My First Oil Change - Some Notes for those interested in trying it themselves

[Ramjack]

Question: Is there a crush washer on the oil plugs for the 5th Gen? Or any kind of washer that needs to be replaced with each oil change?

 

[SD Rebel]

Question: Is there a crush washer on the oil plugs for the 5th Gen? Or any kind of washer that needs to be replaced with each oil change?

Nope, no crush washer. I noticed when removing it, it felt like only about 15 ft-lbs was needed to break the bolt loose. I didn't tighten it to 25 ft-lbs as per the service manual recommendations.

 

[Charon]

Just a heads up, Look at the one star reviews on those ramps.

I thought that would be convenient but not worth my life, I'll stick to jack/ stands.

 

[securityguy]

Just a heads up, Look at the one star reviews on those ramps.

I thought that would be convenient but not worth my life, I'll stick to jack/ stands.

What ramps?

 

[Ramjack]

Just a heads up, Look at the one star reviews on those ramps.

I thought that would be convenient but not worth my life, I'll stick to jack/ stands.

You could drive it up on the ramps and secure with jack two jack stands.

 

[Charon]

What ramps?

The Ramps OP posted, RhinoRamps

 

[NorthStar]

Ah come on! I’ve used Rhino Ramps for years. One just has to know how to use them. I park the wife’s Beetle directly behind my Ram when using them…I figure if they are ever going to fail, I’m gonna take that the ugly little thing with me!

 

[2020SD]

Oh I hear you, and that's exactly what they will do if given a chance. I normally would have the dealership do these, but I don't trust my local dealerships, they all got terrible reviews, and FCA is essentially last when it comes to dealership customer service surveys. I don't think they were prepared for all the RAMs, Jeeps and Chargers/Challengers they would be selling recently.

I rather not pay them $75 to do a bad job on my truck. Get my seats dirty, ding my door on the lift, etc. They are also using some sort of interior disinfectant, like a Lysol spray which I don't want them spraying on the inside of my truck. I kept the receipts for the oil & filter along with a log just in case of course.

Get my seats dirty, ding my door on the lift, etc. They are also using some sort of interior disinfectant, like a Lysol spray which I don't want them spraying on the inside of my truck.

I have the same issues with all repair mechanics! No respect for others property.Which has led me to service and Tint my own truck and jeep.

 

[2020SD]

I spoke with my advisor, he said just keep your receipts along with a log of miles and date and you will be fine.

To deny a warranty would have be oil related, such as you didn't tighten the oil filter correctly and it leaks and you drive without oil and grenade your motor. Or they find your oil is super dirty because you never changed it and it caused a problem with the valvetrain in the motor. Those kinds of things. I've never had an oil change at the dealer and they have never questioned a warranty issue I had because of it.

I honestly don't trust them to do my oil change correctly. Oil techs aren't paid well and they don't care about your car. Things I worry about... not draining the oil all the way, not using the oil I paid for, not changing the filter, stripping the drain bolt, turning on the engine without any oil because they forgot to put it in (happens more often than you think), checking my air filter & forgetting to put it back in, overfilling the crankcase, dinging my door on the lift posts, getting grease stains on my seat and all kinds of other stuff I can't think of right now.

When you change your own oil, you know it's getting done right, the way you want, you know that synthetic you paid for is being used, that you replaced the filter and that the oil level is right.

SPOT ON! Think you just pointed out everyone's issues with mechanics at dealerships that dgaf about customer trucks. DIY and you know what you got.

 

[SD Rebel]

Get my seats dirty, ding my door on the lift, etc. They are also using some sort of interior disinfectant, like a Lysol spray which I don't want them spraying on the inside of my truck.

I have the same issues with all repair mechanics! No respect for others property.Which has led me to service and Tint my own truck and jeep.

Yup, that interior Lysol type spray they spray on the dash and seats is a no go for me. Especially since they aren't quite sure if it won't damage the interior.

No thank you!

 

[JerryBsizzle]

I just changed my oil at 2,000 miles. Truck was built in January 21, bought in March. I used the Wix XP full synthetic filter and Amsoil XL. I have a good friend that gives me the Amsoil at cost. Took a little over 7 qts. The original filter was a mutha to break loose. I have a 6" lift so no ramps or jackstands needed (unforeseen benefit lol).

The Amsoil XL is rated for 12,000 miles, but I'm going to change it every 10,000. I didn't read anything about oil changes on these trucks and the swaybar got me. Splashed right up my nose. I know now ha.

I just don't trust anyone to touch my vehicles anymore. Absolutely no one. Last truck I had I took it to the most trusted place I know of to have my tires rotated. The impact got away from them and chipped my rim. I don't have to wait in line, wonder if someone is having a bad day or anything. Just me and my truck doing some bonding. Good thread!

 

[Orion10182011]

OP got lucky. I destroyed the original filter trying to get it off. I finally had to drive a screwdriver through it to get it to turn. They must have gorillas installing them at the factory.

 

[SD Rebel]

OP got lucky. I destroyed the original filter trying to get it off. I finally had to drive a screwdriver through it to get it to turn. They must have gorillas installing them at the factory.

I think it's the temp, I got the oil up to 200F and I think that made it easier to remove. That or strongman who normally tightens these things was off the day my engine was put together

 

[SD Rebel]

I just changed my oil at 2,000 miles. Truck was built in January 21, bought in March. I used the Wix XP full synthetic filter and Amsoil XL. I have a good friend that gives me the Amsoil at cost. Took a little over 7 qts. The original filter was a mutha to break loose. I have a 6" lift so no ramps or jackstands needed (unforeseen benefit lol).

The Amsoil XL is rated for 12,000 miles, but I'm going to change it every 10,000. I didn't read anything about oil changes on these trucks and the swaybar got me. Splashed right up my nose. I know now ha.

I just don't trust anyone to touch my vehicles anymore. Absolutely no one. Last truck I had I took it to the most trusted place I know of to have my tires rotated. The impact got away from them and chipped my rim. I don't have to wait in line, wonder if someone is having a bad day or anything. Just me and my truck doing some bonding. Good thread!

View attachment 94138

Yup, watch out for that splash. Did you loosen the filler cap before you started draining? I've noticed if I leave the cap on during the initial drain, the oil comes out a lot more controlled and reduces the splash. Once the oil is down to a drip, I unscrew the oil fill cap.

 

[Ramjack]

I was watching a video of a shop changing the oil on a Ram and they were saying how easy it is to temporarily remove the sway bar to change the oil. At first, I thought: "That's a lot of trouble to go through just to prevent oil from getting on the sway bar." Then it hit me: I wonder if the oil hits the sway bar hard and splashes everywhere making a mess? Is that what happens?

 

[SpeedyV]

I was watching a video of a shop changing the oil on a Ram and they were saying how easy it is to temporarily remove the sway bar to change the oil. At first, I thought: "That's a lot of trouble to go through just to prevent oil from getting on the sway bar." Then it hit me: I wonder if the oil hits the sway bar hard and splashes everywhere making a mess? Is that what happens?

Yes, it can. A Fumoto F106SX solved that for me.

 

[SD Rebel]

I was watching a video of a shop changing the oil on a Ram and they were saying how easy it is to temporarily remove the sway bar to change the oil. At first, I thought: "That's a lot of trouble to go through just to prevent oil from getting on the sway bar." Then it hit me: I wonder if the oil hits the sway bar hard and splashes everywhere making a mess? Is that what happens?

I was nothing for me. I left the oil fill cap on, and did the drain, the oil splashed on the sway bar for about 5-10 seconds then fell straight down. The mess only took a quick wipe with an old towel, I didn't get much splashing at all even though the oil was hot.

Just make sure to use a deep large oil drain pan and leave the fill cap on tight for the first part of the drain.

 

[Ramjack]

Yes, it can. A Fumoto F106SX solved that for me.

Yeah, it's a good solution. My only hesitation is that I will almost certainly have a shop change the oil at some point. Not sure they can deal with a valve. With my luck they would try to operate the lever with pliers or something stupid like that. I will definitely consider. So the F106SX is the best fit?

 

[SpeedyV]

Yeah, it's a good solution. My only hesitation is that I will almost certainly have a shop change the oil at some point. Not sure they can deal with a valve. With my luck they would try to operate the lever with pliers or something stupid like that. I will definitely consider. So the F106SX is the best fit?

I liked that I could aim it where I wanted it. But I also change my own oil, and I think you're right to be concerned if you might put the truck in the hands of a 'junior employee'...

 

[Ghengist]

First time changing the oil on my 2019 Big Horn 1500 yesterday. Not the truck's first oil change, but it's approaching 16K miles and I'm heading to the racetrack in the desert next weekend. Gonna be 105F at least and some fresh synthetic should hold up well in the heat.

I did similar with the Rhino Ramps (6000lb x 2), took a couple tries to get the tires up top against the stopper. My driveway is at a slight incline, so it needed a smidge of gas to crawl (or launch) up them. The ramps looked solid under the weight of the truck. Tried using a creeper, but the beer belly was causing clearance issues.

I picked up the ramps, Mopar filter and two 5qt jugs of Pennzoil Synthetic 5w20 ($18/ea) at Walmart. Caught most of the oil drain as intended, but it was windy and got a little messy. I was able to break the filter loose by hand, however was out of gallon size ziplocks and had to settle for quart size.

Good thing I let the truck cool off a bit, hot oil running down your arm is no fun.

Been going to the dealer for my oil changes, but it's like pulling teeth to get in and you don't know what time you're getting your truck back. The dealer also keeps putting Syn Blend in the truck when I request Synthetic. Figured the added bonus is that it will allow me to pass down a handy skill to my little one when he's old enough to change his own oil.

On a side note, I was getting some bad vibrations from the MDS at low RPM and have not noticed it in the 20-30 miles I've driven so far. Hope it's not just placebo effect.