Inspections before / after Off-Roading?

[jahwild]

Im by no means a serious off-roader but as I’ve mentioned elsewhere I’m trying to build up my comfort level and competence in this skill.

One thing I like doing and have been doing is going fast on bumpier paths. Of course with this I sometimes underestimate how big of a dip is in front of me and might hit it a bit on the fast side…. Nothing feels broken when continuing to drive or appears broken from the outside but I would feel more comfortable knowing I did a somewhat thorough inspection of the area instead. Might be residual feelings from the drifting but it also feels a bit tight turning on pavement.

Ultimately just looking to get some guidance on how everyone inspects the vehicles before and after wheeling? What things to look out for in terms of physical response of vehicle or subtle hints of concern? What things are commonly damaged that could be worth keeping a spare on hand out in the wild for immediate repairs?

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[Valhalla]

Im by no means a serious off-roader but as I’ve mentioned elsewhere I’m trying to build up my comfort level and competence in this skill.

One thing I like doing and have been doing is going fast on bumpier paths. Of course with this I sometimes underestimate how big of a dip is in front of me and might hit it a bit on the fast side…. Nothing feels broken when continuing to drive or appears broken from the outside but I would feel more comfortable knowing I did a somewhat thorough inspection of the area instead. Might be residual feelings from the drifting but it also feels a bit tight turning on pavement.

Ultimately just looking to get some guidance on how everyone inspects the vehicles before and after wheeling? What things to look out for in terms of physical response of vehicle or subtle hints of concern? What things are commonly damaged that could be worth keeping a spare on hand out in the wild for immediate repairs?

I pressure wash the undercarriage after every outing. Gives me a through inspection of the working parts.

 

[Brian_B]

I pressure wash the undercarriage after every outing. Gives me a through inspection of the working parts.

Pretty much what I do too - give it a bath after I get back from every event. (Ceramic wax helps ~a lot~ with this).

One, because the trails out here are dusty AF, but yeah, you can see everything while going over it, and I tend to touch up the rock rash and stuff afterwards with either touchup brush or rattle can so chips and scrapes don't get worse or start rusting. Also hard to tell what/if anything is leaking if you don't keep it clean - a lesson I keep trying to teach my son but haven't won that fight yet.

Before I go I usually crawl under to unhook the front sway bar, and I check and make sure all the skid plate bolts are tight. I have had these back out on me on a trail, fortunately I caught it before I lost them but it's something I check every time now.

Another good tip is it helps to paint mark the bolts on the major items - especially suspension and driveline stuff so you can see at a glance if anything has shifted on you - most all of it is visible while you are washing without any disassembly or contorting into a pretzel.

 

[NC_Oak]

I use the bolt marking strips (vibratite makes) and then I can visually see if anything loosened. Beside that a visual makes you feel better. I cant really see much with skid plates covering everything, so I remove them all minus the fuel tank skid when changing oil

if nothing loosened, you can rest a little assured knowing if something breaks, you WILL know it

 

[UniBroncorn]

Im by no means a serious off-roader but as I’ve mentioned elsewhere I’m trying to build up my comfort level and competence in this skill.

One thing I like doing and have been doing is going fast on bumpier paths. Of course with this I sometimes underestimate how big of a dip is in front of me and might hit it a bit on the fast side…. Nothing feels broken when continuing to drive or appears broken from the outside but I would feel more comfortable knowing I did a somewhat thorough inspection of the area instead. Might be residual feelings from the drifting but it also feels a bit tight turning on pavement.

Ultimately just looking to get some guidance on how everyone inspects the vehicles before and after wheeling? What things to look out for in terms of physical response of vehicle or subtle hints of concern? What things are commonly damaged that could be worth keeping a spare on hand out in the wild for immediate repairs?

I off road very rough and on my second skid plate. First one I mushroomed in after hitting a jump or a whoop. The one I have now has huge dent on it from the same thing. After off roading my inspection is driving on the highway at triple digit speeds and if nothing is rattling or shaking then everything is good. My Braptor has absolutely no squeaks, rattles, or performance issues. I would not worry if I were you because even with a mushroomed in skid plate everything was fine!

 

[AZMikeL]

I pressure wash the undercarriage after every outing. Gives me a through inspection of the working parts.

I'd advise against power washing the undercarriage. Seals for rotating parts down there are not designed to handle water at high pressure. You can force dirt and sand into the seals and bearings. If you want to wash it down there, use the garden hose instead.

 

[jtgensler]

I learned the hard way to check my boots more frequently.
Had a torn tie rod end boot. Ended up costing me a steering rack after about a dozen water crossings in one day & not realizing I was getting water in the rack & it froze up overnight.
Now, before any big day of wheeling, I'm at least getting under it & checking tie rod & CV boots for obvious issues.

 

[Valhalla]

I'd advise against power washing the undercarriage. Seals for rotating parts down there are not designed to handle water at high pressure. You can force dirt and sand into the seals and bearings. If you want to wash it down there, use the garden hose instead.

I hear you, apparently you do not frequent windrock. That coal/clay mix with a swiss cheese mountain that weeps water always is hard to get off with pressure. I assure you I watch the tender places and wash from a distance on those.

 

[23OBX2.7]

I strongly suggest you get an "off road" spec dirt bike and maybe some mountain bike or dirt bike lessons or watch you tubes to quickly get a feel for what the different types of terrain really is and how to use momentum in the frame of a 5000 lb vehicle VS a 250 lb bike.

I personally will never take my bronco off roading other than mild trials it's just too slow, and too much damage can easily occur quickly that's costs he equivalent of a brand new high end off road bike...not to mention keep one very fit when down often in full body armor.

 

[MilesTeg]

Tires, tie rods and ball joints are the most common things that can maybe work at low speeds but break and lead to catastrophic crashes at higher speeds, so I check those after wheeling and before getting back on high speed roads.

After any offroad driving with rocks, I inspect the sidewalls of all 4 tires (outside AND inside) to make sure I did not damage a sidewall on a rock. Something that might hold together while going slow may turn into a blowout at highway speeds.

I give my ball joints & tie rods a look if I do anything demanding or if I had some kind of rough impact to the front wheels. I just look to see if anything obvious looks wrong like something bent or cracked or loose. Usually if you damage those you'll know right away (because your vehicle won't steer correctly and/or worse problems), but 30 seconds to peek at them is good peace of mind for me.

Also a good idea to check for leaking fluids -- mostly if you know or suspect you bottomed out somewhere. If you have full skid plates all the vital things (oil, transmission, gas tank) are well protected and it would be really, really hard to damage them without knowing. But, peeking under the vehicle or looking for drips on the ground is quick peace of mind too.

Most other things are not immediately dangerous and will just make the vehicle not handle well.

I change my own oil and other basic maintenance so I give the undercarriage a thorough look when I do -- on all my vehicles not just the Bronco.

If you don't know what all those things looks like (and what they SHOULD look like) you should familiarize yourself with the vehicle before wheeling. Even if you never plan to try to mechanic on your car, it's important to know. At the very least if you can correctly diagnose what's wrong you have a better chance of getting the right help. Knowing you have a broken tie rod can be the difference between someone driving out and helping you replace it vs the much larger expense of offroad recovery/towing you out.

On these Broncos, tie rods are a somewhat common trail break. If you plan to do anything moderate or more, it would not be a bad idea to carry a spare tie rod and learn how change them. They can be changed on the trail fairly easily with the right tools (though your alignment would need to be adjusted ASAP as changing a tie rod will screw up your alignment). Or, you can get emergency repair clamps (one brand called BroncBuster or something like that).

Other than that, I just stick to simple things like a tire repair kit, some basic tools, and duck tape/wire/zip ties for emergency repairs. Unless you are a skilled mechanic and carrying a ton of spare parts there's very little you'll be able to repair on a modern vehicle but those basic supplies could come in handy if something comes loose or you do something like damage a body panel and need to secure it to the vehicle. Nothing would suck more than being stranded for the lack of a screwdriver, hah.

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