Vehicle breakdowns in the monsoons are fewer today. But in the course of an entire wet season minor irritants can crop up. A thorough post-monsoon check-up is therefore necessary.

The monsoons failed to fulfill farmers’ expectations this time but have certainly not left the roads unaffected as the devastation on the busiest of roads bears enough evidence. The menace of potholes is reason enough for vehicles to require some attending to at garages for a check-up and more.

For garages and company authorised workshops the monsoons spell boom time with the more frequent vehicle breakdowns. It is generally cars used daily that are prone to failings. Its not only bad roads that cause the damage but the rain itself.

Water that enters rubber bellows on axles, greased components like bearing and also the steering rack and pinion, rubber bushing etc affect the mechanical efficiency of parts slowly but surely. Water corrodes mechanical parts like bearings that are incorporated in all the joints and rotating parts in the suspension of a car.

Corrosion in mechanical parts
Rust or corrosion in mechanical parts has adverse effect on the life of mechanical joints which are constantly in momentum when the car is in motion. Due to the rough surfaces where corrosion has occurred metal in the adjoining part of the joint that has to remain coupled will peel out. For example the wheel end of an axle assembly of a car has a universal bearing that is similar to a human knee joint. The bearing is housed in a thick metal cup which is excessively greased and then covered by a rubber below to avoid dust entering in. In case the cup and subsequently the bearing is not lubricated well, the bearing gets brushed frequently with the inner walls of the cup and both surfaces are damaged due to abrasion and would pose to be a problem in normal driving conditions. To avoid such circumstances ensure that all suspension joints and other parts that need lubrication get their layer of grease after the rains.

A wheel bearing (top left) corroded due to lack of lubrication. Mud blocks air flow through radiator slats (top right) and engine cooling is affected. Brake assembly back plate (above left) of a car is corroded due to water. An axle bellow (above right) keeps bearing dust-free.

Underbody lubrication
Spare parts of certain cars are available in the local market and nowadays most of them are spurious. Spurious parts are much cheaper than their original parts but have extremely small life-spans. These invariably lead to problems in the suspension systems. When low quality bushes are used, bad roads increase the chances of damaging the suspension further. This is passed on to the links in the system which ultimately ends in a high cost repair job.

When cars are given for repairs the suspension should not be sprayed with old brake oil, a practice common at many fuel stations. Rubber bushes are meant to be a rigid medium between the suspension and the body of the vehicle so that road shocks are not transferred to the car body and the passenger cabin. When a vehicle with oil-sprayed suspension is driven, it attracts dry dust and moreover the bushes slip away constantly from the place where they have to remain immobilised in different driving and road conditions to soak up shocks of varied intensity. Spirit in brake oil also tends to weaken the rubber.