First Oil change. Found Oil Leak!

[392DCGC]

Do people watch the odometer and then plan to be at the dealership on the very morning it goes to 10,000 miles? Of course not. So even if the oil life monitor went to 10k and stopped that would be pointless. I view the OLM as a guide and nothing else. Fact is, we should all be changing the oil well before that.

It's not pointless. The OLM warns you ahead of time to schedule service. And once it hits 0%, it starts going into the negatives, so you are made aware just how far you went over if you actually bother to check.

 

[UncaBuddha]

Well, I finally got back into the dealer. The availability is WAY down the road, I missed a Dec 18 appointment and the next time he could get me in was Jan 18! Here's what he said about the oil leak "it involves the intercooler, the turbocharger, and a possible supply line that have breached and we've got oil and water mixing which is causing a sludge in there so we need to get the cab off in order to be able to get to the turbocharger because it is stuffed well down inside the works."
Does this mean the engine is damaged from water in the oil? Will it wear out or be more prone to failure earlier than normal because of this?

Thanks! (I also had them investigate the dreaded water leak near the rear window but I'll post that in another thread)

 

[Dookie]

FWIW, from the owner's manual...
"The engine oil change indicator system is duty cycle
based, which means the engine oil change interval may fluctuate,
dependent upon your personal driving style."

 

[djevox]

Well, I finally got back into the dealer. The availability is WAY down the road, I missed a Dec 18 appointment and the next time he could get me in was Jan 18! Here's what he said about the oil leak "it involves the intercooler, the turbocharger, and a possible supply line that have breached and we've got oil and water mixing which is causing a sludge in there so we need to get the cab off in order to be able to get to the turbocharger because it is stuffed well down inside the works."
Does this mean the engine is damaged from water in the oil? Will it wear out or be more prone to failure earlier than normal because of this?

Thanks! (I also had them investigate the dreaded water leak near the rear window but I'll post that in another thread)

Theoretically, yes to both questions. However, there’s no real way to tell without pulling the engine entirely apart and checking every piece for wear.

This reminds me of a GM engine that got a bunch of antifreeze in the oil. I drained a little more than a liter of coolant out of the bottom of the oil pan, and the rest was mixed with the oil and looked like a milkshake. I used an oil flush and drained the oil several times after I made repairs. That engine was still running fine with heavy use three years later when I left that company. That is not an Eco diesel, but it’s an example of an engine that was in very bad shape and still ran after. Who knows if life was reduced by 20, 50, 1000, or 5000 hours.

 

[tom318]

Well, I finally got back into the dealer. The availability is WAY down the road, I missed a Dec 18 appointment and the next time he could get me in was Jan 18! Here's what he said about the oil leak "it involves the intercooler, the turbocharger, and a possible supply line that have breached and we've got oil and water mixing which is causing a sludge in there so we need to get the cab off in order to be able to get to the turbocharger because it is stuffed well down inside the works."
Does this mean the engine is damaged from water in the oil? Will it wear out or be more prone to failure earlier than normal because of this?

Thanks! (I also had them investigate the dreaded water leak near the rear window but I'll post that in another thread)

This sounds insane! Remove the Cab to get to the turbo's.......I haven't had a need to get to mine but that sounds like BS to me. Its surely less work to pull the motor out than remove the Cab.
Water in the oil is NOT good but nearly impossible to say how compromised it is. Depends how much water, how long has it been there? I hope they sort this out for you but something seems fishy to me with them saying they need to remove the cab. I could be wrong though.

 

[UncaBuddha]

The Typo God struck again! They have to remove the CAP not the CAB to get to the engine!!!

 

[UncaBuddha]

FWIW, from the owner's manual...
"The engine oil change indicator system is duty cycle
based, which means the engine oil change interval may fluctuate,
dependent upon your personal driving style."

What's your point? I had the oil changed before the oil indicator showed 0%.

 

[djevox]

What's your point? I had the oil changed before the oil indicator showed 0%.

You can change the oil when it says 100% remaining also, so I’m not sure what your point is either?

 

[Dookie]

What's your point? I had the oil changed before the oil indicator showed 0%.

No point had, hence the FWIW. Just giving info, that is all.

 

[UncaBuddha]

No point had, hence the FWIW. Just giving info, that is all.

Okay, yeah, that's what I thought! All good.

One more question: Do service departments give loaners or rentals when they keep your expensive truck for a week? I didn't do anything wrong (except maybe spend $65K on a truck that is broken) and I don't know how they expect me to get around.

 

[elinventorcito]

Actually, what the manual specifically says is to NEVER under any circumstances exceed 10,000 miles on an oil cycle. This clearly implies that you should be changing the oil BEFORE 10,000 miles. "Never exceed" is not the same thing as "we recommend".

The oil life monitor in my Ram and Jeep with the Gen 3 EcoDiesel both would get to 0% in <8,000 miles and while I do tow with my trucks, I don't tow heavily or frequently. Maybe once a week or less.

if you want you eco engine to last you better change that oil a least every 5k miles im 11500 mile and on my way to change the oil already and I do do towing just city traffic,
t

 

[c3k]

Frequent filter and fluid changes are key to longevity. YMMV.

(FWIW, I changed my ecodiesel oil/filter after 3,000 miles. Then again at 10,000. And I did the fuel filter at 10,000. (I also did the front/rear diffs at 3,000 miles.) I'll do the transmission at 40,000.)

(ETA: Ram states that our ZF 8HP transmissions have "lifetime" fluid. I'm pretty sure I have a 100,000 drivetrain warranty. (Gotta check that...) Anyway, ZF says keeping the original fluid in operation for 100,000 miles produces "an acceptable rate of failure". I plan on keeping this well beyond that. My acceptable rate of failure is...zero. If I kept to the interval the Ram lawyers said (100,000 miles), would my transmission last as long as if I change fluid and filter at 40k? Of course not. (BTW, the filter is built in to the pan, and you only get about 1/2 the fluid with a drain.) I've run multiple vehicles well past 250,000 miles. (Heck, every single one I've owned, minus the wrecks. ) I want this Ram to go 300,000+.)

 

[djevox]

Frequent filter and fluid changes are key to longevity. YMMV.

(FWIW, I changed my ecodiesel oil/filter after 3,000 miles. Then again at 10,000. And I did the fuel filter at 10,000. (I also did the front/rear diffs at 3,000 miles.) I'll do the transmission at 40,000.)

(ETA: Ram states that our ZF 8HP transmissions have "lifetime" fluid. I'm pretty sure I have a 100,000 drivetrain warranty. (Gotta check that...) Anyway, ZF says keeping the original fluid in operation for 100,000 miles produces "an acceptable rate of failure". I plan on keeping this well beyond that. My acceptable rate of failure is...zero. If I kept to the interval the Ram lawyers said (100,000 miles), would my transmission last as long as if I change fluid and filter at 40k? Of course not. (BTW, the filter is built in to the pan, and you only get about 1/2 the fluid with a drain.) I've run multiple vehicles well past 250,000 miles. (Heck, every single one I've owned, minus the wrecks. ) I want this Ram to go 300,000+.)

Absolutely- I am going to do the same with the trans. I’ll hook it up to the flush machine, press a button, and enjoy the results.

 

[rnr5038]

I’ve been sticking to changes at 7500mi intervals. I’ve done 2 oil samples through Blackstone (3 changes total) and both had high levels of aluminum. Oil viscosity and TBN (7.8) was good so it seems to me the oil still has life in it. I’ll have another oil change at the end of the month and roughly 30k on the truck. Hoping the aluminum goes down on that sample. I’ll be using 1 more round of Pennzoil at 30k then moving to Quaker state after that. We will see. At each of my changes I had exactly 25% oil life left regardless of driving style or towing. I don’t tow often so that may be why. 1k miles of towing per each interval maybe.

I am in the same situation. ~35K miles. I short change the oil between 5000 and 7500 mi and I am seeing elevated aluminum as well. Trending up actually with each change. Oil Analyzers suggested it take it to the dealer for diagnosis. How is your truck now? Did the aluminum level drop since this post?

 

[tom318]

I am in the same situation. ~35K miles. I short change the oil between 5000 and 7500 mi and I am seeing elevated aluminum as well. Trending up actually with each change. Oil Analyzers suggested it take it to the dealer for diagnosis. How is your truck now? Did the aluminum level drop since this post?

Oil analysis report.

I also plan on sending samples for the foreseeable future as well as sending virgin samples of rotella T6 and pennzoil platinum euro with my next sample in a month or two.

5thgenrams.com

You can look over my reports here. Each time I do one I post it. My Aluminum was still high and for many others seems to be normal. I haven't been driving as much recently so my next change is coming up in ~2k miles @45k total. Ill post that report once its done.

 

[WXman]

High aluminum seems to be very common on these engines. It always made me wonder if the new MS-12991 spec for this diesel application is going to come back to bite owners several years down the road....

 

[rnr5038]

High aluminum seems to be very common on these engines. It always made me wonder if the new MS-12991 spec for this diesel application is going to come back to bite owners several years down the road....

I took my truck to the dealer (Criswell Ram Gaithersburg MD) and as expected they said they can’t do anything unless it’s symptomatic. They also told me I was using the wrong oil but then suggested an oil that is for the previous gen EcoDiesel. Needless to say I have a low degree of confidence in that dealer.

 

[reman]

2021 1500 Eco here, found oil leak at 10k, dealer stated that the front engine cover needs to be replaced. Ordered parts.
Now at 14,500, parts are supposed to come in next week. My driveway looks like I own 87 Omni.