The rubber parts of the truck also need maintenance

Rubber parts, as a soft material, are mainly used for connection and protection between moving parts. The sealing and insulation of truck doors and windows are all isolated by rubber sealing strips.

Another very important thing is that tires are also made of rubber. Let's talk about them one by one.

 Window Rubber Strip

There is a rubber seal around the window glass to isolate the inside and outside of the cab. In addition to sound insulation and noise reduction, it can also protect against wind and rain.

If you don't develop a good habit of regular cleaning, it may leak on rainy days.

Therefore, when cleaning the vehicle, you can use a wet towel or high-pressure gas to clean the sealing strip of the window frame.

Door sealing strip

In addition to the window seals mentioned above, there are one or even two layers of seals around the doors to isolate external noise, dust and rain. However, rubber is one of the most susceptible parts of the car to aging. Over time, these seals will slowly crack or even break.

Some people may find that in winter, it may take more effort to close the vehicle door. This is because rubber products are affected by the temperature in winter, the door seal becomes harder and less elastic than before, which is a manifestation of rubber aging.

Vehicle door rubber bellow

Nowadays, more and more trucks are equipped with electric windows, electrically adjustable rearview mirrors, and even electric heating, which greatly improves the driving comfort of truck drivers. But at the same time, in order to power these devices, there are many more wire harnesses between the cab and the door. In order to protect these wire harnesses, the manufacturer covers the wire harnesses with a layer of rubber bellows. After a long time, this bellows is prone to aging and cracking, and dust and rainwater may flow into the pipeline, causing equipment failure or short circuit.

Engine belts, air hoses, cooling water pipes

Many of the air and water circuits of our truck engines are connected by rubber hoses. For example, the connecting hose of the intercooler, the inlet and return pipes of the engine cooling water tank, etc., are all connected by rubber hoses.

If the hoses in these places age and rupture, it will cause the vehicle engine to work abnormally. Therefore, we should pay attention to the aging of these parts during daily maintenance and prevent them in advance.

In addition, the engine belt of the truck is also worth paying attention to. The belt is not only subjected to the tension of the tensioner, but also responsible for pulling other idler wheels, water pumps and other equipment, and the operating temperature is also high. Moreover, the belt is outside the engine and will be worn and contaminated by foreign objects.

Suspension, tie rod

In order to increase the comfort of passengers and the safety of cargo, truck manufacturers use rubber as a buffer in the suspension, connecting rods and other parts. The air springs used in high-end tractors are also rubber products.

If your truck is prone to making metal-on-metal or rubber-squeaking noises while driving, there may be a problem with the tie rod rubber somewhere in the truck.

Wiper blades

The wiper blades are the most exposed to the sun and wind. If you find that the wiper blades cannot clean the window glass or make strange noises when working, it means that the rubber of the wiper blades is aging. At this time, it is best to replace the wiper blades in time to avoid loss of vision in rainy and snowy weather, which affects driving safety.

Tires

As the only part in contact with the ground, the importance of tires is self-evident. Tires are also made of rubber. In addition to maintaining the correct tire pressure and regularly cleaning the stones in the pattern, we should also regularly perform four-wheel alignment for the vehicle to ensure that the tire angle parameters are correct and avoid abnormal wear.

In order to make vehicles quieter and more comfortable, OEMs are increasingly using rubber parts. Although our owner's manuals rarely mention the maintenance of rubber parts, we should still pay attention to the health of these parts during maintenance.