Observations on My Diesel

[roadglide]

My diesel went 7000 miles on its oil with 40% left showing on the change oil monitor. 6000 pulling with GVW of 21500 pounds. I have 50 gal RDB aluminum tank with 2 clear Napa inline fuel filters that catch any dirt that look perfect clean. I haven't had any Issues with dirty fuel.

[notanlines]

In my opinion, under the given circumstances, you are 2k miles past oil change time. There is no reason not to drop $100 every 5k or so. Keep in mind how hard you worked for that money to afford that diesel.....

[roadglide]

Debatable on the oil change . I use the baldwin filter 13 $ and I think the mobil 1300 15/40 was 30$ for 2 1/2 gallon jug. That's less then 50$ . That is the advantage of a Diesel going longer between services.

[notanlines]

"On late model light trucks, 7,500 miles is the standard recommended oil change intervals for GM Duramax, Ford Powerstroke and Dodge Cummins turbo diesel engines. However, this is for “normal” (light duty) service. The recommended oil change interval for most “Severe Service” applications (vehicles that are used for towing, hauling heavy loads, operated off-road in dusty environments or spend a lot of time idling, especially during cold weather) is usually 3,000 miles."
This came from Engine Builder Magazine and of course all of this is just personal opinion. I suspect we all would agree that maybe it is just best to change all oil and filters on a "regular" basis.

[jsmith948]

Well, I agree with Notanlines on this one. Oil is the cheapest preventable maintenance you can perform. Shell Rotella T6 Synthetic costs 21.97 a gallon and a Motorcraft filter costs 17.88 at Wally World. A total of 95.98 (inc. sales tax) every 3500 miles = 2.7 cents/mile not to mention the peace of mind.
JMHO

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by jsmith948

Well, I agree with Notanlines on this one. Oil is the cheapest preventable maintenance you can perform. Shell Rotella T6 Synthetic costs 21.97 a gallon and a Motorcraft filter costs 17.88 at Wally World. A total of 95.98 (inc. sales tax) every 3500 miles = 2.7 cents/mile not to mention the peace of mind.
JMHO

JMHO, If changing at 3500 miles I don't see any advantage in using synthetic oil unless in extreme cold. Conventional Rottella T will serve just as well for that short interval at almost half the price. (I pay between $13 and $14 a gallon on sale and stock up) JM2¢, Hank

[Desert185]

Delo LE 15W-40 and a Cummins Stratopore filter every 5,000 miles for me. $33 for a 3gallon case at Costco on sale and ~$12 for the filter at Cummins. I only use 10 qts, so my oil change is less than $40.

Does anyone know how those onboard oil change advisors think? Personally, I think change every 5,000 miles, but then I'm a neanderthal throwback, so...

[jsmith948]

Originally Posted by hankpage

JMHO, If changing at 3500 miles I don't see any advantage in using synthetic oil unless in extreme cold. Conventional Rottella T will serve just as well for that short interval at almost half the price. (I pay between $13 and $14 a gallon on sale and stock up) JM2¢, Hank

You are right, but, Ford calls for 5w40 for severe duty.[emoji2]

[sw342]

My Ram diesel supplement states 15K miles, 6 months, or 500 hours. Whichever comes first. I only put on about 7k a year so I change every 6 months. My old 2004 Ram Cummins was every 7500 miles. Changing every 3-5000 miles is just throwing good oil away.

[Desert185]

Originally Posted by sw342

My Ram diesel supplement states 15K miles, 6 months, or 500 hours. Whichever comes first. I only put on about 7k a year so I change every 6 months. My old 2004 Ram Cummins was every 7500 miles. Changing every 3-5000 miles is just throwing good oil away.

I live in a rural area on a dirt road, so 5,000 mile, $40.00, oil/filter change intervals works in my favor. I also do a lube and a rotate while I'm at it. The truck seems happy. In my area, air pollution is dust from the occasional other vehicle or Nevada breeze.

I hear Folsom Costco is selling diesel now. That might be a first for Costco and good for folks in your neck of the woods. At $1.99 here at Smith's, diesel is finally less than 87.

[bsmith0404]

When I was transporting I was putting 5k miles a week on my truck. Oil changes could get very expensive by years end so I started doing oil analysis to see what the real story was. I was using Mystik JT8, 5W 40 full synthetic in the winter and Mystik JT8 15W 40 Synthetic Blend in the summer. I also did test on Mobil Delvac 1300 15W 40. I changed the filter (Baldwin) every 5k miles. Oil analysis showed that the full synthetic was still good after 12k miles with a recommendation to run another 4k and retest. The Syn blend and Mobil both showed good after 8k miles with a recommendation to run another 2k and retest. I just started changing filters every 5k and a full oil and filter change every 10k regardless of type of oil being used.

The main properties of oil that you have to be concerned with is the TBN numbers. TBN is what gives the oil the ability to neutralize acids that build up from normal engine use. Once the oil TBN numbers drop and it no longer neutralizes the acids, the oil becomes corrosive and damaging to the engine. Lubrication and cleaning properties of oils don't change much with use, TBN numbers are the primary concern.

I probably didn't need to change filters every 5k, but I feel better with a less restrictive filter in place. I never did a filter analysis, so I don't know how much it was removing from the oil and how much the flow was restricted, but for a $7 filter (I buy on-line in bulk) it isn't worth the hassle. That also forces me to add 1 qt of fresh oil at 5k which boosts the TBN numbers of the current oil in the truck.

BTW, I did analysis at 5k miles and 10k miles as well. The level of wear materials such as aluminum, iron, and copper were consistent at both intervals. Keep in mind this was also on a truck that was towing for 50% of the miles on every oil change. IMO, if you are changing your oil at anything less than a 7500 mile interval, you're dumping good oil down the drain (figuratively speaking, I do recycle my oil

As for what type of oil is best, Shell, Mobil, Chevron, and Mystik are all about the same in my book, I used Mystik mainly because I was able to get it at a great price, $7 per gallon for the blend.

FYI, JT8 is just the Mystik designation for engine oil, JT6 is for grease, JT7 gear oil, JT4 snowmobile..etc. The diesel oil is CJ-4 rated.

[sw342]

Originally Posted by Desert185

I hear Folsom Costco is selling diesel now. That might be a first for Costco and good for folks in your neck of the woods. At $1.99 here at Smith's, diesel is finally less than 87.

They just finished putting the diesel pumps in about 2 months ago. I wish I drove my truck more to take advantage of the savings in fuel, but as it is right now I only fill up about every month or two during the winter as we don't travel much then. I have only driven 10 miles since Thanksgiving and finally started it yesterday and let it run while doing the radio software upgrade.

[Javi]

Down here in Texas we get Bio-Diesel at the pump (no choice) they all got it from 5% up to 20% and you never know till you pull up to the pump.. So I listen to what I read in the Ford Owner's Manual...

For biodiesel fuel blends (B20
max), use SAE 5W-40 or SAE 15W-40 API CJ-4.

And since I rarely operate my truck in temps below -7`F but pretty much all the time at temps above 100`F in the summer AND I tow 12.5K I use the 15W-40 API CJ-4

And the manual says... Your vehicle is equipped with an Intelligent
Oil Life Monitor™ that calculates the proper oil change service interval. When the information display indicates: OIL CHANGE REQUIRED, change the engine oil and oil filter.

On my truck that is usually between 6500 and 7500 miles depending on towing miles and temp ranges..

I do use the Full Synthetic Motor Craft oil and have it changed at a Ford dealer... that way if something does go wrong I got proof they did the changing...

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by Javi

Down here in Texas we get Bio-Diesel at the pump (no choice) they all got it from 5% up to 20% and you never know till you pull up to the pump.. So I listen to what I read in the Ford Owner's Manual...

For biodiesel fuel blends (B20
max), use SAE 5W-40 or SAE 15W-40 API CJ-4.

And since I rarely operate my truck in temps below -7`F but pretty much all the time at temps above 100`F in the summer AND I tow 12.5K I use the 15W-40 API CJ-4

I do use the Full Synthetic Motor Craft oil and have it changed at a Ford dealer... that way if something does go wrong I got proof they did the changing...

FYI Javi, the full synthetic oil from Motorcraft (and most other companies) is the 5W-40. The 15W-40 is conventional oil.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

FYI Javi, the full synthetic oil from Motorcraft (and most other companies) is the 5W-40. The 15W-40 is conventional oil.

You're correct, and I do use the 5W-40 Full synthetic Motorcraft.. not the 15W-40... I was cutting and pasting from the owner's manual

[gearhead]

I think I may have posted this before, but....me and my local Ford dealer got pretty crossways over oil. I rolled in there for the fast lane oil change and asked what oil they would put in it. They said Motorcraft 10-30. No, I need 5-40 synthetic. We don't have any of that, we put 10-30 in all the diesels. The discussion went downhill from there with me asking if they ever read the owners manual. I went to Walmart and bought Rotella T6 and watched them use that.
I would say be careful if you use a dealer. Ask questions and watch them.
Ram recommends 15-40 unless operating below 0 degrees. I'll run Rotella T5 15-40 synthetic blend in it.

[T3/T4 Hybrid]

I always like reading oil threads. It has an entertainment value.


bsmith0404 Im in the same thought as you. If you want to know how your oil has worn over a certain driving style and period of time then send the oil off to be tested! Black Stone Labs is one of the best. I hope this link doesnt get nuked for the free kit. http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free-test-kits.php Once you get the results back then you should service your engine correctly, no matter the manufacturer, so you get the most miles for the least amount of dollars.

If you want to be a real nerd on oil look up Bob the Oil guy forum. Lots of good information!

[dcg9381]

What are you guys paying for oil and (fuel) filter changes? What I'm reading on the Cummins is that it varies greatly - anywhere from about $200 to someone that was charged $400. (I know it may vary between makes/models/years)

Debating if I just start doing it myself - the change interval is high enough, but the oil filter is a bit of a pain on the newer Dodge... I haven't looked at what's required to replace the 2 fuel filters - I assume there is some sort of pre-prime procedure from the lift pump that hopefully (unlike my VW diesel) doesn't require special software.

[old timer]

Because of the turbos synthetic would work best. My owners manual says to change the oil when the computer says to do it.I was quoted a price at the dealer of $170 for full synthetic. Will do a tire rotation and have them show me a couple things I am not familiar with.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

What are you guys paying for oil and (fuel) filter changes? What I'm reading on the Cummins is that it varies greatly - anywhere from about $200 to someone that was charged $400. (I know it may vary between makes/models/years)

Debating if I just start doing it myself - the change interval is high enough, but the oil filter is a bit of a pain on the newer Dodge... I haven't looked at what's required to replace the 2 fuel filters - I assume there is some sort of pre-prime procedure from the lift pump that hopefully (unlike my VW diesel) doesn't require special software.

I do all of my own maintenance, I use Baldwin oil filters and Mystik oil. I purchased the Mystik in bulk from a trucker who was retiring. I bought 25 gallons at $7 per gallon. Once that is gone I will probably start using Chevron Delo at $11 per. I buy the Baldwin filters on-line through Fleet Filter at roughly $7 each. So currently an oil change costs me about $25.

For the fuel filters, I have a FASS system on my truck. I still run the OE filter as well. For the OE filter I only use AC Delco or Racor. I also found those on-line for about $27 each. I only change the OE filter every 50k miles. On the FASS pump I use WIX 33528- 2 micron and 33522-10 micron (water separator). I buy those through Fleet Filter as well at roughly $9 each and change them every 25k miles. So a 25k mile filter change costs me $18, and at 50k mile when I change all three filters it costs me $55.

I change my oil every 10k miles. If you do all of the math, for every 100k miles of use I will spend $250 on oil changes and about $125 on fuel filter changes. $375 total for 100k miles so less than 1/2 cent per mile.