You’ll find topics about how to enhance and upgrade various aspects of your vehicle to help it perform better off the beaten track. There are so many areas on off-road vehicles that can be enhanced that it’s a veritable rabbit hole to venture down.
However, once you’ve had your fun on the trails, there are a few things you need to do for your vehicle to ensure that it’s in peak health and continues to perform at its best. In this article, we will provide some crucial vehicle maintenance tips that you should perform after a thrilling session in the great outdoors. If you complete these after each foray, your vehicle can be kept in pristine shape and any issues quickly identified and addressed.
1. Clean Up Your Vehicle
Firstly, clean up your vehicle after each off-road adventure, especially if you’ve been mudbogging or dune bashing. A good clean-up ensures that dirt, mud, and other contaminants are removed from its paintwork and don’t remain on for long, where they can cause permanent marks and damage.
It’s also essential to clean the undercarriage, as well as the interior. As for the engine compartment, while you can hose it out on older off-roaders, newer ones with their sophisticated electronics may not take kindly to a pressure hose of water, so check the manufacturer’s recommendations for engine bay cleaning.
2. Check Your Tires
Your tires are the sole contact patch between the trails and your vehicle, and they can take a lot of abuse. Check the pressures once you return home, as well as the following day once the tires are cold.
Perform a visual inspection of your tires, looking for cuts, rips, bulges, blisters, or foreign objects embedded in them, as these can cause issues later on. Don’t forget to check your spare tires as well if you’ve used them, and tighten up any bead locks.
3. Check Your Transmission & Differentials
You need to check your differentials and transmission casings for any visual signs of dings and damage, as these can take a beating. If you’ve been driving through water, you should check their fluids, as a milky white coloration in the fluid signals water ingress and requires attention.
4. Check Shocks for Damage
Shock absorbers can take hits on the trail, especially on sharp rocks, and you should inspect these for damage, such as cuts, leaks, and other signs of damage. Inspect the bushings and mounts as well, since these have rubber components that can be torn or ripped.
5. Inspect Your Brakes
Sharp objects on trails can damage or even tear your brake lines, as can lifting a vehicle that hasn’t seen proper brake line extensions installed. Thoroughly inspect your brake lines for any signs of damage; even minor damage should be attended to at the earliest.
Don’t forget to inspect your brake pads, discs, and drums for debris too, especially if you’ve been driving in mud or sand. Particles may enter the brakes and cause scratches on the discs or drum linings.
6. Check Axle for Stress
This is particularly important if you’ve lifted your vehicle and fitted larger tires, as the axle components receive increased stress. Check the ball joints, knuckles, stub shafts, and boots. With your vehicle safely jacked up, give each wheel a good tug to check for looseness, wobbliness, or play in the axles.
7. Check Out Suspension Components
It’s not just shock absorbers that must be checked, but the entire suspension system. Components such as track arms, sway bars, control arms, springs and bump stops can all be damaged under enthusiastic or foolhardy off-roading techniques, and while these may not immediately cause issues, they can set the stage for more significant problems later on.
Don’t forget to check your steering box, steering rack, and steering components too. The last thing you want is a steering system failure somewhere down the line, especially if you’re at highway speeds.
8. Grease Joints & Bearings
Off-roading can quickly remove any grease or contaminate it, especially if you’re driving through deep water or in an extremely dusty environment. Once you’ve washed your undercarriage and checked everything else, it pays to re-grease the critical spots as specified by the manufacturer or aftermarket component supplier. Some components are marked by a small grease zerk or grease nipple to indicate that they must be greased, and your vehicle’s owner’s manual will specify the preferred type of grease.
9. Look for Cracks in Frame
An off-roader’s frame is tough, but not indestructible, and can be cracked under high impacts, especially if it’s not been adequately protected, such as when your shock absorbers are unable to handle a heavy impact for example. Once you’ve washed your undercarriage, this is the best time to thoroughly inspect the frame, with your vehicle placed on a hoist and with a powerful flashlight.
A cracked frame isn’t just an inconvenience but a massive safety issue that could very well render your vehicle unroadworthy. Focus on weld lines and high-stress areas, and try to inspect them from as many angles as possible since cracks may not always manifest on the most visible angles.
10. Take a Look at Your Engine
Finally, give your engine a thorough inspection. Check all belts and hoses for signs of wear and damage, replace any worn clamps or hooks, and inspect the engine from beneath as well. You want to ensure that bits such as the oil pan or sump haven’t received a heavy knock while on the trails. Fire up your engine, listen, and observe it too. Are there any odd sounds, or does the engine seem to be shaking around excessively?
Check out 4 Wheel Parts For Everything Off Road
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