Oil Change Question

[ARedmon]

OK, guys. I don't know what's going on with some of these trucks. Like I said earlier, my Mopar 285 Oil Filter fit easily through the hole in the fender well. I put it in closed-end first, keeping the gasket end tilted upward as much as possible because I had pre-filled it with a bout a 1/2 qt of oil. It fit easily. Here's a pic of my fender well:

 

[ARedmon]

As you can see from my 3 pics above, there is plenty of room on my truck for the oil filter to go through easily. Maybe some of the trucks have less fenderwell cutaway or something. For me, though, this was much easier than breaking the air intake open and going from above. Now that the gorilla-tightened first filter is off, I believe this is actually going to be an easier oil filter change than on my '05. I have plenty of room through the fenderwell to get the "properly" tightened oil filter off with a common band tightening oil filter wrench. And with a bit of care, the Glad bag method of keeping the oil contained within the filter worked great.

 

[Ram4Sam]

I must be losing it......I looked yesterday at mine and thought no way, too tight. After looking at your pics, I went and looked again.....I must have been looking at the neighbors truck or something......here is a shot of mine.

Sam

 

[jus2shy]

yeah, it appears you guys have more space in your side component. I'm going to see if the dealer can take a look and maybe re-locate the trans cooling lines a little further back. That could get me enough space back there. Thanks for the pics all, it's apparent that there are some slight changes.

 

[SnoKing]

The lines seem to have two different hold down clamps in that area. One in the pictures on this page with the clamp bolted to the top of the frame rail and on page four the clamp is visible on the outside of the frame rail. Chris

 

[Ram4Sam]

That might be the secret to all this, unbolt the clamps and the lines might move out of the way without bending anything.

Sam

 

[Ram4Sam]

Okay.....I give up, this is getting a bit nutty.....In my pic above, it looks like plenty of room for an oil filter to pass through. So I took a new fleetguard form my 01' I have left over. Tried it, no friggin' way it fits without bending a hose. It get's past two of them on the left and right, but there is a third line, on the right side, behind the visible line, that the filter bumps right into. Unless the grey one on the truck is smaller in diameter than the 3894, I don't see how it works. Glad I don't have to deal with this for a while.........


Sam

 

[gsbrockman]

Okay.....I give up, this is getting a bit nutty.....In my pic above, it looks like plenty of room for an oil filter to pass through. So I took a new fleetguard form my 01' I have left over. Tried it, no friggin' way it fits without bending a hose. Glad I don't have to deal with this for a while.........

I'm glad to see there's some corroboration after trying it.....I've changed the oil on my '13 three times and removing the intake is indeed a piece of cake.......

 

[jus2shy]

Ram, that's the same observation I had. For my 2nd oil change, I tried to go through the side and I just ended up making a huge mess. So I just ended up taking out the intake again to finish the job.

 

[ARedmon]

Well, apparently there are some differences in where the lines are run/anchored or something in these trucks. My oil filter fit easily through the opening. The only problem is getting the filter off without spilling oil and I was able to do that by the Glad bag method without much trouble at all. I did have to keep repositioning the bag as I was turning (unscrewing) the oil filter and it's important to reposition the bag just before the filter drops off. Once that is done, though, there was room to drop the oil filter down, zip up the bag, then tilt the filter and bring it out through the opening. No problem. It's easier than getting to the oil filter on my 2010 Jeep Liberty with a 3.7L gasser!

 

[Cummins12V98]

Okay.....I give up, this is getting a bit nutty.....In my pic above, it looks like plenty of room for an oil filter to pass through. So I took a new fleetguard form my 01' I have left over. Tried it, no friggin' way it fits without bending a hose. It get's past two of them on the left and right, but there is a third line, on the right side, behind the visible line, that the filter bumps right into. Unless the grey one on the truck is smaller in diameter than the 3894, I don't see how it works. Glad I don't have to deal with this for a while.........


Sam
View attachment 88401

FYI, incase you did not know the LF 3894 will work fine on your new truck. I had a big stock left over from my 98 12V and have been using them on my 11.

 

[Ram4Sam]

Good to know....thanks.

Sam

 

[Dieselnerd]

I was planning on changing my filter through the fender. I just got back from a trip to AZ and thought I would see if the Fleetguard 16035 fit OK through the "Hole" on my 2014. To my dismay, it doesn't. :{

My truck was built in September 2013, probably prior to any hole enlargement. Guess I'll be going through the top unless someone finds a quick fix to the hoses being in the way.

 

[Dieselnerd]

I just got my 2014 service manual CD. The first thing I looked up was how to change the oil filter.

The service manual says remove the turbo intake!!! It also says remove the right front wheel and liner to get the filter loose!!! That step is probably not needed if you use a strap wrench from above. It says to fill the new filter with oil before installing too.

 

[tmcIlwain]

I just got my 2014 service manual CD.......

As I wait for my 2014, I wonder how and where and how much for a 2104 service manual CD.
Thanks
Tom

 

[JLandry]

As I wait for my 2014, I wonder how and where and how much for a 2104 service manual CD.

Tom,

It's available from Chrysler's TechAuthority website for $134.99 + shipping.

81-370-14077-CD, 2014 Ram Truck 3500 Service Information CD (English)

Take special note that it requires the use of a Windows operating system and MS Internet Explorer to work. I'm using it on a Mac by running Windows 7 in a virtual machine under VMWare Fusion. Also, you can copy and run the contents of the entire CD from your computer's hard drive for faster performance.

Best regards,

John L.

 

[jus2shy]

Tom,

It's available from Chrysler's TechAuthority website for $134.99 + shipping.

81-370-14077-CD, 2014 Ram Truck 3500 Service Information CD (English)

Take special note that it requires the use of a Windows operating system and MS Internet Explorer to work. I'm using it on a Mac by running Windows 7 in a virtual machine under MWare Fusion. Also, you can copy and run the contents of the entire CD from your computer's hard drive for faster performance.

Best regards,

John L.

Thanks for the link, I always like having the FSM handy. But that was a sad thing to find out that the SOP is to remove the turbo intake... Oh well, I got the process down pact now, I can remove it in about 10 minutes.

 

[tmcIlwain]

Tom,
It's available from Chrysler's TechAuthority website for $134.99 + shipping.
John L.

Thanks
Tom

 

[2rrRAM2nv]

being new to Cummins... should I still be changing oil at 6 months even though my mileage is going to be probably less than 4k? I got my truck for towing a 5th wheel not commuting. Since I don't have the 5er yet, mileage is gonna be LOW!!! what say ya all?

 

[gsbrockman]

what say ya all?

I say ya need to drive it a little more!!!!! :-laf