General maintenance is important to the functionality and efficiency of your vehicle, as well as the safety of the driver. In order to ensure the health of your truck is up to par, it’s important to replace truck parts that wear out frequently and quickly. The most frequently replaced semi-truck parts are:
Clutch
In order for your semi-truck to function properly and efficiently, your clutch and power transmission system need to be in working order. While the clutch of a small vehicle doesn’t wear out that easily, large trucks can experience clutch failures much more frequently. Some causes of this failure include:
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Clutch dumping
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Riding the clutch
- Not taking your foot off the clutch after changing gear, so it’s not fully re-engaged
If you don’t replace your clutch somewhat frequently, it can cause excess damage to the truck’s transmission.
Tires
If you’ve ever driven along a highway, you’ve most likely seen a blown-out tire or shreds of one somewhere. Although semi-truck tires are made to last longer than standard car tires, they clearly don’t last forever and still need to be replaced about every 100,000 miles. That may seem like a lot of miles to someone who drives a normal car, but for truckers that are always on the road, they can travel 100,000 miles in roughly 6 months.
Brake Pads
Brakes are one of the most important parts of a semi-truck when it comes to driver safety. Similar to the clutch, brake pads wear out over time and need to be replaced often. The bigger the semi-truck, the more frequently this part needs to be replaced – it requires more brake power to stop or slow down a heavier object. Brake pads should be replaced every 3-5 years, especially if you’re putting a lot of miles and wear on your truck. Two signs you need to replace your brake pads are:
Fenders
Fenders are made to protect your tires from weather-induced damage. Ice and snow can weigh down parts of your truck, causing increased pressure on the fenders and leading to bent brackets. The replacement period for these parts varies based on what kind of weather conditions you drive through — if you’re driving through Michigan during the winter, you’ll need to replace your fenders more frequently than if you’re driving through California in the winter, simply because of the amount of harsh weather.
Headlights
Ensuring that your headlights are functioning properly is extremely important for those that drive at night and in rain, snow, or fog. Headlights are crucial to the safety of the driver, and should be replaced as soon as there are signs of malfunction. Some signs that your headlights are failing include:
Most of these issues are caused by a bad fuse or module. If you notice any of these signs of failure, you should get your headlights replaced as soon as you can.
We Have the Parts You Need
At Tri-State Truck, we have all the semi-truck parts you need to keep your truck healthy and on the road.