Medium/Heavy Truck · Test T8 · Preventive Maintenance Inspection
ASE T8 practice test: preventive maintenance inspection
T8, Preventive Maintenance Inspection (PMI), is the inspection test of the series: 60 questions (50 scored) in 75 minutes. Its questions ask you to check, measure and record against a limit more than to repair. Frame and chassis, which covers brakes, drivetrain, steering, tires and suspension, is 22 of the 50 scored questions.
50 scoredquestions that count
75 mintesting time
25questions on the recert test
15practice questions here
What T8 covers
Checked Oct 23, 2026 against each source linked in the table. Content areas and scored questions from the spec table in the 2026 study guide, p. 43.
During the PMI starter check at 500 A, the drop is 0.3 V across the positive cable and 0.3 V across the ground cable. The manufacturer's limit is 0.5 V total for a 12-volt system. The circuit:
Explanation
Incorrect: The positive side counts as much as the ground side.
Incorrect: The limit is for the total, so passing each cable on its own does not pass the circuit.
Correct: The 0.5 V limit is for the whole cranking circuit, so 0.3 V + 0.3 V = 0.6 V fails, and both sides need cleaning or repair.
Incorrect: Both cables are equal at 0.3 V; it is the 0.6 V total that fails, not the ground cable alone.
During a PMI, a crack is found in a heat-treated frame rail. Technician A says the crack must be corrected before the truck is released. Technician B says welding the crack and adding a fish plate is the OEM-preferred permanent repair. Who is right?
Explanation
Correct: A cracked frame rail is a structural defect that is fixed before release; Technician B is wrong because a heat-treated rail is replaced, not welded.
Incorrect: Welding ruins the heat treatment, so a weld with a fish plate is at most temporary; the permanent repair is a new rail, so Technician B is wrong.
Incorrect: Only Technician A is right; welding a heat-treated rail is not an approved permanent repair.
Incorrect: Technician A is right: the crack must be corrected before the truck goes back into service.
During a PMI, a tilt hood is properly aligned but will not stay securely latched. Technician A says a faulty hood-ajar sensor could prevent the hood from latching. Technician B says worn hood hold-down latches or hooks could cause this. Who is right?
Explanation
Incorrect: A hood-ajar sensor only reports the hood's position; it does not hold the hood or keep it from latching, so Technician A is wrong.
Correct: A hood that is aligned but will not stay latched points to worn hold-down latches or hooks; the hood-ajar sensor only sends a signal.
Incorrect: Only Technician B is right; the hood-ajar sensor has no part in holding the hood down.
Incorrect: Technician B is right: worn hold-down latches or hooks keep the hood from latching securely.
With adaptive cruise control set at 60 mph, the truck closes on a slower vehicle ahead. During the road test, the system should:
Explanation
Incorrect: Adaptive cruise is meant to keep working by slowing the truck, not to shut off when it sees a vehicle.
Incorrect: A full stop with the service brakes is not normal behavior; it slows only as much as the gap requires.
Incorrect: Holding set speed into a slower vehicle is how plain cruise control behaves, not adaptive cruise.
Correct: Adaptive cruise uses radar to slow the truck, with engine torque reduction, the engine brake and if needed the service brakes, to keep the set following gap.
Soon after an EGR cooler replacement, the road test shows coolant loss and white vapor at the stack, but there are no external leaks. The cause could be:
Explanation
Incorrect: A torn air filter lets dirt into the engine; it does not use up coolant.
Incorrect: SCR condensate does not explain a falling coolant level.
Correct: Coolant loss with white vapor at the stack and no external leak, right after the cooler was replaced, points to coolant passing into the exhaust gas inside the EGR cooler.
Incorrect: A stuck-closed EGR valve stops recirculation and sets a code, but it does not consume coolant.
During an annual inspection, a drag link ball-and-socket joint is checked with hand pressure for motion, other than rotation, at its attachment point. Under Appendix A to Part 396, the joint fails when this motion exceeds:
Explanation
Incorrect: 1/16 in is far below the Appendix A limit, so a joint with that much motion still passes.
Incorrect: 1/2 in is far past the limit; a joint fails long before that.
Correct: Appendix A fails a steering ball-and-socket joint that shows more than 1/4 in of non-rotational motion at its attachment point under hand pressure.
Incorrect: 1/8 in is also tighter than the federal limit.
This question contains the word EXCEPT. Under Appendix A to Part 396, a suspension fails the inspection if any of these is found EXCEPT:
Explanation
Correct: Light surface rust on a U-bolt is not a defect; Appendix A lists broken, missing or deflated spring parts and cracked or loose torque, radius or tracking parts.
Incorrect: A broken leaf in the spring pack is a listed defect.
Incorrect: A deflated air suspension (system failure or leak) is listed as a defect in its own right.
Incorrect: Appendix A fails any torque, radius or tracking part that is cracked, loose, broken or missing, with no further condition.
During an under-hood PMI, which of these leaks requires the truck to be held out of service until it is repaired?
Explanation
Correct: Fuel dripping onto a hot exhaust manifold is a fire hazard, and Appendix A fails any visible fuel leak, so the truck stays out of service until it is repaired.
Incorrect: A damp film at the water pump weep hole is monitored and recorded, not an out-of-service item.
Incorrect: A film on the power steering reservoir with no drip is a service item, not an out-of-service defect.
Incorrect: Slight oil seepage with no drip is recorded and scheduled, not a reason to hold the truck.
During a PMI, a technician services the coolant filter. Technician A says the coolant filter shutoff valves should be closed before the filter is removed. Technician B says the coolant's SCA level should be tested before choosing a precharged or non-precharged filter. Who is right?
Explanation
Incorrect: Closing the shutoff valves is right, but Technician B is right too: the SCA test decides which filter goes on.
Incorrect: Testing SCA first is right, and so is Technician A's step of closing the shutoff valves before removing the filter.
Correct: The shutoff valves keep coolant in the engine while the filter is off, and the SCA test result decides whether a precharged filter is needed, since too much SCA causes deposits and gel.
Incorrect: Both are standard coolant filter practice: close the shutoff valves, and test SCA before choosing the filter.
Answer every question to see your score
Area by area
Engine systems
10 scored questions: identifying the fuel or power type and its safety procedure, reviewing past records and driver reports, reading active and inactive codes, checking for oil, coolant, fuel and diesel exhaust fluid leaks, belts, mounts, cooling system and fuel tanks, and aftertreatment parts for damage or tampering.
Cab & hood
5 scored questions: warning lights and gauges, horns, safety equipment, seat belts, wipers and glass, mirrors, steps and grab handles, pedals, permits and inspection papers, cab mounts and the tilt cab.
Electrical/electronics
10 scored questions: batteries and cables, starting and charging checks, lighting and reflectors, trailer connections, and identifying high-voltage systems on electrified trucks.
Frame & chassis
22 scored questions. This is where T4 and T5 material comes back as inspection: brake adjustment and lining, air system checks, driveline and U-joints, steering lash, tread depth, wheels and hubs, springs, the frame and the fifth wheel.
Road/operational test
The smallest area at 3 scored questions: steering, braking, shifting and gauge behavior on the road test.
The inspection rules behind T8
Many T8 limits come from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations:
Annual inspection (396.17): every component listed in Appendix A to Part 396 must pass an inspection at least once in the preceding 12 months, with proof on the vehicle.
Inspection report (396.21): kept 14 months where the vehicle is housed or maintained.
Driver vehicle inspection report (396.11): not required when no defect is found or reported; when one is, the carrier repairs it or certifies that repair is unnecessary before the vehicle runs again, and keeps the report 3 months.
Limits you inspect against: tread depth in 393.75, brake lining and pushrod stroke in 393.47, steering lash in 393.209.
The CVSA out-of-service criteria are a separate roadside standard; when a question names one, use that one. All six sections were read on eCFR on Oct 23, 2026.
Inspect, record, then repair
Read what the stem asks. An inspection question wants the check, the measurement or the record. A repair can be correct work and still be the wrong answer to an inspection question.