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

[Jako]

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.

MDS - see what happens when you load up the back seat. Take a few storage containers or people and see if you notice a difference with the MDS. There is a thread on the MDS. The noise is more prevalent with people or things in the back seat. There is plenty of information on the below link. Best of luck.

intermittent humming noise and vibration

And you guys are sure it is not the cylinder deactivation and MDS kicking in? Have you de-activated that and seen any change in the 'droaning' noise? When my MDS kicks in (Green eco light goes on), I think there is a belt activation of sorts (read about etourqe and this is one of its...

5thgenrams.com

 

[SD Rebel]

In case some of you are interested, here is my oil analysis on my 2nd oil change. The first sample I sent last year somehow didn't make it to the lab. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how low the break-in metals are on just the 2nd oil change.

Also, this truck does spend a bit of time on dusty roads and off-roading in the desert, so the factory air filter and oil filter seems to be excellent based on the very low insolubles.

 

[upnarms]

Old thread but wanted to say thanks for all the tips. Did first oil change today. Took over an hour which is pretty sad but i wanted to take my time and do it right with little or no mess.

I used the two ziploc bag technique taking off the filter-what seemed like 1mm at a time. I used a filter wrench with the pivoting handle, while the engine was still warm and it moved right away, but i wasn't sure when oil would start leaking out so i went super slow. I should've used the wrench more than i did, looking back, cause it took quite a bit of turning for the oil to start escaping. I did manage to remove it with no drops.

I only filled the filter about half full when i put the new one in cause i didn't want any spilling when i tried to manipulate it back into place.

Should be able to change it much faster next time. Not as fast as i can in my 3.6 Wrangler, but hopefully in more reasonable time.

Thanks again!