Diesel Truck Oil Change Intervals

[JKellerJr]

You may want to look into installing a Fumoto valve to replace the oil drain plug. It makes changing your oil a lot easier. You can hook up some clear tubing to the Fumoto valve nipple and run that into old milk jugs. It makes doing the oil change a lot easier.

https://www.genosgarage.com/product/...a/drain-valves

As for the oil filter, there are ways to remotely mount your oil filter to a more convenient location.

https://www.amazon.com/Pacbrake-PacP...a-607645578385

Those valves are great but I had on on my 14 ram and it started leaking so keep an eye on them.

[JKellerJr]

To revive an older thread, I did our first oil change on our new 2018 Ram 3500 6.7L Cummins. The mileage was 10,000 miles and the monitor said there was 38% left on the oil and fuel filters. It also said we had run a little over 500 gallons of diesel through the truck. Now the owners manual says 10,000 miles is the normal standard for oil changes, but never over 15,000. the fuel filter every oil change or up to 15,000 miles.

The dealer wanted $400 for an oil change with filter (12 quarts) and change both fuel filters. I thought that was too much so searching I found on Amazon a filter package for 6.7L Cummins engines containing all three MOPAR branded filters oil, engine fuel filter and rear frame fuel filter for $97. I used Shell Rotella T5 15W40, this is what the owners manual says to use, Walmart had it for $18.57 / gallon so the oil was $57. I found out later Tractor Supply has it for $18/ gallon. Well I bought all the stuff for $154, so I figured an hours work , I'd be done and save $246.

Not so fast my friend! The oil filter was screwed on by a gorilla and just wouldn't break loose and come off. Using a strap wrench either through the hole in the right fender well or from the top down through the engine you just cant get enough room to break it loose. Screwed with this filter for over an hour, partially collapsed the side of the filter with the strap wrench but finally got it off. After flling the new filter with oil it screwed on just fine hand tight. The oil was a little black, well used.

Next on to the fuel filters, the engine one first. Now mind you the engine had not been run for a long time. You open a valve on the bottom of the filter assy to drain the fuel before taking the cap off the filter containing the fuel cartridge. They even have a drain line running out the bottom of the engine so you can catch the drained diesel fuel in a can. It probably drained out a pint before stopping, I let it drain a long time, so I unscrewed the top cap and splash, diesel fuel all down under the truck and all over the front differential. Crap! Yeah that worked out really well! That $400 is starting to look not so bad after all. Got the new cartridge in, screwed on the cap and got the spilled diesel fuel cleaned up.

Now on to the rear fuel filter attached to the bed cross frame back by the rear differential above the driveshaft. This is a fuel filter much like a screw on oil filter with a separate water in fuel sensor screwed on to the bottom of the filter. It also has a draining valve on the bottom of the filter "through the water in fuel sensor" to drain it prior to loosing the filter. So after what I went through with the front engine fuel filter, I opened the drain and let it set with a catch can for a long, long, long time! Disconnected the water in fuel sensor electrical connection, then using a strap wrench loosened the filter and gush, diesel fuel all over the floor and rear driveshaft. CRAP!

Now mind you I am following the manual on how to change the filters. Come to find out the rear fuel filter has a big pin that sticks up in the middle of the filter where it screws on. This pin contacts a spring valve on the filter receptacle that closes the fuel line while changing the filter. If you take off the fuel filter slowly it keeps the fuel line open longer and gush, if you take it off fast the valve snaps shut preventing a gush! Also if you unknowingly unscrew the water in fuel sensor from the bottom of the filter first, this keeps the spring valve open until you get the filter itself off and more gush! They don't tell you that in the manual!! Fortunately I was taking the whole filter off as an assembly so I had a little gush!

Well after spilled diesel fuel clean up, I took the old filter over to the vise. The water in fuel sensor has to come off the bottom of the old filter and screwed onto the new filter with a new O-ring. It has a big hex nut maybe 27mm or so, and its plastic! So carefully getting the sides of the plastic hex nut clamped in the soft jawed vice and tried to loosen it from the filter. Nope no go! Tried a little more force and the plastic nut turned in the soft jawed vice. Crap! Reset the sides of the nut in the vice and tightened it a little more and tried again, yup came loose. Now with a new O-ring screw on the sensor to the filter, place a new O-ring on the top of the filter and screw it into the receptacle a few threads to make sure its started straight, then spin it on fast to seal the filter and open the fuel line spring valve to minimize the diesel fuel spillage.

After more floor and driveshaft clean up from spilled diesel fuel, and changing my sweat shirt from diesel fuel running down my arms, I'm ready to test start the engine. Cycle the push button start to run position only (without pushing the brake pedal) three times fills the new filters with fuel, forth time start the engine. All seems ok, no fuel leaks. I'm done 3 hours later!

Thought you might enjoy some laughter at my expense! Anyway I saved $246.

Pretty much mirrors my first (and only) time on my '14 Ram. Decided after that it wasn't worth the aggravation and started taking it to someone else.

[D2Reid]

... That $400 is starting to look not so bad after all.

Thanks for sharing, it sounds like one of my mechanical misadventures. You forgot to factor in the price of band-aids to help cover the scraped knuckles, when those filters let lose you had to have banged something, I know I do. And the other hidden expense is the stains on your latest souvenir t-shirt. For whatever reason I forget to change t-shirts, thusly, my favorite shirt, the one I wear the most, gets ruined. Just be thankful your wife's kitchen towels weren't the closest towels to mop up the diesel. Not that I have ever done that.....

[bertschb]

Kind of off topic so my apologies in advance....

If I knew for a fact that the oil change place actually changed the oil and filters and used the oil and filters they said they would use, I would consider having somebody else change my fluids. But, there are a ton of videos on Youtube where investigative reporters have placed hidden cameras in vehicles and marked oil and air filters to see if they got changed then took them to oil change shops. I think in one video they visited 30 different places and the majority of them either didn't change the oil or filters or both. Crazy!

In another example of oil change fails, the C7 Corvette Z06 has two oil drain plugs. There are a ton of reports on the Corvette forum of people picking their cars up with way too much oil because the dude changing the oil didn't pull both drain plugs (which doesn't drain all the oil) but added the full amount of oil (without checking the oil level afterwards). Overfilling can be bad!!

Doing my own maintenance is messy sometimes but I know it's done right and with the highest quality parts. Once I get a vehicle figured out, I can usually do it quickly and cleanly.

Back on topic...
I use the truck's computers to determine when I change the oil and fuel filters

[kevinpo]

Steven,
Thanks for the post! Good write up. I just pulled my receipt from Sept. I also had 10,000 miles and the dealer charged me $251.59 for the oil change and fuel filters. I thought it was very high but after your post I feel much better. Usually I just get a oil change once a year which is $80.80 also thinking it seems high but when I saw the filter location maybe worth it .

Thanks again,
Kevin

[MidwestCamper]

Commercial operators with class 7 and 8 trucks run oil for tens of thousands of miles and send oil samples in to one of the oil testing companies every 10,000 miles or so for analysis. There are more people than I would have expected on the truck and diesel forums (GM and Ford truck owners forums as well as The Diesel Place) doing the same thing with diesel light trucks. They are getting 300 - 500K miles out of their trucks (in the millions of miles for the big rigs), so the science must work. For me, it's less hassle and greater peace of mind to just change the oil and filter at 5,000 mile intervals (our truck is used almost exclusively to tow the rig) and be done with it. I know... there are tree huggers that will argue that this is not as good for the environment and I understand their point of view, too.

Rob

Rob,
This was a smart way in doing this but today, the OEM oil life monitors have taken over where all those oil samples were done under every perceivable condition in developing the software and calibrations for this feature. Those commercial grade trucks also hold far more oil.

[MidwestCamper]

Kind of off topic so my apologies in advance....

If I knew for a fact that the oil change place actually changed the oil and filters and used the oil and filters they said they would use, I would consider having somebody else change my fluids. But, there are a ton of videos on Youtube where investigative reporters have placed hidden cameras in vehicles and marked oil and air filters to see if they got changed then took them to oil change shops. I think in one video they visited 30 different places and the majority of them either didn't change the oil or filters or both. Crazy!

In another example of oil change fails, the C7 Corvette Z06 has two oil drain plugs. There are a ton of reports on the Corvette forum of people picking their cars up with way too much oil because the dude changing the oil didn't pull both drain plugs (which doesn't drain all the oil) but added the full amount of oil (without checking the oil level afterwards). Overfilling can be bad!!

Doing my own maintenance is messy sometimes but I know it's done right and with the highest quality parts. Once I get a vehicle figured out, I can usually do it quickly and cleanly.

Back on topic...
I use the truck's computers to determine when I change the oil and fuel filters

Brian,
Some newer model Corvettes use a dry sump where the oil level is checked with the engine running. The procedure will be in the owners manual on checking levels.

[bertschb]

Brian,
Some newer model Corvettes use a dry sump where the oil level is checked with the engine running. The procedure will be in the owners manual on checking levels.

Yes, the C7 Z06 has a dry sump oil system. To check the oil level with the Z06, you get the oil to operating temperature, shut the engine off then check it within 5 minutes (I have a 2016 Z06).

The reason I used the Z06 as an example in this thread is some oil change folks just aren't very familiar with the vehicles they're working on. Anybody doing their own oil change on a C7 Z06 should know there are two oil drain plugs and you have to use both of them to drain all the oil! The (lowest paid) guy at a dealership or oil change shop may not know this.

I have lots of other stories from friend's and family of overtightened filters, loose and leaking filters, oil fill caps missing (with the mess under the hood that comes with that!), etc, etc. Yes, I've done my share of spilling oil while getting to know the best fluid change techniques of new rigs but I usually only make that mistake once!

[jim1521]

On my Nissan Titan diesel I sent the oil out to Blackstone Labs every oil change. The $28 that they charged me was piece of mind to me. Planning on doing it with the F350 as well. Attached is my last sample from when we towed the 313RLTS up to GA.

[gbkims]

Do my oil and fuel filter changes. I've gotten less and less oil on me after a few of changes on the Ram's oil.
Use the fumoto valve, been using them for lots of years on my other vehicles.
Gives me a chance to eyeball under the truck at same time.