First oil change on 2013 question, Opinions please

[Gonzo 1066]

I have been a diesel mechanic most of my adult life. So I do understand how things work. My new Ram truck is my 6th Dodge Cummins truck. I have always (on all of my new engines) changed the oil at a relitivly low miles-or hours area. Typically my new trucks had the first oil change at relitivly low hour or mile range to flush out any remaining machining material. The new 13 truck makes no mention of a quick oil change, is my old practice out of date? Should I just change oil at the indicated milage?

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

The 2013s come with 5-40 synthetic. Neither the Cummins maintenance guy giving the talk at the CMEP rally, nor the top warranty guru with Chrysler said anything to me about needing an early first oil change. I too have always changed oil after 500-1000 miles at most in the past. I can say that after a solo trip of about 300 miles, the oil is still light amber.

 

[rscurtis]

In the old days, on some engines, you could actually hear the piston rings seating themselves into the cylinders on a brand new gas engine. With today's modern and very precise machining capabilities, break-in is no longer necessary. I would think also that the "B" series engine is assembled in an almost sterile environment, a far cry from what was done years ago where "slap it together and get it out the door" was the norm. I've seen the insides of some of GM's past efforts- you wouldn't want to work on them without heavy gloves.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

The 2013s come with 5-40 synthetic. Neither the Cummins maintenance guy giving the talk at the CMEP rally, nor the top warranty guru with Chrysler said anything to me about needing an early first oil change. I too have always changed oil after 500-1000 miles at most in the past. I can say that after a solo trip of about 300 miles, the oil is still light amber.

My 2013 truck has just 2000 hard towing miles on it and the engine oil is just starting to show some black. Kind of good strange compared to my 04. 5 that was BLACK BLACK in 35 miles.

 

[Bill Stockard]

My 2013 truck has just 2000 hard towing miles on it and the engine oil is just starting to show some black. Kind of good strange compared to my 04. 5 that was BLACK BLACK in 35 miles.

In contrast, my '03 without the built-in lower NOX emissions that began with the 2004. 5 engines and doesn't tow heavy goes about 1k miles before it turns black.



Bill

 

[sag2]

As Joe said there is really no reason to change the oil (way) early, especially since it is filled with $100 of quality oil. That being said, if it makes you feel better change it when you want, as peace of mind as it relates to oil is pretty cheap. Most any metal being shed from new parts will drop into the pan and be trapped by the filter. Especially since most of the wear will be to rings and cylinders. But as anyone has seen when pulling the head on any Cummins with 100K+ miles, there really isn't much wear taking place.
A better and less expensive alternative would be to change the filter and top off the oil until your ready for the change. And remember, there is no "full" mark on a Cummins. Only a "safe" area, and if the level is anywhere between the marks it is good.
Just as a reference, my 2013 Grand Caravan went 11,000 miles before the oil change light turned on. It was still at the full mark, and light amber in color. An amazing difference from just a few years ago.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I am going to change the filter when I get back to the shop from this trip. Will have to change my ways with the synthetic oil? I have been running only mineral oils.

 

[Cummins12V98]

My 98 12V is dark, not black at 5K but the 11 is black as soon as you start it even with letting it drain overnight!

 

[HBarlow]

My '01 HO 24 valve, '06 HPCR, and '08 cab and chassis have all turned the oil black immediately. I've never worried about it and black oil has never hurt any of them.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

My '01 HO 24 valve, '06 HPCR, and '08 cab and chassis have all turned the oil black immediately. I've never worried about it and black oil has never hurt any of them.

Yes I understand that black oil is not a indication of lubricating qualitys. With near 35 years of high performance Diesel tractor pulling I have seen more black diesel engine oil than most folks. However it is very interesting that the apparent soot load on the oil is MUCH less on the 2013s than on previous configurations.

 

[LocoPilot750]

I'm still driving my '97, but will be ordering a 2014 Laramie (if I can't find one in the inventory) around New Years. From what I can tell the 6. 7 still use the same filter I've been using, but takes one more quart of oil, for a full three gallons. I get my filters at the Case-IH dealer in town, and I always get the J-934430 which was a Fleetguard micro-glass filter called "Case IH Ultra Micro-Loc" and painted black. This filter is for extended change intervals on dirty, hard working farm tractors, and that's good enough for me. I change at about 7500 miles. Anyway, I started out using Chevron Delo 400 15-40 for the first quarter million miles. I had heard at the time it was just a little more advanced than Rotella, that may have changed by now. Then, I went to "Mystic JT-8" in 15-40, which is a semi synthetic with all the current ratings. I get it a farm supply stores. I have almost 400k on the truck now, and no engine problems so far. Will probably keep using the Mystic since it is easy to get nearby.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

John Martin wrote up oil filters in TDR and liked the Stratapore. I just bought a bunch of them from Geno's #LF16035

 

[JDinNY]

I personally use the Stratapore myself.
Always buy from Geno's

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I have only used Stratopore also. I changed the filter on the new truck at 5000 miles, cut the used filter apart looking for debris. I found some VERY small metal bits, maybe 5-6 of them. Normal machining stuff. Other than that the media looked great.

 

[Wygate]

When I bought my 09 I asked the wrench turners at Dave Smiths the same question, " the break-in is done on the eng assembly line using the dyno on a non running eng" big part as to no 500 mile change.

Just my 2¢

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I am at 9000 hard towing miles on the factory oil fill , did one filter change and will have my dealer do the free oil change when I get home. Should be just under 10,000 miles at that time.