1st oil change was a PITA!

[Rambunxs]

I did my first oil change at 1,900 miles today.
I've been changing my own oil in my vehicles for 30+ years, and I must say, this RAM is a b*tch!
I used to just lie on my back under my Sierra and get it done. I figured with this RAM on 20's, I would have even more clearance, but that was not the case. I took out my trusty metal car ramps but no go, as they say max tire width is 9". So, out came the jack , wheel chocks and jack stands.
There is not enough clearance behind the sway bar to get a socket on the drain plug. A combo wrench worked, but it would have been nice to have the leverage of the ratchet for that tight bolt.
OIL WENT EVERYWHERE!
Oil splashed off the sway bar and hit my catch pan at all angles causing more splashing. I had lots of cardboard down but oil still found its way to my garage floor. I attempted to make some kind of barrier to direct the oil before I took out the drain plug, but nothing seemed like it would work. If the oil came out slowly it maybe would miss the sway bar, but it comes out fast!
The oil filter wasn't too bad, but I did have to mangle it with a filter wrench before she loosened up. I did the zip lock bag trick and managed to keep most of the oil from the filter in the bag.
Lot's of cleanup afterwards, but it's done.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

Exactly why I take mine to the dealership.....

 

[airgas1998]

my experience is just the opposite....i have no problem catching all of the oil from the drain pan even when it hits the sway bar, but that f..in oil filter pisses with me everytime. i just can't catch the oil using the ziplock bag method..

 

[Jako]

I did my first oil change at 1,900 miles today.
I've been changing my own oil in my vehicles for 30+ years, and I must say, this RAM is a b*tch!
I used to just lie on my back under my Sierra and get it done. I figured with this RAM on 20's, I would have even more clearance, but that was not the case. I took out my trusty metal car ramps but no go, as they say max tire width is 9". So, out came the jack , wheel chocks and jack stands.
There is not enough clearance behind the sway bar to get a socket on the drain plug. A combo wrench worked, but it would have been nice to have the leverage of the ratchet for that tight bolt.
OIL WENT EVERYWHERE!
Oil splashed off the sway bar and hit my catch pan at all angles causing more splashing. I had lots of cardboard down but oil still found its way to my garage floor. I attempted to make some kind of barrier to direct the oil before I took out the drain plug, but nothing seemed like it would work. If the oil came out slowly it maybe would miss the sway bar, but it comes out fast!
The oil filter wasn't too bad, but I did have to mangle it with a filter wrench before she loosened up. I did the zip lock bag trick and managed to keep most of the oil from the filter in the bag.
Lot's of cleanup afterwards, but it's done.

I sometimes do my own oil and sometimes I don't. I let the dealership do the first which was good but they put conventional oil for the second which I wasn't happy with so I did the next. I had some idea from the forum what I was getting myself into and their advise helped. Second one will be easier. I was wondering if you knew in advance that the oil change could be a b*tch?
The ramps didn't work so well for me either, drain plug no problem (made an aluminum foil chute) filter not so great, had some clean up.
Wife complains about saving old t shirts and stuff for rags - she should do the next Ram oil change.

FYI / the saying "misery loves company" or "your not alone" may apply.

Search results for query: oil change

5thgenrams.com

 

[Sjay]

ALPHA MOTO Adjustable Oil Filter Wrench for Removing 2.5" x 3.25" Diameter Spin On Oil Filters
Google the above on Amazon. Worked very well for me. I used the gallon ziplock bag trick and it worked well.

 

[Livinfast85]

I just did my first (not including the changes the dealership did) oil change 3 days ago and had the same experience! luckily my truck has a 3" lift and 35s which allowed me to do it without ramps or jacks. BUT it did splash EVERYWHERE due to the sway bar and with my large arms, changing the filter was a real PITA as well!

 

[My1stHemi]

I just changed mine as well. Worst ever. Coming from a third gen Cummins where I slid a 5gal bucket under the pan and the oil filter had a clear path to ground for easy changing.
Next time I’ll supply my own filter and oil and pay someone else to go through that torture.

I found that a wide mouth quart bottle made for a good splash guard/funnel.

 

[mopar mark]

Good idea

 

[dacm99]

I dropped my oil filter onto the front transaxle as I pulled it out. What a mess. Very annoying. But it’s still better than the Alfa Romeo I had before my truck. Areo pan with 38ish torx bolts and no way to reset the oil monitor.

 

[moosem]

There is a Ram dealership less than 3 miles from my office with an Express Lane. Easy as pie, in and out during my lunch hour. I personally couldn’t be bothered crawling underneath my truck to save $20. Not to mention disposing of the used motor oil. No thank you, not for me!

 

[cobradav]

Gee I feel somewhat guilty as I found mine to be a piece of cake. Of course it helped that my past 10 year experience had been on a F150. Now that is a PITA. But my air suspension raised to off road height gave me lots of clearance to slide right under, my slight tilt to the rear gave me no splash issues coupled with my heavy duty aluminum foil over stiff cardboard open funnel. The easiest part was the filter. Had four different tools at the ready but the first one I chose worked perfect with my 1 quart zip lock bag. Whole job including letting it drip for about 30 minutes took an hour, with very little time down under.

 

[Jako]

Gee I feel somewhat guilty as I found mine to be a piece of cake. Of course it helped that my past 10 year experience had been on a F150. Now that is a PITA. But my air suspension raised to off road height gave me lots of clearance to slide right under, my slight tilt to the rear gave me no splash issues coupled with my heavy duty aluminum foil over stiff cardboard open funnel. The easiest part was the filter. Had four different tools at the ready but the first one I chose worked perfect with my 1 quart zip lock bag. Whole job including letting it drip for about 30 minutes took an hour, with very little time down under.

What "tool" did you use for the filter? I have limited range with my oil filter wrench and I am looking for an improvement. Thanks

 

[cobradav]

What "tool" did you use for the filter? I have limited range with my oil filter wrench and I am looking for an improvement. Thanks

A Walmart cheapie - Hyper Tough Filter Wrench - 63.5 mm - 116 mm. The adjustable plier type. What makes this work so easy is it has about a 15 degree angle offset so that you have clearance and no knuckle busting. If filter was on too tight it might crush the filter a bit but that's better than no grip or sliding off. I am using K&N filter now as well so should have good alternative with the "nut" but this worked so well with the zip lock bag that it will be my first choice.

 

[RangerZ]

So I prepared for doing mine by ordering a fumoto valve. I use Ramps. When I pulled the plug it went right into the drain pan. Such a small amount of oil hit the sway bar that I didn’t install the fumoto. There was no need for it really. Also I’m using a channellock oil filter wrench that gets the filter fairly easy

 

[Rambunxs]

I just changed mine as well. Worst ever. Coming from a third gen Cummins where I slid a 5gal bucket under the pan and the oil filter had a clear path to ground for easy changing.
Next time I’ll supply my own filter and oil and pay someone else to go through that torture.

I found that a wide mouth quart bottle made for a good splash guard/funnel.
View attachment 42414

I like the looks of that funnel!

 

[Rambunxs]

What "tool" did you use for the filter? I have limited range with my oil filter wrench and I am looking for an improvement. Thanks

Harbor Freight oil filter pliers worked for me. Not a lot of room to work but enough to get it loose.

 

[Hemogoblin]

I did mine yesterday, first time too with 3000 kms on the clock. I was "easily" able to slide under the truck with no ramps, and was also able to get a 1/2" socket onto the drain plug. No issues either with oil going everywhere. But hot damn, that oil filter.....it was placed on there with a torque wrench or something. No chance in hell getting it off by hand. With no proper wrench to remove, I had to use one of those Vise Grip chain things for pipe. Crushed the filter but got it off! And with the Ziploc, not a drip.

For the comments, many people change their oil for reasons beyond finances. I doubt anyone cares about saving $20-30 every 6 months or however long your interval is. For me, I do it because I love to wrench on vehicles. Always have. Plus I don't trust the idiots at the dealership to actually be using full synthetic.

That all said, can we use aftermarket oil filters and still be OK with warranty??? The K & N with the attached bolt on the bottom would work great.

 

[john94si]

I installed a fumoto valve at3k miles.. easy to change now https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HP5V092/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[moosem]

I did mine yesterday, first time too with 3000 kms on the clock. I was "easily" able to slide under the truck with no ramps, and was also able to get a 1/2" socket onto the drain plug. No issues either with oil going everywhere. But hot damn, that oil filter.....it was placed on there with a torque wrench or something. No chance in hell getting it off by hand. With no proper wrench to remove, I had to use one of those Vise Grip chain things for pipe. Crushed the filter but got it off! And with the Ziploc, not a drip.

For the comments, many people change their oil for reasons beyond finances. I doubt anyone cares about saving $20-30 every 6 months or however long your interval is. For me, I do it because I love to wrench on vehicles. Always have. Plus I don't trust the idiots at the dealership to actually be using full synthetic.

That all said, can we use aftermarket oil filters and still be OK with warranty??? The K & N with the attached bolt on the bottom would work great.

I understand why people do it themselves, that is why I said that it was "not for me".

 

[firecadet613]

Oil filter is the only PITA for me. Oil gets everywhere! I could easily pay the dealer, but I'd much rather do it myself.

No ramps needed, just crawl under the truck which sits on factory 20s

I've yet to see anything as easy (or clean) as my last truck, a '16 F150 with the 2.7. Plastic oil drain plug and a canister oil filter mounted up top in a plastic housing that comes off with a socket. Under 10 minutes and not a drop of oil anywhere.

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