the ground (I use ramps for oil changes), use your jack to lift one front wheel barely off the ground. From the side of the vehicle, grip the wheel at the top and use a pry bar placed under the wheel to lift it, pushing in with the hand on top of the wheel. This is to check your ball joints for play. There should be no movement.

Grip the side of the tire and shake it. There should be no play in the tie-rod ends. Have someone shake it and look at them yourself if you think you feel something.

Grip the top and bottom of the tire and give it a shake. This will tell you if there is play in the wheel bearings.

Give each grease fitting a pump or two of grease. No need to blow the boots out, just a little to help clear the joint is all.

Move to the other side and repeat. Those of you with IRS will want to repeat this process for both rear tires as well.

This is all stuff I try to do every oil change. Some days like yesterday it's just a "gas and go" oil change with bare minimum of time to spare. However, it gives you a sense of how your vehicle is wearing and keeps you in-tune with the overall condition of it. It'll also give you an idea of what it normally looks like so if you encounter an issue on the trail, you'll be more likely to spot an obvious issue like a bent shock, broken spring, or missing part like a sway-bar end link.

Hope this helps and sorry for the long winded reply. These are things I try to instill in my daughters and advice I give to everyone who asks.
 

adventure_is_necessary

Rocky Mountain Region Local Expert Kansas
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Traveler III

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Bonner Springs, Kansas, United States
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I'm a little lazy when it comes to maintenance, but I'm looking to change my ways. Great tips everyone!
It's a bit to handle it all, especially if you acquire a rig that has seen many miles and a bit of abuse. I know most vehicles lack their regular/general maintenance. Best thing I've done is just tackle a bit at a time of what I can do and then also have the mechanic hammer out some at a time. Some bits can wait as you address what is needed most. I know the first few things I did once I got my rig 2.5 years ago was immediately put tires on it since the old ones were rather worn. I also addressed the brakes on all 4 corners. Diffs and tcase were done next. I still need to do the trans but I'll have my mechanic do that so they can swap filters. I plan on doing brake lines and fluid at some point. Next maintenance task is to tackle the cooling system. I'll flush the old coolant out with fresh and replace the water pump. I haven't decided if I'll actually run a flush or if I'll just drain as much as I can out and add new. Probably would be best to do the full flush since the engine in my rig has been known to have overheating issues.
 

nickburt

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When I bought my Defender, it was badly in need of a lot of work.
Some of that was done straight away (dig deep - but I expected and budgeted for that when I bought it), before we started using it, other work was left for later as time allowed, but some of that was forced on me after the first trip away.

The initial work was mostly all new:
Brakes
Ball joints
Suspension bushes

A fairly extensive sort out of the wiring and the addition of some basic kit for overland use.

After the first trip, suspension, tyres, some drive train maintenance (seals, u/js etc...) also needed to be done and to a certain extent, shame on me for not doing some of it before the first trip.

In general, I go right through my trucks annually.
All fluid s changed (3000 miles for engine oil and filter) once a year, regardless of mileage. Being a Land Rover, some need topping up a couple times during the year due to leaks (for example, the transfer box was re sealed and new gaskets last year and after about 10,000 miles started dropping oil again!!!).
Depending on use, all ball joints and suspension bushes get looked at after every trip and in more detail every 5,000 miles.
Steering, suspension and brakes get a thorough check before and after every trip, and an annual rolling program of replacement. Each winter, I pick on a section of the truck (front suspension, steering and (all round) brakes or rear axle/gearbox and transfer box for an extensive strip, check and rebuild.

Cooling and hydraulics (steering fluid, brake and clutch fluid etc...) all get drained, flushed and refilled annually.

While away, everything gets a once over every few days, or even daily, depending on driving conditions etc... either all at once (on camp while the evening meal is being cooked or if we've got in early), on on a rolling rotation of things to check. But mentally, I'm checking that nothing gets missed during the course of a few days.

One ear is always open and tuned into the sound of the truck, that slight knock, rumble, whatever, will prompt a quick check next time we stop.

Yes, my annual maintenance bill is relatively high, but in all the trips we've done, neither truck has ground to a stand still anywhere.
 

adventure_is_necessary

Rocky Mountain Region Local Expert Kansas
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I added a list to my original post to somewhat encompass what to do general maintenance wise which I will attempt to keep updated. Might be able to get it added to the Boot Camp portion.
 

Anak

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I try to hit all my zerk fittings after every trip for the sake of flushing things through. It is a cheap thing to do, and doesn't take long. And it gets me underneath my vehicle so I can take a good look at things and see if anything looks like it needs attention.

I think paying attention to your vehicle is the best thing a person can do. If there is a new noise, figure it out right away. It might be something you can ignore, or it might be something that is your fair warning before you have a real problem. Turning up the stereo is not an intelligent solution.

My Jeep is now 22 years old. It is noisy, but as long as I can identify the source of each noise I am okay with it.

I have put in a good bit of maintenance. I just replaced the clutch throwout bearing a month ago. Last fall I replaced the rear main oil seal, pan gasket, timing cover seal and gasket, timing chain, harmonic balancer (there is one that folks don't give much thought to), chain dampener and distributor. I also did the valve cover gasket and PCV grommets last fall. I have rebuilt the transfer case, replacing all bearings, seals and the chain. A chain alone might make sense for a well maintained vehicle, but mine was not. I have replaced the alternator, water pump and power steering pump. Oh, and the idler pulley. I did a mild rebuild of my starter, replacing brushes and the solenoid.

I have also replaced all U-joints (driveshafts and front axles) and had the driveshafts balanced. I rebuilt the front axle myself (differential, seals, unit bearings) and had a shop build me a new rear axle. The rear axle went in with new leaf springs.

As a general rule I would say the rubber is the biggest maintenance issue on a vehicle. A good percentage of failure modes can be traced to degradation of rubber (or whatever substitute has taken its place). Seals get hard and brittle with heat and exposure to the environment. Once that happens the good stuff gets out and/or bad stuff gets in, and it is all downhill from there.
 

adventure_is_necessary

Rocky Mountain Region Local Expert Kansas
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Traveler III

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Bonner Springs, Kansas, United States
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Aside from becoming familiar with your rig (with knowing how things should be acting/sounding normally, handling, anything new that should be addressed) which we should be depending on the amount of miles you're putting on it, is finding a good mechanic assuming you don't do everything yourself. Personally, I could do a majority of the work on my rig, but the mechanic my rig goes to is very fair on pricing and I trust him completely. He always makes comments on how good the rig is. My response every single time is that I rely on this thing more than most of his customers do with their vehicles, so I take care of it and spend the money when it's needed, but also address things early if I can. Then I take it to him. Now I could do a good chunk of what I have taken my rig in for and what I will do in the future, but their knowledge and experience outweigh mine. That's not to say I won't do some things on my own, like an oil change, changing diff/tcase gear oil, and such, but when it comes to things I'm not experienced in or that they can do faster and relatively cheaper than I could, I'll pay them to do it. Things like a tire rotation I can do myself, but I choose not to. Tire techs at my local tire shop know more than most I've encountered. They've changed the rotation pattern to combat my current tires aging and wear characteristics. Not to mention they rotate them for free since I purchased the tires through them. So why not let them do it!?
 

MOAK

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With currently 290,000 miles on mine I've done quite a lot of maintenance constantly over the years. Too many things to list all of em. I try not to overdo it as over doing it can be a complete waste of money. I do change the oil every 6,000 miles or so, sometimes 8,000. I use Delo 400 le 15w40 and had it tested in a lb years ago and was still excellent after 8k miles, so I try not to go over that. I just finished up chasing all of my oil leaks so it doesn't drip a bit. I prefer zerk fittings on all lubrication points on my driveline and never go over 6,ooo miles. all the front steering ball joints have been replaced in the past 75,000 miles and because of the brand, OEM, ( toyota) the should easily last another 50,000 miles or so. New shocks, new radiator, new starter, ( before the ome finally died, it's still on my shelf, I'll rebuild it myself). I just replaced my front and rear pads last month. I use the platinum from Auto-Zone and to my pleasant surprise the last set was free because of their lifetime warranty. Drive train oils and coolants are changed out about every 75 to 100,000 miles. At the 207,000 mile mark every bit of rubber on the rig was replaced with new, including brake lines, door seals, dif breathers, etc etc etc.

One thing I constantly remind myself and family members about is that our "overland" rigs are really big trucks in miniature. I know mine scales out at 7,000 lbs loaded, add our trailer and we are a bit over 8,000 lbs. My preventive maintenance intervals are stretched out because of my driving style. It's a darned heavy rig and so are yours. Prime example? I'm running stock brakes (Auto-Zone Platinum replacement pads) on mine and I get anywhere from 50 to 65,000 miles out of the fronts and rears. I don't tailgate and I anticipate stops long before they happen. I also downshift a lot. I crawl over rough railroad tracks, and rough trails. As a result I got almost 100,000 miles out of my previous set of OME shocks. If you are a Rickie Racer, or insist upon tail gating, or are just in general even a semi-aggressive driver you'll be needing a lot of regular maintenance items preformed a lot more often. I often hear people complaining of brake pad pre-mature wear, pre-mature shock wear, pre-mature ball joint wear, clutches failing,- on and on. 99.9% of the time all that pre-mature wear is a direct result of horrible driving habits. I hope this tiny piece of advice helps you newer folks to save a pile of money over the long term life of your rigs. Peace out !!