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Diesel Truck Maintenance: 10 Things You Must Know

There are many reasons to love your diesel truck. It’s easy on fuel and often much cheaper to drive.

But when you have a diesel truck, it’s important to keep up with maintenance. By doing this, you’ll be setting your truck up for a long lifespan. If you plan to use your truck for many years to come, then you’ll want to know the best practices.

Looking for some diesel truck maintenance tips? In this article, we’ll tell you everything that you need to know.

1. Keep It Clean

At the top of your diesel truck maintenance checklist should be regular cleaning. This applies to the inside and outside of your truck.

To keep it looking and working its best, you want to make sure that you keep it clean. This will keep it in good shape for years to come.

Wash the inside of it and clean any dirt. The inside of your truck is liable to get dirty over time. Take it through a car wash or give it a deep clean regularly to keep it sparkling.

You’ll thank yourself later.

2. Look at Your Radiator

Your radiator is responsible for keeping your engine cool under pressure. It does so with the help of coolant.

When doing maintenance, it’s important to check on your coolant levels.

Another thing that can affect your radiator is dirt. If it starts to build up, you might start to have problems.

While you’re checking on the coolant, also make sure to give your radiator a cleaning (or flush).

3. Treat Your Engine

When doing maintenance, you should use diesel treatment to rejuvenate your engine.

By using this, you’ll cleanse your engine of any foreign substances or objects. It will help prolong its life and keep it running at its best.

If you don’t do this with your regular maintenance on a diesel truck, you could be putting your engine at risk of corrosion. In this case, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

4. Let It Drain

Your water separator in your engine works similarly to a filter. It stops water in its tracks before it can contaminate your fuel.

When you’re doing your maintenance, you should be checking the water separator. You don’t want it to get too full, or it can cause some problems.

Luckily, this is one of the easiest steps to complete. Located near the fuel filter, all you have to do is open the drain and let the water out.

Once all the water is emptied, you’re good to go for another while. Just be sure to always keep an eye on this so that you don’t harm your diesel engine. Make it an important part of your diesel truck maintenance routine.

5. Change Your Oil

With any vehicle, oil is an important thing to change regularly. It should always have a place on your diesel truck maintenance checklist.

The oil keeps your engine running its best. Replacing oil can improve upon fuel mileage and give you other benefits as well.

However, it’s not as easy as grabbing a random type of oil off of the shelf.

There are different types of oil needed for different types of vehicles. For diesel engines, synthetic oil is typically what’s used.

If you’re uncertain about what type you need, we can help.

You might already make oil changes part of your maintenance routine. If you don’t, you should think about getting an oil change as soon as possible.

6. Inspect the Body

The inside parts of your truck are important, but the outside of your truck shouldn’t be neglected either. It protects the parts inside but also makes a statement to everyone who sees it.

You want it to look its best!

When caring for the body of your diesel truck, you should pay attention to all the external elements. One thing that you might notice is that there’s corrosion happening.

Many things can cause this, but it’s especially common for salt from the road to corrode the body.

Other things you should be looking out for are breaks, dents, or loss of paint. Be sure that your headlights are in working condition and not broken. Have a look at your windshield and verify that it is in good condition.

If you notice that anything needs repairs, it may be time to bring your truck in.

7. Filter It Out

Filters should be changed regularly. There are a few different types that you’ll need to know about your diesel truck maintenance.

You should check on the air, oil, and fuel filters. These should all be replaced regularly.

With regular changes, your engine will be in good shape.

8. Exhaust

Though it might be at the back of your mind, your exhaust is vulnerable to corrosion and rusting. This can be detrimental to your exhaust systems.

While doing maintenance, you should always make a point to look at your exhaust for these signs.

9. Tire Rotations

Tire rotations are important to have done regularly. By making this part of your diesel truck maintenance, you’re improving many of the functions of your truck. One of the best benefits of it is that it will help to keep you safe when driving.

It will also help your tires last longer, saving you money later.

10. Belt Check

Your truck has a few different belts that should be checked regularly. These include drive and fan belts.

As time goes on and these belts do their job, they start to wear out. In this case, they’ll need to be repaired.

Do You Need Diesel Truck Maintenance?

If you want your truck to last for many years, you should think about regular diesel truck maintenance. It will keep all the parts functioning and in good condition.

We provide diesel truck maintenance here at Diesel Performance Specialist. We can take care of anything from oil changes to headlight replacements. Your truck is in good hands here at our shop.

If you’re looking for maintenance in Rocklin, contact us to get booked today!

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