Whats the most damaging factors for your engines?
Discussion
Hi, I'm running small fleet of vans with 5-6 drivers (Transits, Sprinters, some others). Within a few years i had some serious problems with the engines, mostly crankshaft shells. First we were rebuilding them, however they failed after year or so again, so more cheaper are to buy second hand engines, as they even lasting longer than rebuilt ones.
Our vans doing door to door stops and covering up to 30k miles per year. Mostly town drive with lots of idling and 1-3 gear run. Servicing 2-3 times per year.
Any advice how to prolong the engine lives and at ideas why crankshaft shells are so weak? Would more often oil changes help or it's something other to do?
Our vans doing door to door stops and covering up to 30k miles per year. Mostly town drive with lots of idling and 1-3 gear run. Servicing 2-3 times per year.
Any advice how to prolong the engine lives and at ideas why crankshaft shells are so weak? Would more often oil changes help or it's something other to do?
We did the maths, and used vans up to 100k miles cost less than leased ones, even with failing engines.
So far the worst we have is 2008 Sprinter with 646 engine. Owner before me doing deliveries changed 2 engines under the warranty van covered only 90k miles. now its 260k and i already changed 2 engines. Then the transits mk7 with 2.4tdci with same issues. Movano's had injectors problems and slipped cambelts.
So far the worst we have is 2008 Sprinter with 646 engine. Owner before me doing deliveries changed 2 engines under the warranty van covered only 90k miles. now its 260k and i already changed 2 engines. Then the transits mk7 with 2.4tdci with same issues. Movano's had injectors problems and slipped cambelts.
Edited by marteuk on Saturday 5th May 10:31
I'll be interested to hear the replies to this. I like learning new ways to better care for my car engines.
My guess is that they are getting thrashed from cold many times per day and doing so many start up and turn offs they never get fully warm.
Maybe a thinner oil that works well at low temperatures and morenl frequent changes.
Is there some type of device that will let the engine be left running but locked when making a delivery ?
My guess is that they are getting thrashed from cold many times per day and doing so many start up and turn offs they never get fully warm.
Maybe a thinner oil that works well at low temperatures and morenl frequent changes.
Is there some type of device that will let the engine be left running but locked when making a delivery ?
Bearings need a film of oil so the wrong quality , viscosity or contamination will cause issues,
on hard start stop short runs I would half the change interval and make sure you use a branded oil of the correct grade and also genuine oil filters if they are the canister spin on type as some cheap ones don't have the anti drain back valve so every time you start it takes longer to build oil pressure...
other than that driver behaviour like taking off the moment they start the engine might be an issue ..
on hard start stop short runs I would half the change interval and make sure you use a branded oil of the correct grade and also genuine oil filters if they are the canister spin on type as some cheap ones don't have the anti drain back valve so every time you start it takes longer to build oil pressure...
other than that driver behaviour like taking off the moment they start the engine might be an issue ..
Would be interesting to treat half your fleet with something like slick50 and see if it's snake oil or if it helps.
As its bearing shells then it's mechanical wear ?, must be to do with the 'unusual' use these vans get which would be repeated drive off from idle ?, probably with full throttle ? Maybe not enough oil pressure at idle to have a stable oil wedge that's just ocassionally allowing wear for a split second ?
I've no idea if these oil treatments actually do any good, but it might help in your case ?
As its bearing shells then it's mechanical wear ?, must be to do with the 'unusual' use these vans get which would be repeated drive off from idle ?, probably with full throttle ? Maybe not enough oil pressure at idle to have a stable oil wedge that's just ocassionally allowing wear for a split second ?
I've no idea if these oil treatments actually do any good, but it might help in your case ?
marteuk said:
We did the maths, and used vans up to 100k miles cost less than leased ones, even with failing engines.
So far the worst we have is 2008 Sprinter with 646 engine. Owner before me doing deliveries changed 2 engines under the warranty van covered only 90k miles. now its 260k and i already changed 2 engines. Then the transits mk7 with 2.4tdci with same issues. Movano's had injectors problems and slipped cambelts.
Do the maths again.So far the worst we have is 2008 Sprinter with 646 engine. Owner before me doing deliveries changed 2 engines under the warranty van covered only 90k miles. now its 260k and i already changed 2 engines. Then the transits mk7 with 2.4tdci with same issues. Movano's had injectors problems and slipped cambelts.
Edited by marteuk on Saturday 5th May 10:31
Vat as a deposit - so effectively no deposit as you are a vat registered business.
Hire Purchase agreement over three years on Peugeot Boxer vans comes out at under £400 a month and after three years you own it.
That’s the cheapest way of doing 30k miles a year in a van.
my first thought would be the quality of the oil and the frequency of the changes.
what brand oil and filters are you using and how often are you changing it?
if you have 2 similar vans treat one to more regular oil changes to see if it lasts longer before failure.
Or, offer a large bonus to the driver who can do the most miles without breaking their engine ? Run a reliability or longevity competition between the drivers?
what brand oil and filters are you using and how often are you changing it?
if you have 2 similar vans treat one to more regular oil changes to see if it lasts longer before failure.
Or, offer a large bonus to the driver who can do the most miles without breaking their engine ? Run a reliability or longevity competition between the drivers?
nickofh said:
I'll be interested to hear the replies to this. I like learning new ways to better care for my car engines.
My guess is that they are getting thrashed from cold many times per day and doing so many start up and turn offs they never get fully warm.
Maybe a thinner oil that works well at low temperatures and morenl frequent changes.
Is there some type of device that will let the engine be left running but locked when making a delivery ?
I can't help wonder whether the oil being used for servicing might be part of the problem.My guess is that they are getting thrashed from cold many times per day and doing so many start up and turn offs they never get fully warm.
Maybe a thinner oil that works well at low temperatures and morenl frequent changes.
Is there some type of device that will let the engine be left running but locked when making a delivery ?
Also, smaller engines running higher boost should warm up faster, so for the same hp rating maybe choose a 1.6 instead of a 2.0 so it warms up sooner and as a side bonus it should use less fuel when idling or at low load.
If the vans are doing lots of stop start, long hours and low miles, it might be worth moving to an hours based servicing regime rather than miles. That is for oil, filters and belts.
Sample oils for analysis to identify trends and modify the servicing regime accordingly.
When I was an apprentice mechanic in 1990, the post office had a nightmare with Escort diesel vans, snapping cam belts well before the 36k service intervals. The hrs vs miles was disproportionately high.
Sample oils for analysis to identify trends and modify the servicing regime accordingly.
When I was an apprentice mechanic in 1990, the post office had a nightmare with Escort diesel vans, snapping cam belts well before the 36k service intervals. The hrs vs miles was disproportionately high.
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