Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) amsoil blend or straight synthetic?

[roxieandduke]

i know this is going to open up a can of worms. should i use straight synthetic? or the blend. is the amsoil oil filter ok to use, ive been using the filter from cummings. how are the air and oil and fuel filters from amsoil? should i stick with the cummings filters? thanks, matt

 

[lschultz]

Its your truck. Use what you want too. I use the 5W30(VW TDI too). SDF 80 is the oil filter and TS106 is the air filter #. Me I change the oil filter at 5000 and change oil/filter at 10000. Some go longer but this is what I do. Clean the filter once a year. Your right you probably are opening up a can of worms. O well. :-{}

 

[redram]

Read your owner's manual. It clearly states to use a 15W40 APi Licensed oil rated for diesel engines. Taht would mean an API CH-4 or the newer CI-4. Minimun should be a CF-4. The oils should also meet the SJ or higher spec.



Here is a link to the API site explaining what all this means.



Use of a lighter viscosity is only recommended in severe ambinet conditions.



http://api-ep.api.org/filelibrary/ACF1E1.pdf



Whether it is a blend or "full" synthetic is fluff. Use a product that you have researched and trust will stand behind their product. By the way, virtually all motor oils will contain some portion of a mineral oil as a diluent or carrier oil even if labelled as being a "full" or "100%" synthetic. It's marketing hype and the MLM companies as well as the major oil companies seem to be the worst at promoting this hype. JMHO.



Good luck.

 

[DMarriott]

I use Amsoi 15W-40 Synthetic and Fleetguard Oil filters. I've looked but I can't find any of those Cummings Filters tho.

Where do you buy them?

Don

 

[andrewkoperdak]

I use Amsoil oil filters , Amsoil two stage foam air filter and I run with 15W40 100 % fake oil from the same. I posted the other day saying that I had to put some delvac into my engine while I waited for my shipment form Amsoil. I notice my truck ran about 5 degrees warmer under the same conditions that I always run it.



However I did just visit Dodge dealer to pickup some manual transmission oil (it is synthetic) and rear diff oil with friction enhancer.



Andy

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by redram
Read your owner's manual. It clearly states to use a 15W40 APi Licensed oil rated for diesel engines. Taht would mean an API CH-4 or the newer CI-4. Minimun should be a CF-4. The oils should also meet the SJ or higher spec. ...

Would it be exceedingly rude if I asked you to quote *exactly* the owner's manual, and specify the year?

My '98 service manual states "use an oil conforming to"; it doesn't say 'licensed'. You will never find a dieseil engine oil that is Certified, as API do not have a program for that.

And checking my owner's manual, it also says 'conforming to'.

Also, "S" classification oils apply to gas engines, not diesel.

As to RoxieandDuke's Q's: It looks like you could use either the 15W40 blend or the 15W40 synth. You can run one as long as the other. The Amsoil oil and air filters are very good filters to use. Don't know about the fuel filter, but if it's a Hastings, it's probably quite good, too. PM me for more info, if you want.

Fest3er

 

[EMDDIESEL]

The cheapest place i have found the Fleetguard Stratapore filters is www.genosgarage.com They are a great company. I run Amsoil 5W-30 Synthetic, truck runs great, and cooler also.

 

[Texas Diesel]

2001 Service manual page 0-4 "In Diesel engines, use an oil that conforms to API Service Grade CF-4 or CG-4S/SH ... " Not much to misinterpret here.



They dropped the word "should" between 98 and 01.



Amsoil 2000/3000 is not API certified which does not meet your warranty requirements. It is unlikely that your warranty would actually be denied however, I beleive that Steve St. Laurent said he was not aware of a single denial, but there is still a risk.



This has been covered here, grab a beer and read on!



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=55616

 

[fest3er]

2001 Service manual page 0-4 "In Diesel engines, use an oil that conforms to API Service Grade CF-4 or CG-4S/SH ... " Not much to misinterpret here.

They dropped the word "should" between 98 and 01.

Amsoil 2000/3000 is not API certified which does not meet your warranty requirements. It is unlikely that your warranty would actually be denied however, I beleive that Steve St. Laurent said he was not aware of a single denial, but there is still a risk.

This has been covered here, grab a beer and read on!

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=55616

But you seem to have mis-interpreted ayway. Conforms to does not mean API Certified for the simple reason that API do not certify diesel engine lubes. API only certify gasoline engine lubes.

Thus preaching the mantra that 'using non-API-Certified oil in the Cummins engine voids the warranty' is pure, unadulterated poppycock. To prove me wrong, I challenge everyone to produce a list of API Service Grade CF-4, CG-4 and CH-4 diesel engine lubes that are API Certified. You will find none. I can find none. Because there are none.

Dodge say to use an oil that 'conforms to'. They do not say to use a oil that is API Certified because they, too, know that there are no such oils available. They also do not say to use only oils that bear the API Service Mark. They say to use oils that 'conform to' explicit specifications. Any oil that conforms to those specifications is acceptable for use, constrained only by SAE viscosity requirements. .

Those specifications include aceptable "C" series service classifications and acceptable SAE oil viscosity for specific temperature ranges.

Thus, those folks running synthetic 5W30 in ambient temps over 30F (like in the heat of summer) are using the wrong oil. That is why *I* do not use 5W30 in my engine.

However, and this is my opinion, were I to reside in a climate where the ambient temperature rarely reaches 50F and is typically -10F to 15F much of the year, I would consider using synthetic 5W30 year-round.

The purpose of this site is to inform and educate. Repeatedly promulgating falsehoods, non-sequiturs and opinions as documented fact runs counter to that purpose. The facts are:

• Diesel engine lubes are not API Certified, though they may be licensed to carry the API Service Mark.
• Dodge require us to use lubes that conform to certain API service classifications
• Dodge do not require us to use only lubes whose containers bear the API Service Mark.

Any representation otherwise is at least misleading, and just plain wrong at worst.

Do the research yourselves. Search the API website (but be prepared to use a high-speed internet connection, as API *really* do not make it easy to *find* information relevant to engine lubes). Search for other educational materials that describe the divers API classifications of engine lubes as well as materials that describe the divers SAE viscosity classifications.

And, again, in this post, I hve not referred to any specific brands or manufacturers of engine lubes, because the information I am conveying is common to all engine lubes. Selecting a particular brand or manufacturer of engine lube is very nearly a religious rite - a very personal decision, one that should be based on documented facts, not mis-interpretations, mis-readings, or even, Heaven help us, sour grapes.

Here I am lecturing again. Oh well. I guess I will continue to lecture until the false information stops being promulgated, or until TDR management/moderators request that I stop.

Fest3er

 

[Cooker]

Originally posted by fest3er

Also, "S" classification oils apply to gas engines, not diesel.

FYI:

Yes you are correct, but the S classification is necessary for the oil used in our Cummins motors.



The following is taken right from a Cummins maintence schedule referring to the B and C sereis engines.



"Midrange engines require SG classification due to sliding cam followers. "



This is direct from the horses mouth. The S classification is applicable to the B engine we have grown to love.

(note: even though SG has been superceeded, we know the oil classifications are backwards compatible. )

 

[Texas Diesel]

Round and round we go...



I'm not going to start it here again.

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by Cooker
FYI:
Yes you are correct, but the S classification is necessary for the oil used in our Cummins motors. ...

I stand corrected. The '98 SM does say to use a CF-4 or CG-4/SH oil. So there *is* a reason that '/SH' is there.

Fest3er

 

[Pit Bull]

Good stuff guys, Roxieandduke, you will get 750,000 miles out of your truck on the semi and 750,001 miles with the full. Now here is the problem, you will get 699,000 out of your truck if you use (dino) Rotella T 15w40. Now cost of product becomes the deciding factor. JMHO

 

[klenger]

roxieandduke:



In spite of the intense discussions here, no one seems to be answering your question. IMHO, I'd go (and I do) with 100% synthetic. If that is too costly for your needs, then I'd just go with conventional oil. I think the synthetic blends cost too much, and you are still putting conventional oil in the engine.

 

[HC]

FWIW (not much), here's another opinion:

If I weren't going to use a full synthetic, my second choice would be Delo. An excellent oil; and those doing analysis see great (low) wear rates.

 

[DocStressor]

I think that synthetic blends are largely a marketing gimmick (product differentiation). You can lower the pour point of conventional Group I and II oils somewhat by blending in a percentage of Group III or IV/V base stock oil. This will increase shear resistance a little as well. But the blends still don't have a high enough viscosity index to provide the full 5W-40 protection range that you get with a Group III or IV/V oil. The convention oil component (typically 70-90%) still oxidizes at the same rate as seen in a conventional oil, so the additive package should deplete just as fast. Since most good oils use shear stable viscosity improvers anyway, the contribution of the synthetic stock in the blend toward stabilizing viscosity is questionable.



The Cummins engine doesn't need sophisticated oil unless you are operating in cold weather or you hate frequent oil changes. In either case you should use either Group III or IV/V oils in order to realize any significant benefit. Otherwise stick to conventional CH/I-4 oils. Delo 400, which uses a Group II+ base stock in the 15W-40 version, is a superior product as HC said. If you compare the specs of Delo with synthetics blends you will find that they are very close. Unlike the blends, Delo is a bargain at under $7 per gal.