Real life service intervals

[T350camper]

Sorry if I'm asking a question that's been answered before (but there are so many hits when I search that I couldn't find what I wanted). My van is a camper, so it leads a very easy life. Most trannies work hard for a living hauling stuff about. Mine just goes on light cruising and is never driven hard. It's only done 40,000 miles and everything (touch wood) is running smoothly. Having said that, I know this is the one with the fragile fuel system and I want to keep things well maintained without just throwing money away for nothing. 2006 Mk6 RWD 6 speed TDCi 135bhp

I have a genuine Ford fuel filter and use genuine Ford Magnatec engine oil. The oil has been in for 4,500 miles this year (it never uses any) and the fuel filter has done 10,000 miles. I always buy diesel from a large outlet that shifts plenty of fuel to avoid getting crud in the tank. When I last changed the fuel filter I inspected the old one and it was spotless inside.

So... with the experience you guys have. When would you recommend changing the oil and the fuel filter?

[dumper]

My service interval is 6000 miles max oil and filter and ten for the fuel filter I try to do the oil and filter before the mot if I do more mileage a year it will get two charges a year just make sure it’s the correct tdci filter my latest van is 24000 miles or two years but I charge it at 11600 when I got it Ford will do the next one due to warranty wise after that it will be 6000 max

You say being a camper it gets less work but I think that a camper is usually running around heavier all the time compared to a work van due to its construction and what is in the van all the time and when you actually go on holiday it’s more likely to be on it’s weight limit or over it

[T350camper]

Yeah that sounds sensible. I was thinking around 5 to 6 thousand miles for service. I agree she's a heavy girl but runs on a feathered throttle at 55 on the motorway and never seems to be working very hard. On rare occasions when you need to move, there's plenty of torque and power.

Thanks for your advice

[STEVE P]

For the mileage you do I would also suggest premium Diesel. It really does make a difference. I had to remove my inlet manifold to do the pressure valve on the pump and it was perfectly clean with just a light residue on its inner surface even after 100k miles where on ones that have done less miles and run on regular fuel can be partially clogged. On one it was so bad I am surprised the engine was even running but the owner had been using Supermarket Diesel as it was near where he lived.
A good friend of mine who runs a commercial vehicle garage reckons what ever the manufacturer says as far as oil changes half it unless you are doing less than that a year and then do it annually as the condensation in the oil can do as much damage.

[metalworker0]

i don't know or have proof, if premium diesel helps any .. users of this diesel tend to also change the oil more frequently and are aware of short stop start runs harming engine, the premium diesel will stop build up in the combustion chambers, only air mixed with exhaust vapours and crankcase fumes passes through inlet .. so deposits related to .. how dirty the oil , how dirty the exhaust is (egr infusion).. so i suppose premium would have cleaner exhaust, will be pulling my manifold off this summer to clean everything .. after that it may be premium diesel for me .. as only do 2500 miles a year, not that much extra ..its about 20 pence a litre difference isn't it , so will be forking out an extra £!2 - £!5 a year. at average of 40 mpg, not going to shout about blanking or anything like that .. not on hear .

all the best.mark

[dumper]

On my mk6 a month before mot I used premium diesel not that mine wouldn’t pass without it was just make sure it made no difference to the mpg or the power the difference in supermarket fuel prices would pay for the manifold cleaning even if once a year I use super market fuel as they are the only ones you can trust locally to me and the only place I’ve had my credit card scammed is at the major fuel retailers

[T350camper]

Mine runs really well (touch wood). I have the EGR blanked off and an oil catch can in the breather pipe. So hopefully few fumes make it into the inlet manifold. I admit I use supermarket diesel. Not just because it's much cheaper but because I like to go somewhere that has a high turnover of fuel so there's no old rubbish in their tanks.

I will be changing my oil and filters soon. Thanks for all the advice.

[gt_addict]

Just my two pence worth.

My van is a workhorse although I don’t abuse it with my driving. Shes done 167k and I’ve had her since 88k. She gets 5k oil and filter changes with Castrol Magnatec 5w30 A5 and all Bosch or Ford Filters. Fuel filter gets changed every 10k. I only use BP Diesel as I don’t trust supermarket fuel round here to have the correct additives in it (some sell low sulfer diesel without listing it I suspect). During winter months i add Liqui Moly Super Diesel additive every other tank full (probably snake oil) which seems to make it run a bit smoother.

[sandancers]

We also have a motorhome, based on a 2014 MK7 2.2l fwd 140ps variant.

Normally we do about 4,000 miles per year, mostly summer months but also a once every 3 weeks 40 mile run through the winter. I change the oil and filter every spring. But this year we will only do about 1000 miles plus the over winter trips. So next summer I won't be changing the oil and filter.

The thing about most motorhomes is that they do a lot of long journeys with few stop starts compared to say a works van. Our van has 55,000 miles on the clock, but I bet the brake / clutch wear is only equivalent to say 15,000 miles on a works van.

So the servicing schedule for a motorhome compared to a stop start works van is not really based on the same usage profile.