In Mike Aksamit’s line of work, there’s nothing worse than a mechanical failure. He and his wife, Jenny, own Aksamit Transportation, Inc., a fleet of 76 school buses and vans in central Minnesota.

Half-a-dozen school districts depend on the fleet year-round to transport more than 3,000 students to schools, homes, sporting events, field trips and more. The buses and vans put on about 1.25 million miles each year.

“That might be peanuts to a big trucking company, but we’re a school bus company, and our motto is Transporting America’s Pride,” Mike says. “If a bus breaks down with 40 children on board and it’s 25 degrees below, we can’t have that. And that was a real situation years ago.”

FROZEN FLEET

Aksamit Transportation, Inc. is based in Browerville, Minnesota, where below-freezing temperatures are the norm for half the year, along with plenty of snow and ice. Harsh weather, combined with the frequent starting and stopping school buses have to perform each day, can wreak havoc on diesel engines and drivetrains.

Untreated fuel would lead to clogged filters and injectors, hard starts, and sluggish performance. Poor oil circulation wore out engine components, EGR systems, and turbos. The cold also caused a host of transmission problems—enough to dedicate a whole wall of the company’s inventory room to transmission parts.

At the peak of the Aksamits’ problems several years ago, they had to tow 25–30 buses a year because of breakdowns and were replacing up to 10 transmissions a year. Having backup buses ready to go at a moment’s notice became the norm and the couple was spending a fortune on repairs. They knew it wasn’t sustainable, for their business or their reputation.

“It’s horribly embarrassing when a bus comes in on a hook,” Mike says. “It was apparent to us that we had to change something.”

THE SEA FOAM SOLUTION

The Motor Treatment worked quickly to dissolve and clean residue, ultimately leading to fewer fuel filter replacements and injector problems. The Aksamits started using Motor Treatment in crankcases between oil changes as well, cleaning key engine components for better performance and longevity. And in the fleet’s transmissions, the Aksamits started using Sea Foam Trans Tune, helping to smooth rough shifting, control moisture, and improve transmission life.

Since the company started using Sea Foam, breakdowns requiring tow-ins dropped to just a couple a year, and only one transmission has needed replacement.

An unexpected bonus:

The fleet’s overall mileage improved by nearly 2 miles per gallon—a huge cost savings for the company.

“It’s a worry-free product,” Mike says. “Honestly, if I were to say anything about it to anyone, it would be to just give it a try. We did and we hit a home run, and we’re very fortunate we went the way that we did.”

MOTOR TREATMENT

BENEFITS:

TRANS TUNE