Oil Change Intervals

[Expat]

Schaeffer’s Supreme 9000............10,000 mile inervals...........wix premium filter...........46,000 on the clock now

 

[VegasRob55]

This is part of why I'm so happy to have a Ram truck. The Engine and transmission.
This 5.7 Hemi has seen life and use in 3/4ton trucks for many many years!

Good tips on the oil life there. This thread has a lot of neat info in it

The 5.7 HEMI in HD applications has not gone well, but yeah... In a half-ton, it is easily the best motor and tranny combo money can buy.

 

[VegasRob55]

I do mine when the OLM is down around 10%. This is typically about 6,000 miles of daily driving/commuting to work. I use Valvoline full synthetic 5w-20. I also use whatever oil filter Valvoline Instant Oil Change uses on their Full Syn O.C. package.

Update! I started doing 5k intervals, as I feel the MDS kick in much harder after the oil hits the 5k mark. Once i change it, MDS kicks in and out smooth as butter again. I've read the oil acts as hydraulic fluid for the MDS lifters, and it makes sense now.

 

[mikeru82]

Update! I started doing 5k intervals, as I feel the MDS kick in much harder after the oil hits the 5k mark. Once i change it, MDS kicks in and out smooth as butter again. I've read the oil acts as hydraulic fluid for the MDS lifters, and it makes sense now.

This alone would convince me to do shorter OCI's, as well as rethink the oil I was using. If the oil had degraded to the point that it affects MDS operation at only 5k miles I'd be worried about what else might be affected by that oil. I have no experience with Valvoline full synthetic oil, but I use Redline 5W-30 synthetic, and when I was actually doing closer to 10k mile OCI's I didn't experience any change in MDS operation between oil changes. I disable MDS now, but I've also switched to 5k OCI's.

 

[Threesuns1]

My dealer has me on 7500 mile intervals. Free oil changes for life, so they are welcome to it. I did do my first oil change at about 5000 miles and had them do it at about 9500 to keep me under the 10,000 mark.

 

[Darksteel165]

Update! I started doing 5k intervals, as I feel the MDS kick in much harder after the oil hits the 5k mark. Once i change it, MDS kicks in and out smooth as butter again. I've read the oil acts as hydraulic fluid for the MDS lifters, and it makes sense now.

If that's happening you need to stop getting that crap oil from an express shop. A real full syn oil will not be spent at 5k miles. You are getting shafted by them somehow or you are imaging mds being worse after 5k.

Another thing is you might be burning oil and running very low if you are not checking it ever.

 

[bigdodge]

i do what blackstone recommends based on the analysis

Interesting Reports | Blackstone Laboratories

These are some of the interesting reports from gas and diesel engines, aircraft engines, transmissions, and more that we've done over the years.

www.blackstone-labs.com

 

[ALT_F13]

i do what blackstone recommends based on the analysis

Interesting Reports | Blackstone Laboratories

These are some of the interesting reports from gas and diesel engines, aircraft engines, transmissions, and more that we've done over the years.

www.blackstone-labs.com

And how many miles/months is that?

 

[bigdodge]

And how many miles/months is that?

This is a really good report! This oil was run ~2,300 miles longer than the last sample, yet iron
and copper are much lower this time around. Whether or not the excess metal in that last oil was residual
from break-in, the improvements here make it pretty clear that the engine's mechanical parts have been
getting along well over the last 6,452 miles. The oil's physical properties look good, too, so running the next fill of oil about 8,500 miles should work well.

 

[VegasRob55]

If that's happening you need to stop getting that crap oil from an express shop. A real full syn oil will not be spent at 5k miles. You are getting shafted by them somehow or you are imaging mds being worse after 5k.

Another thing is you might be burning oil and running very low if you are not checking it ever.

I check my oil weekly. It’s always full and it’s still clean when I change it. That’s just wrong. Valvoline full synthetic oil is good oil. I used to use conventional barrel oil on my older trucks at 3,000 OCI and would get 300,000 miles on all of them.

 

[killerformula]

I do a dump and fill at 50 or 55% and then have the dealer do a change around 10%

 

[c3k]

EcoDiesel here, so that's makes mine a bit different. I change at 5,000 miles (pennzoil euro full synthetic 5w-40). Always do oil and fuel filter as well.

Is that needed? I don't know. But I have never had an internal engine failure in millions of miles of ownership. And, the engines I've torn down (for reasons other than failure) when I've pulled the cylinder heads, have all looked as if I've already cleaned them. Fresh oil, clean filters, happy engine.

Tomorrow (just under 35,000 miles) is: oil and filter; fuel filter; coolant drain and fill; brake fluid flush; transmission fluid drain and fill and pan swap (filter in pan). Tires were rotated and balanced a week ago.

(Coolant is not quite 3 years old. There is a sacrificial anode additive in all coolants. A drain and fill will swap ~ 50% of it. Every 2 or 3 years will keep that additive package fresh...and eliminate internal galvanic corrosion.)

(Brake fluid is visible, e.g., not clean. Therefore, time to swap that hygroscopic fluid for fresh, moisture-free, clean fluid. It'll take an hour, start to finish. Once every 2-3 years.)

(Transmission: The ZF8HP75 fluid is good to 100,000 miles...per warranty. Lol. I've got a Pacific Performance Engineering aluminum pan with a separate filter to swap with the ZF plastic pan. ZF's pan has built-in filter...quite small. The PPE filter is much larger...and only costs $30 bucks to replace. I'll drain and fill 3 or 4 times. That, plus the new filter, will swap 93.75% of the fluid. (1/2 fluid each time, 4 times.) )

 

[W Six]

@c3k thanks for that list!

 

[Mikefs234]

I have a buddy who is buying signature series from me and has still been going by the oil life monitor in his vehicle, I don't understand it either....
However, after I use up my last change of OE I will be going to the XL line. It's a 12,000 miles change regardless of usage and the more towing I do with the trailer the more it will save me in the long run.

I have the same sentiment, premium synthetic oils have come a long long ways compared to oils from 20 years ago. But to each their own, people will still do what they want until you can convince them otherwise. I will still sell them the best oil.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

i just switched from OEM oil to Amsoil, my rep told me to change the Amsoil OE out along with filter at no more than 5,000 miles this first go round as the Amsoil will pull or clean all the deposits out of the engine. I will do this then switch to XL, as I personally believe this oil is far superior to OEM oil used. At that point I will follow 12,000 recommendations by Amsoil. I trust this oil and run it in my boat also. Converting everything I got to this oil. I know it’s a personal thing about oils. So just my view, if you have the hemi tick, that everyone talks about, give this oil a shot.

 

[mattee]

I'm an old school person. For years I was 3 months or 3,00 miles whichever came first. Since switching everything to full synthetic I still use old school type thinking and do 4 months or 4,000 miles because it's an easy timeline to remember and for me it is always the time before mileage since I usually only do about 7,000 to 8,000 miles a year and the oil life shows 65% at that time . I also do them myself which saves money so for me it's always been about cheap insurance. I have never had an oil related issue with any vehicle in my life. I bought my truck in April so it works perfect as a reminder April, August, December. I understand if you go to a garage/dealer for oil changes and they rape you for a simple service that someone would wait until the vehicle says it's time but for me I feel you can never change oil tooo frequently. I could go on for a long time about oil life and driving conditions but the fact is if you read the description in most owners manuals 90% of us fall under severe driving which usually cuts your interval in half. In most cases it's around 3,500 miles or so. Just my 2 cents worth on an already long thread

 

[RamminBuff]

+1 on that. Being a brand new vehicle...the oil change indicator has to "be broken in" so to speak. 10k-12k miles is Waaaay too many between oil changes, can't always go off of what the oil % is.

I bought my Ram a week ago; I have 115 miles on it, oil change indicator shows 97%, but my Ram app on my phone sent me an alert to see a dealership and change my oil within the next 500 miles or as soon as possible.

 

[mikeru82]

I bought my Ram a week ago; I have 115 miles on it, oil change indicator shows 97%, but my Ram app on my phone sent me an alert to see a dealership and change my oil within the next 500 miles or as soon as possible.

Assuming you bought it used, it's likely the previous owner changed the oil and reset the oil life monitor themselves. In which case the Ram app would have no idea that had happened. If you bought it new I don't have an answer for that.

 

[RamminBuff]

Assuming you bought it used, it's likely the previous owner changed the oil and reset the oil life monitor themselves. In which case the Ram app would have no idea that had happened. If you bought it new I don't have an answer for that.

Nope. Brand new. 37 miles on it when I bought.

 

[mikeru82]

Nope. Brand new. 37 miles on it when I bought.

It's obviously an issue with the app. Sounds like it's time to contact the dealership about it or just ignore the app. Is there a way to just reset the app?

 

[bigdodge]

Nope. Brand new. 37 miles on it when I bought.

dealer just wants you to spend money with them!