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Gasoline Engine Case Study with
Guardian Pest Control.
Learn how switching to AMSOIL
lubricants has saved Guardian Pest Control tens of thousands of
dollars.
• Fewer Oil Changes
• Reduced Downtime
• Less Waste Oil
• Reduced Maintenance Costs
• Extended Equipment Life
Guardian Pest Control
Guardian Pest Control is a family owned and operated firm located in
Duluth, Minn. R. David Wick founded Guardian Pest Control in 1966
with a single service technician. Today Wick is on the Guardian
staff as a consultant, and sons Jason and Jeffrey Wick serve as
President and Vice President of the firm. Guardian Pest Control
offers programs and services to residential, commercial and
industrial clients that include integrated pest management, organic
pest management,
rodent control, bird management and many more.
Extreme Conditions
Guardian’s fleet of over 60 vehicles provides service to urban and
rural areas in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan’s Upper
Peninsula and the eastern Dakotas. The majority of the service
trucks Guardian employs are Ford F150 2-wheel drive pickups with V6
engines and manual transmissions. The fleet is subjected to all
types of severe driving conditions. Trucks used in urban settings
are subjected to stop-and-go driving, short trips and prolonged
idling, while the rural units accumulate thousands of miles on dirt
roads. The trucks also operate in extreme heat and subzero
temperatures.
Before AMSOIL
Before converting to AMSOIL motor oil every truck in the fleet was
running conventional petroleum
oil. Oil changes were performed at 3,000- to 5,000-mile intervals.
Oil Changes
Six quarts of oil at an average price of $1.85 per quart is $11.10.
That plus the $4.88 for the average cost of an oil filter equals
$15.98 for an oil change per truck, not counting labor. With 60
vehicles in operation, Guardian paid $958.80 to change oil in the
entire fleet. At an
average of one oil change per month per vehicle Guardian paid
$11,505.60 per year to change oil in
its fleet using conventional motor oil.
Downtime
Guardian’s trucks easily accumulate 3,000 miles every month,
oftentimes more. Using conventional
oil, the company’s trucks came in once a month for oil changes and
routine maintenance. That equates
to each truck being in the shop 12 days out of the year. With 60
trucks that is 720 days a field technician either works only a
partial day or not at all. If each oil change takes 30 minutes,
performing
720 oil changes requires 360 hours of labor in addition to other
routine maintenance the trucks
require. At $20.00 per hour for maintenance labor, 360 hours of
labor cost Guardian $7,200.00.
Waste Oil
Each truck produces six quarts of waste-oil once per month. With 60
vehicles, that’s 360 quarts
per month and 4,320 quarts or 1,080 gallons per year. This is a
tremendous amount of unnecessary
waste, and disposing of used oil is typically very costly.
Vehicle Replacement
At an average of 36,000 miles per year, Guardian’s trucks reached
150,000 miles and needed to be
replaced every 4.2 years. The base price on a 2007 Ford F150 is
$19,200, without tax. Using
conventional motor oil, changing oil in one truck for 4.2 years cost
Guardian $1,309.39, bringing the
total lifetime cost of the vehicle to $20,509.39. That means each
truck cost Guardian $4,883.19
per year or $0.14 per mile to operate.
After AMSOIL
In 1997, Guardian Pest Control converted its entire fleet of
vehicles to AMSOIL Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oil and AMSOIL filters. Oil
changes are performed
every 12,000 to 15,000 miles.
Oil Changes
Six quarts of AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil at $5.70 per quart
(commercial pricing) is $34.20. That plus $11.85 for an AMSOIL
EaO-34 oil filter is $46.05 for an oil change per truck, not
counting labor. With 60 vehicles in operation, it costs Guardian
$2,763.00 to change oil in the entire
fleet. An average of one oil change every four months per vehicle
costs Guardian $8,289.00 per year to change oil in its entire fleet
using AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oil. That’s a savings of $3,216.60
per year on oil costs alone.
Downtime
Reducing the frequency of visits for routine maintenance and oil
changes has benefited Guardian
substantially. It has prevented the company from having to employ
additional mechanics and
allowed it to remain in its current facility without adding on to
the shop space. Vehicles now come
in for service an average of once every four months. That equates to
each truck being in the shop three days out of the year. With 60
trucks that is 180 days a field technician is not in the field, 540
days less than when using conventional motor oil. If each oil change
takes 30 minutes, performing 180 oil changes requires 90 hours of
labor. At $20.00 per hour for maintenance labor, 90 hours of labor
costs Guardian $1,800.00. That is 270 hours of labor and $5,400.00
saved simply by switching to
AMSOIL. Reducing stress on the facility and savings on labor aside,
the peace of mind and convenience provided by extended oil drain
intervals with AMSOIL have proved invaluable for Guardian. Downtime
has been reduced and trucks and technicians spend more time in the
field.
Waste Oil
Each truck produces six quarts of waste-oil per oil change. With 60
vehicles being serviced every four months, that’s 360 gallons per
year. By switching to AMSOIL Guardian Pest Control prevents the
disposal of 720 gallons of waste-oil every year. The environmental
impact of this savings is enormous.
It also frees up shop space that would be eaten up by drums of used
oil.
Vehicle Replacement
The superior protection of AMSOIL has allowed Guardian to keep its
trucks in service longer than
previously possible. At an average of 36,000 miles per year,
Guardian’s trucks reach 200,000 miles
and need to be replaced every 5.6 years. The base price on a 2007
Ford F150 is $19,200, without
tax. Using AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oil, changing oil in one truck for
5.6 years cost Guardian
$941.64, bringing the total lifetime cost of the vehicle to
$20,141.64. That means each truck cost
Guardian $3,596,72 per year or $0.10 per mile to operate. That’s a
savings of $1,286.47 or $0.04 per mile per truck, per year. In a
fleet of 60 vehicles that translates to a savings of $77,188.20 per
year or $2.40 per mile.
What This Means For Guardian
Extended drains have allowed Guardian to go from changing the oil in
each truck every month,
to changing oil once every three to six months. The company reduced
the amount of waste-oil produced and lessened the demand on its
facility and trucks. Guardian employs one mechanic that
services the entire fleet and the trucks remain in service longer
than previous units. Before switching
to AMSOIL, the trucks would be replaced after attaining around
150,000 miles. Now Guardian
retains its trucks until after they have accumulated over 200,000
miles, keeping most trucks in
service for five or more years. This has led to a high level of
satisfaction and money saved for Guardian. “We are using the oil
because we believe in the oil,” said Guardian President Jason Wick.
“It has been beneficial to us because we aren’t having any service
issues with engines, it has reduced maintenance costs and added the
convenience of extended drain intervals.”
Engine main bearing halves show very little
wear and are still suitable for continued use.
The inside of the engine oil pan was very
clean. There were no sludge deposits found in the bottom of
the pan.
It is incredible that the fleet has quadrupled in
size and Guardian has not had to add another mechanic. Even more
amazing is that more trucks could be added without having to hire
additional maintenance help. “There is a lot of room for growth
without adding another person,” said Wick. Trucks returning for
service less frequently not only alleviated a great deal of strain
on Guardian’s facility, it meant they are spending more time in the
field. “If the truck is down, my guy isn’t working and that’s not
productive,” said Wick. He listed convenience as the number one
benefit Guardian receives from using AMSOIL products. “Convenience
is absolutely number one,” said Wick. “We try to change oil at
12,000 miles, but if we go past, it’s not a big deal, I know our
trucks are protected with AMSOIL.” The reliability, integrity and
convenience of the oil has led Guardian to start stocking more
AMSOIL products. The trucks are being converted to AMSOIL ATF, Gear
Lube, Grease and more. “Like I said, we believe in the benefits and
the superiority of AMSOIL,” said Wick. “When you’re talking about
50-plus vehicles putting on a few thousand miles per month, we are
not having engine problems.”
Truck Tear-Down
AMSOIL purchased one of Guardian’s service trucks and disassembled
the engine. The test
truck is a Ford F150 two-wheel drive manual transmission unit with
225,000 miles. AMSOIL
has been performing used oil analysis on Guardian’s fleet since
April 2005, and tested emissions
and the catalytic converter on the truck the company purchased from
Guardian. The accompanying
photos detail the condition of the 225,000-mile engine at the
tear-down.
The inside of the valve cover was very clean.
There were no sludge or heavy varnish deposits present. Note
that you can still read the manufacturer’s markings.
The oil pickup tube was very clean. There
were minimal carbon deposits in the pickup tube screen.
The underside view of the camshaft shows no
visible wear. There were no signs of deposits or varnish.
Note the oil is still clinging to the camshaft. This picture
was taken three days after the engine oil was drained and
the engine pan removed, which indicates the AMSOIL engine
oil was staying on crucial engine areas.
The rear main bearing cap and oil seal were
in good condition. The rear seal was very pliable and still
in tact,
showing no signs of deterioration.
The head and rocker arms were very clean
and free of
heavy deposits. Note that you can still see the
honeycomb
stamping and manufacturer’s part number. This is
normally an area of the engine where you would see heavy
varnish deposits with a conventional engine oil.
The lower crankcase area was very clean
and free of any sludge deposits. The rear main bearing
journal was removed showing no signs of visible wear on
the crankshaft journal.
A wider view of the head and rockers. Very
clean.
A closeup view of the rear main crankshaft
journal. No visible wear detected.
Emissions Test Results
AMSOIL had an emission analysis performed on the truck the company
purchased from Guardian. The
test, performed by Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College, analyzes
levels of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, oxygen and carbon dioxide
present in the vehicle’s exhaust. Test equipment used included the
Sun 450EL Engine/Emissions Analyzer Snap-On Technologies and the NGS
Ford Factory Scan Tool. The vehicle had no signs of abnormal
problems and no warning indicators were displayed on the instrument
panel. The readings were taken at engine idle speed and at 2,000 RPM
with the engine at normal operating temperature. The exhaust system
was intact and complete with proper catalytic converters in place
and no signs of any exhaust leaks. Hydrocarbon readings were between
0 and 38 ppm, indicating good combustion and good catalyst
operation. Carbon Monoxide readings were between .02 percent and .16
percent, indicating good catalyst operation. Oxygen readings were
between .14 percent and .42 percent, indicating good combustion and
enough oxygen for proper converter operation. Carbon dioxide
readings were between 15 percent and 15.1 percent, indicating good
combustion.
Emission Analysis Conclusion
Overall, all emission readings indicate that there is good
combustion and the catalytic converters are operating properly. Scan
tool analysis shows that there were no trouble codes stored,
indicating that the vehicle is still in compliance with federal OBD-II
standards. If the catalytic converters were not operating properly
the catalyst monitor would fail, store a trouble code and illuminate
the “check engine” light.
