Oil change interval for fleet

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Hello Gang!
I run a small fleet of Ford E-series wheelchair vans (90% city, 9.5% highway, 0.5% idle)They are on OEM recomended 5W20 Motorcraft with Motorcraft filters. Schedule says 5k interval heavy duty use, 7.5K "normal" use. I think I should consider my application "heavy-duty" Question - should I stick with OEM recommendation or like in all my other personal cars I use M1 extended with extended filter once a year. I agree once a year for "industrial" application should be a bit of a stretch but maybe twice a year? Thoughts? Thanks!
 
With Mobil 1 you should be able to extend intevals, but it would be great to do so with a UOA . Maybe 7500miles or every 6 months.
 
while motorcraft is a good/safe choice - you have the perfect opportunity to run extended drains and take advantage of the benefits of M1....
 
OEM recommended...for severe use....is perfect

Motorcraft Syn/Blend 5w20...is a great oil BTW
Motorcraft Filters are just the right combo for the above.

If you would want to extend OCI's....say to 7000 +/- then move to a synthetic like M-1 or PP 5w20.
 
thanks, about 120-150 miles per day, about 12 hours, around 3000 per month. M1 extended+ extended filter is guaranteed for 15K miles - not sure if it is a good choice for this application??? what ya all think?
 
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best way would be to get a UOA @ 5,000 with the motorcraft oil.

depending on how it looks you might be able to go to the 7,500 oci

your in a unique situation, a UOA gives you a baseline and to better judge how long the OCI can be.
 
Man, for that kind of application I would buy UOAs in bulk, run multiple tests on each van and arrive at conservative protocol you can rely on for the life of your fleet.
 
Follow the sever service intervals with some motorcraft.

They made the van, they know what they are talking about.

you do alot of idling i assume, change it our every two months.

no need to over-analyze this.

good luck!
 
Originally Posted By: aristokratika
Hello Gang!
I run a small fleet of Ford E-series wheelchair vans (90% city, 9.5% highway, 0.5% idle)They are on OEM recomended 5W20 Motorcraft with Motorcraft filters. Schedule says 5k interval heavy duty use, 7.5K "normal" use. I think I should consider my application "heavy-duty" Question - should I stick with OEM recommendation or like in all my other personal cars I use M1 extended with extended filter once a year. I agree once a year for "industrial" application should be a bit of a stretch but maybe twice a year? Thoughts? Thanks!

Originally Posted By: aristokratika
thanks, about 120-150 miles per day, about 12 hours, around 3000 per month. M1 extended+ extended filter is guaranteed for 15K miles - not sure if it is a good choice for this application??? what ya all think?

3k miles a month mostly city and a lot of idle is tough on oil, I would not go beyond 10-12k miles with Mobil 1 EP oil and filter. You should do OCI at 4 months or may be 3 months.
 
An oil/filter change should be a small part of your fleet's preventive maintenance service. At every service visit, these vans should be getting a thorough inspection to find and correct any safety issues. Therefore, a shorter interval is prudent (5k or less).
 
Originally Posted By: aristokratika
Hello Gang!
I run a small fleet of Ford E-series wheelchair vans (90% city, 9.5% highway, 0.5% idle)They are on OEM recomended 5W20 Motorcraft with Motorcraft filters. Schedule says 5k interval heavy duty use, 7.5K "normal" use. I think I should consider my application "heavy-duty" Question - should I stick with OEM recommendation or like in all my other personal cars I use M1 extended with extended filter once a year. I agree once a year for "industrial" application should be a bit of a stretch but maybe twice a year? Thoughts? Thanks!


The heavy duty spec is adequate for these vans if they do not tow or get otherwise abused.

Idling is nearly irrelevant in a modern engine nowadays.

For comparison, our GM Savana 3500's which weigh over 9000 pounds every minute go about 4400 miles before the OLM illuminates in an extremely heavy duty cycle.
 
I'd use Mobil 1 with a good filter, do a UOA @ 5,000 miles which is your severe service interval. Post the results of the UOA to help determine what a good OCI would be for your vehicles. Keep in mind this would only apply to the entire fleet if the usage pattern is very similar to the vehicle you pulled the oil sample from. For the sake of argument, if one vehicle has a leaky injector or a slight head gasket leak this method won't work unless you sample the entire fleet.
 
Thank you for all good replies and thoughts! All vehicles are utilized in the same way wheelchair transportation. They really do not carry much of a load - 2 wheelchairs at a time with clients say 1000 pounds at most. They idle 5-10 minutes here and there while loading/offloading via WC lift. 5 qt jug 5w20 Motorcraft is 25.99 or so. Walmart does not have Mobile one 5w20 in a jug only quarts. I usually buy extended for my private cars with good results. So is there a consensus on 5W20 Mobile one extended in quarts with extended Mobile One filter for 10K miles? Thanx!
 
You should be able to find qts of MOBIL 1 at wal mart no problem. I am usin M1 0W40 in my civic, but have used m1 0w20 and 5w20 without problems.
 
Originally Posted By: aristokratika
thanks, about 120-150 miles per day, about 12 hours, around 3000 per month. M1 extended+ extended filter is guaranteed for 15K miles - not sure if it is a good choice for this application??? what ya all think?


This would be an ideal choice for your situation. Around here WM sells 5-20EP by the jug. Check yours.
 
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Why are you buying jugs of oil? Each van goes through almost a 55 gallon drum of oil each year. Whatever you get, buy bulk. See what you can get from a local distributor. Or maybe call Mag 1 and get a good quality, lower cost synthetic oil.
 
Originally Posted By: C4Dave
Why are you buying jugs of oil? Each van goes through almost a 55 gallon drum of oil each year. Whatever you get, buy bulk. See what you can get from a local distributor. Or maybe call Mag 1 and get a good quality, lower cost synthetic oil.

+1
 
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