Mechanic won’t use the oil I’ve chosen *update*

Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
281
Location
West Michigan
Original thread-https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanic-wont-use-oil-ive-chosen.346940/

FINALLY fired this guy on April 1st. He was doing whatever he wanted. Jerry rigging things. Sending trucks to the tire shop for a single tire when the tire could easily have been repaired.
Replacing brake pads on one wheel instead of the whole axle. Not knowing how to properly diagnosis diesel DPF and DEF issues, I have diesels going into re-gen mode 2-3 times a week and drinking DEF like it’s free.
On one of my diesel MT55’s he replaced the ignition switch three times because the truck would just shut off at random. I had a actual mechanic scan the truck with a proper scan tool and turns out the coolant temp sensor was bad. $35 part was sending a over heat signal to the ECU which was shutting the truck down in self protect mode. The temp gauge and ECU use separate sensors so the needle on the dash never gave any indication to a problem with the sensor.
The mechanic we are now using is a mobil mechanic, he only comes to our building once a week so I am still trying to find a local replacement.
In the mean time I am doing the PM’s on my trucks.
Here is a prime example of the kind of work the old mechanic did, or rather, didn’t do.

Factory installed oil filter. You can’t buy these oil filters aftermarket. Motorcraft you can, but not FoMoCo (Ford Motor Company) oil filters.

6ABE74B9-6B93-4B02-9410-16CDCF814D6A.jpeg


Not a single drop of grease anywhere on this truck. Steering drag link.
7B6234B3-C5BC-4E52-918A-54FB28B4A103.jpeg


King pin’s.
F97B9869-C5B0-4BD9-9619-0609FFF3AC3D.jpeg


This truck was brand new in October. I personally drove it from the dealer to our building. I was the first to drive it. And the first to change the oil. The oil smelled like roofing tar. It took almost a full tube of grease to grease it too.
3199D833-F1E5-47C8-B921-B6CB64176F2C.jpeg


I also changed the oil on two other vans, one had 30k on it’s last oil change, the other was more recent.
My job is more difficult as of right now until I am finished with triage on the fleet, then I can go back and tackle the next set of wounds.
The day’s I go down there are long, I leave home at 5am and do not return back home until around 8pm and drive 250-300 miles on those days.
It is worth it though. In the long run it is going to save our company money.
 
It sounds like you made the right call on firing him. While some oils can go 25,000 miles, the OEM fill is not one of them. That's shameful. That mechanic is bad, and he should feel bad.

Have you looked into a higher end oil? With how many miles these vehicles see, an oil that can go longer intervals with better base oils and additives may be the way to go. Price would likely come out the same or cheaper in the long run.
 
Holy crap, that mech has been operating like that for how many years there?

5-ish or more years. We bought this company last summer, the mechanic came with it. This division of our company is in another state, I am the fleet manager.
Once I figured out what was happening I tried to correct it. He didn’t listen, fought me every step. So I went to my superior, the company president, plead my case. He said we needed to hold fast for now. So, I held fast and stayed the current course.
We got through our “Final Four” season and now he is gone. Thank God.
The fleet is literally falling apart and costing us ton’s of money in repairs and break downs.
 
So, did you attempt to correct his ways. Seems if so then you let him loose on the world.

Oops I see your new post…
 
It sounds like you made the right call on firing him. While some oils can go 25,000 miles, the OEM fill is not one of them. That's shameful. That mechanic is bad, and he should feel bad.

Have you looked into a higher end oil? With how many miles these vehicles see, an oil that can go longer intervals with better base oils and additives may be the way to go. Price would likely come out the same or cheaper in the long run.

I have a oil supplier, I buy oil in bulk, $11.50/gal for syn blend HD diesel oil in 15w-40, I go 10k oil change intervals. I use this oil in everything except my 3 V6 dual overhead cam engines, where I use Mobil 1, still with 10k oil changes.

Ford uses full syn from the factory. These engines are rated for 10k with the factory fill. Simple pushrod V8 with no variable anything. Straight up cast iron block and aluminum heads big bore V8 made for working.
 
I would show them this after the fact, so they know he neglected their equipment and his job. Perhaps they will pay more attention to you in the future.

Boss man knows, he was starting to see it last year, now he is REALLY starting to see it as I have been turning the fleets overall reliability around and reducing operating and repair costs pretty quickly.

Boss man trusts me, problem was we had no one to take this guys place. And I did not have the time to take care of it then. I still don’t, but I do have more time now.
Basically things came to a head and had to be dealt with, the mechanic was a cancer and he had to be cut out with a clever.
I’m stopping the bleeding, then we move onto rehab.
 
Original thread-https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanic-wont-use-oil-ive-chosen.346940/

FINALLY fired this guy on April 1st. He was doing whatever he wanted. Jerry rigging things. Sending trucks to the tire shop for a single tire when the tire could easily have been repaired.
Replacing brake pads on one wheel instead of the whole axle. Not knowing how to properly diagnosis diesel DPF and DEF issues, I have diesels going into re-gen mode 2-3 times a week and drinking DEF like it’s free.
On one of my diesel MT55’s he replaced the ignition switch three times because the truck would just shut off at random. I had a actual mechanic scan the truck with a proper scan tool and turns out the coolant temp sensor was bad. $35 part was sending a over heat signal to the ECU which was shutting the truck down in self protect mode. The temp gauge and ECU use separate sensors so the needle on the dash never gave any indication to a problem with the sensor.
The mechanic we are now using is a mobil mechanic, he only comes to our building once a week so I am still trying to find a local replacement.
In the mean time I am doing the PM’s on my trucks.
Here is a prime example of the kind of work the old mechanic did, or rather, didn’t do.

Factory installed oil filter. You can’t buy these oil filters aftermarket. Motorcraft you can, but not FoMoCo (Ford Motor Company) oil filters.

View attachment 97391

Not a single drop of grease anywhere on this truck. Steering drag link.
View attachment 97392

King pin’s.
View attachment 97393

This truck was brand new in October. I personally drove it from the dealer to our building. I was the first to drive it. And the first to change the oil. The oil smelled like roofing tar. It took almost a full tube of grease to grease it too.
View attachment 97394

I also changed the oil on two other vans, one had 30k on it’s last oil change, the other was more recent.
My job is more difficult as of right now until I am finished with triage on the fleet, then I can go back and tackle the next set of wounds.
The day’s I go down there are long, I leave home at 5am and do not return back home until around 8pm and drive 250-300 miles on those days.
It is worth it though. In the long run it is going to save our company money.
I'm so sorry you had to go through this, what a gong show!

My best friend is a foreman for a large school bus operation. I've heard stories of guys like this, so I have a pretty good sense of the pain. You two would have some great conversations, lol.
 
I would perhaps insist on a new tire too.. Based on the weight of the vehicle I might have done that myself. I've never heard of a patch failing, but on a heavier commercial vehicle I'd probably get a new one. I am paranoid about tire failures at speed, since I had one. I was driving a F-350 on the highway for work, unladen. Rear tire literally blew out in a less than a second and the rear swung sideways, also less than a second. Thankfully the road was empty. So I wouldn't run a patch on a heavy vehicle because of my experience..
 
5-ish or more years. We bought this company last summer, the mechanic came with it. This division of our company is in another state, I am the fleet manager.
Once I figured out what was happening I tried to correct it. He didn’t listen, fought me every step. So I went to my superior, the company president, plead my case. He said we needed to hold fast for now. So, I held fast and stayed the current course.
We got through our “Final Four” season and now he is gone. Thank God.
The fleet is literally falling apart and costing us ton’s of money in repairs and break downs.
Sounds like its time to replace the fleet, I'd start researching fleet programs. Start a presentation showing the absolute full cost of breakdowns. Towing, repairs, business reputation loss due to time issues, and waste of technicians time cost to the company. Get a future cost estimation and compare it to the cost of a new fleet.
That's what I would do and I'd present it to the pres and make your case. Hopefully he'd seriously consider a new fleet, or at least replacements for vehicles over XXXXX miles.

Good luck and get those prices going!
 
Original thread-https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/mechanic-wont-use-oil-ive-chosen.346940/

FINALLY fired this guy on April 1st. He was doing whatever he wanted. Jerry rigging things. Sending trucks to the tire shop for a single tire when the tire could easily have been repaired.
Replacing brake pads on one wheel instead of the whole axle. Not knowing how to properly diagnosis diesel DPF and DEF issues, I have diesels going into re-gen mode 2-3 times a week and drinking DEF like it’s free.
On one of my diesel MT55’s he replaced the ignition switch three times because the truck would just shut off at random. I had a actual mechanic scan the truck with a proper scan tool and turns out the coolant temp sensor was bad. $35 part was sending a over heat signal to the ECU which was shutting the truck down in self protect mode. The temp gauge and ECU use separate sensors so the needle on the dash never gave any indication to a problem with the sensor.
The mechanic we are now using is a mobil mechanic, he only comes to our building once a week so I am still trying to find a local replacement.
In the mean time I am doing the PM’s on my trucks.
Here is a prime example of the kind of work the old mechanic did, or rather, didn’t do.

Factory installed oil filter. You can’t buy these oil filters aftermarket. Motorcraft you can, but not FoMoCo (Ford Motor Company) oil filters.

View attachment 97391

Not a single drop of grease anywhere on this truck. Steering drag link.
View attachment 97392

King pin’s.
View attachment 97393

This truck was brand new in October. I personally drove it from the dealer to our building. I was the first to drive it. And the first to change the oil. The oil smelled like roofing tar. It took almost a full tube of grease to grease it too.
View attachment 97394

I also changed the oil on two other vans, one had 30k on it’s last oil change, the other was more recent.
My job is more difficult as of right now until I am finished with triage on the fleet, then I can go back and tackle the next set of wounds.
The day’s I go down there are long, I leave home at 5am and do not return back home until around 8pm and drive 250-300 miles on those days.
It is worth it though. In the long run it is going to save our company money.
tl;dr I am sure most of us figured you'd fire the guy.

Good job.
 
I'm glad everything was able to get sorted out. I just can't understand the mindset that guy seemed to have. Why even be in that line of work when you so clearly don't give a darn about keeping vehicles operable? Was it ignorance or laziness?

With the way things are right now, I wouldn't worry about trying to replace the fleet. Based on the pricing I've been seeing on commercial vehicles, you'd be paying way more than you likely would two or three years from now. If basic triage and catching up on maintenance can get you down the road, that is preferable to buying vehicles right now, IMO. I have not liked the prices I've been seeing the last year or so, and I've been keeping an eye on it because I've got some aging vehicles in my fleet. Unless something catastrophic happens with them, we'll be keeping them longer than the usual amount of time.
 
Trouble with executive level folks…they honestly don’t know enough about vehicles to connect with the impending situation of no/poor service and maintenance issues and what will eventually happen. They will however get pissed when the fleet repairs and downtime starts cutting into the company’s profit margin.
 
Trouble with executive level folks…they honestly don’t know enough about vehicles to connect with the impending situation of no/poor service and maintenance issues and what will eventually happen. They will however get pissed when the fleet repairs and downtime starts cutting into the company’s profit margin.
Not all of us c-suite types know nothing about vehicles. ;) Some of us still prefer working with our hands when we get the chance.

That being said, money is always the ultimate deciding factor. Sometimes you need to cut costs short term in exchange for higher costs long term (and higher PITA factor short term) if you can't afford the higher cost short term but are fairly certain you can afford the increase in the long run. The trick is to stop stacking on long term costs as soon as you can afford the higher short term costs.
 
I would perhaps insist on a new tire too.. Based on the weight of the vehicle I might have done that myself. I've never heard of a patch failing, but on a heavier commercial vehicle I'd probably get a new one. I am paranoid about tire failures at speed, since I had one. I was driving a F-350 on the highway for work, unladen. Rear tire literally blew out in a less than a second and the rear swung sideways, also less than a second. Thankfully the road was empty. So I wouldn't run a patch on a heavy vehicle because of my experience..

Replacing a $300 tire (my discounted cost) vs patching is not a good business decision. If that tire is still good, patch it as long as it is repairable.
Always replace tires in pairs. If you do have to replace a single tire due to a blow out, go used until you can get to your tire dealer and get a matching pair of tires.
As long as you are not speeding, a blow out will not cause you to lose control. Doing 80 in the rain and a steer tire blows out, you’re gonna be in the ditch.
A loaded vehicle is going to handle better in such a situation as what happened to you, more weight on the road means more contact patch with the tire and the road, more contact patch means more traction, which means more control.
 
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