Spike555
Thread starter
He’s contracted to do the work? How long till the contract expires? If it’s fairly soon then problem solved.
That’s what it’s looking like so far. The contract is up next year.
He’s contracted to do the work? How long till the contract expires? If it’s fairly soon then problem solved.
Why? It’s a push rod V8. Over head cam V10. When using the thinner oil, oil consumption is through the roof and the engines are nosey when hot.
I have never heard of that and have not thought that possible given the design of the system.My understanding of cam phasers is complete. They are hydraulic with electric servo assist.
And they are not operational on our trucks, commercial applications come with the cam phasers turned off. Yes they are there, but they do not do anything.
i never said Mag1 was a bad oil, what I said was he is over paying and going WAY to long between oil changes.
That’s what it’s looking like so far. The contract is up next year.
I have never heard of that and have not thought that possible given the design of the system.
Please provide a link to this information. Thank you.
After reading your post here is my take. I have owned a fleet of my own. I have had a garage that managed and repaired fleets.
Your job from what i gather is to manage the fleets. You have a contractor that does your maintenance.
Instead of micromanaging oil brands and viscosities i would first start a fact finding investigation.
Each Vehicle should have a service history along with every invoice on each vehicle.
You should be able to pull a vehicle folder and see when the last time it had brakes, air filter, oil change, etc. You should see that that vehicle had 4 sets of brake pads installed in the past 2 years or not.. You should see that a vehicle is due for spark plugs or possibly trans service by the mileage.
IF not then you and the mechanic are throwing darts blind. The driver sure as heck doesnt care or know.
For all that you know the contractor is buying parts and selling them on marketplace or ebay. Or to a local shop.
Your job is to manage the maintenance- buying oil filters cheap or worrying about a certain brand of oil could be the least of your worries.
How many miles are you getting off a set of tires? Your folder or spreadsheet will tell you in short time.
How much did it cost to maintain vehicle X for one year? Why does one vehicle cost 2X as much to maintain as the other?
IF you are the manager then ALL of the info on each vehicle needs to be in front of you.
And to be brutally honest you and the mechanic seem to be involving personal thoughts or feelings in a business situation.
Since he chooses the $6/qt oil and brand that you dont like- What is the actual cost of an oil change for your company using the current model? Is he getting paid by the hour to do these? Or do you have a certain agreement?
So in summary i would sit down and get an overall picture of your fleet in his hands. In short time you will see where the money is being lost or wasted- then you can do your job and fix the problems.
Financially manage the fleet first. Labor/Parts/Fluids/Supplies/Maintenace Schedules.
You are someones bottom line.. and the contractor and fleet is your bottom line.
Mine has a mix of 3 quarts 5w20 MC5K SM and 4 quarts 10w40 QSHM, it's what I had lying around in my stash. Seems quieter than when running 10w30, but that's purely anecdotal. I may try Xw40 next time, it's just that I have so much 5w and 10w30 in my stash. Maybe put a jug of 10w30 in and the last two quarts Supertech 20w50. Or sell some of my stash and buy some M1 Euro car.The Cam Phasers are Hydraulic that are controlled by a Electric over Hydraulic Solenoid. I take care of a fleet of 5.4L 3V Modular Fords which are the same as 6.8L 3V engines.
I run Supertech full synthetic 10w30 with great results, Though I wouldn't be opposed to using 15w40 year round in Texas, Might be a tad thick in areas with an actual winter??
Put him on a "performance improvement plan". That's ridiculous.He does not have time to shop for oil. He is going to the place 5 min from the shop, walking in and saying “hey Bill, I need 8 qts of…” and then walking out the door and handing me the bill for the oil.
He is going to do what is easiest for him.
He will not stay within a budget. I can’t even get him to write down when he does what.
I agree with Arco. This is micromanaging. If you are not happy with his performance that is another matter entirely but worrying about what products he's using is micromanaging. I would only question something like that if you're having actual repeat failures on the vehicles.
Either he is in charge of buying, or you are, figure it out and delegate it as necessary. If he is, let him do his thing and bring it up during the next contract negotiation. If he's not over his budget, you don't have much ammo.
Just about every company on earth deals with employees spending company money unnecessarily, or taking supplies, etc. The reality is it's a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme.
Yes my guess is the guy is likely getting a kickback from his seller!The $60 oil change would be fine if the oil was lasting 15-20k miles. Paying $60 for bare minimum oil is asinine.
He’s playing you.
Start looking for his replacement now. Hopefully his contract ends early in 2022.
There’s a much bigger issue than viscosity going on here. You’ve got a lazy arse person who knows he’s under contract, knows the money flows to him each week and that it will continue to flow until the contract ends.
Personally, I’d toss his tail out the door this afternoon but it doesn’t sound like you’ve kept detailed documentation as to his ultra low job performance. Otherwise, you might have a solid basis for sacking him now.
Is the contract with him personally?
This^^^^. Let him use the spec grade but switch the oil to synthetic to help with the sludge issue. See how it goes.