# preventive maintenance???



## bossplowguy (Jan 6, 2008)

Just curious to what the rest of you guys do to your trucks before you start plowing for the year? My trucks and equipment get ALL the fluids and filters changed greased, treat electrical connections with di-electric grease, and get the once over replacing anything that is wore out or broke.


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

Thats not preventative maintenance! thats just maintanence. Checking over and changing fluid.

Preventative maintenance is
Replacing waterpump and all hoses every 50K miles, putting in a clutch every 75K
replacing the power steering pump every 100K Replacing U-joints every 30K.

and so on. Doing maintenance BEFORE its needed is preventative.

knock on wood 
in 22 years of plowing I'v had 1 brake down that stopped me from plowing. A wheel bearing that was 31 days old died.


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## creativedesigns (Sep 24, 2007)

All fluids eh! ...what about the differential fluid? ( & the front diff for 4x4's ) 

- Tire rotations.
- Air filters.
- New winter wipers, jugs of windshield fluid.
- Spare hydraulic hoses with fittings incase one blows in the middle of a storm!!!
- Fluid Film any pivot/ joints on the plow.
- Undercoat your trucks for the winter!


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## creativedesigns (Sep 24, 2007)

theplowmeister;647688 said:


> Thats not preventative maintenance! thats just maintanence. Checking over and changing fluid.
> 
> Preventative maintenance is
> Replacing waterpump and all hoses every 50K miles, putting in a clutch every 75K
> ...


Isn't the ol'saying, " If it ain't broken, don't fix it" ??? xysport


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## Grampa Plow (Sep 1, 2008)

creativedesigns;647698 said:


> Isn't the ol'saying, " If it ain't broken, don't fix it" ??? xysport


Nope...keep track of everything and do prevenative maint. and you won't break down...good advice PlowMeister!

Try finding/replacing a waterpump at 3 am :crying: vs. changing it out every so many miles!!


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

I forgot to add, check the truck/plow out 3 days before the storm. That way if you find something you have time to fix it. what you going to do if you check the truck out the night before a storm and find a bad u-joint?


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## lunatic81 (Sep 24, 2008)

You speak of changing fluids. Do most of you run hyd. fluid or dexron III?


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

lunatic81;649576 said:


> You speak of changing fluids. Do most of you run hyd. fluid or dexron III?


I run 85-90W


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## lunatic81 (Sep 24, 2008)

85-90W Oil?

I have 6 quarts of dexron III laying around, and was going to use it. Is there any downsides to using it, or is the hyd. fluid better for the pump?


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## Duncan90si (Feb 16, 2007)

I extract all the summer air out of my tires and install some fresh winter air. I then dip my trucks into a giant vat of Fluid Film.


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

lunatic81;649897 said:


> 85-90W Oil?
> 
> I have 6 quarts of dexron III laying around, and was going to use it. Is there any downsides to using it, or is the hyd. fluid better for the pump?


? what do you run in your Dif?


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## lunatic81 (Sep 24, 2008)

Gear oil....

Sorry for the dumb question, I'm just new to plowing, and my western dealer was suggesting their fluid. Some of the guys I talked to said dexron III was okay to use. I was just wondering if it was safe to use, or should I use hyd. fluid. Or do some of you guys just use the same hyd. fluid as we run in the skid loaders?


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## mc1 (Mar 2, 2007)

fisher and western are the same my dealer said that as long as plow is 2-3 years old you can use dexron but when the pump and cyclinders get older than that they recomend the fisher stuff it has some differnt wear chemichals "so they say " but it is blueish in colr not red like the dexron so its definatley different hope that helps


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

lunatic81;650369 said:


> You speak of changing fluids. Do most of you run hyd. fluid or dexron III?


Sorry I was being an A** hole:realmad:
The question wasnt Dumb, just not thought out. You did not say what fluid you were talking about.. could have been for the automatic transmission. I could gess... but do you want answers from people who are guessing as to what you meant in the question?

I used to use ATF.. But aside from the equipment being expensive and NOT wanting to brake down in the middle of a storm. and the small increase in cost of using the recommended fluid, I use the Fisher stuff in fisher plows and the Boss stuff in boss plows. It don't cost that much extra.

JMO


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## cornbinder (Oct 16, 2005)

basically everything you said all fluids changed, por -15 the under side of the trucks, por 15 the salt spreader spinner. i keep spare alternators for all my trucks at my shop, and extra hoses, fluid, solenoids, plow controllers etc.etc. i have all the pump motors checked out about october, (and also clean out the fluid resivores on the plows), and have alternators checked also . check brakelines, i use the "coated brakelines" it last longer then i put a few coats of paint on the brakelines also. i keep all ujoints on the shelf. it helps to have a a full time mechanic that's on call during storms, and have a back up truck if something breaks, i jump into the spare as the other truck gets repaired. knock on wood the only incidents i've had in 6 years of commercial plowing have been an alternator, p/s line, broken lift chain bolt, that kept me from plowing. i actually have another local large plow service that pays me to use my shop(and mechanic) in case of breakdown during a storm. that's what i do. later, pete


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## bossplowguy (Jan 6, 2008)

I was thinking of possibly using stainless brake lines. I guess I should have on my IH when I just had all the lines replaced, I think it would be money well spent.


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## Grampa Plow (Sep 1, 2008)

Didn't know they made such an item...I'm going to look into that the next time I have to replace them.


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## bossplowguy (Jan 6, 2008)

Its too bad you couldn't buy a truck with all stainless lines as part of a plow package or something....


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## Grampa Plow (Sep 1, 2008)

That's a good idea to suggest to the big 3....oops, they wouldn't get to do all of the brake line replacements then...naw, they'd never go for it.


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## Team_Arctic (Feb 24, 2008)

i know that the napa store here has a line maker for the stainless lines as well as making injector lines .. i have never had a problem with things like that but i guess my trucks are all on the newer side. i use alot of fluid film/chain lube for the under side of the truck though


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