Oil Change Interval w/ Conventinal Oil????

[shorthorn]

Hey yall... I haven't done any UOA's on this truck yet, but I used Blackstone religiously on my old '05... I changed oil on this truck almost 3k miles ago now and put just normal 15w-40 conventional oil in it. I don't think I want to go 15k on this OCI, but looking for a good number to start at?

My plan is with the next change, to go back to running Rotella T6 5w-40 like I did in the '05 and start UOA's then at that time.

Would I be crazy to change out this conventional oil at around 4-5k miles before we head to the Smokey mountains with the camper in Mid-July?

 

[SnoKing]

RAM does not differentiate on the 15K or 6 months between Dino and Synthetic Oil service intervals. SNOKING

 

[spoon059]

If the oil meets spec, it meets spec. 15K miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. For me, 6 months comes at around 4000 to 5000 miles...

 

[Newsa]

Hey yall... I haven't done any UOA's on this truck yet, but I used Blackstone religiously on my old '05... I changed oil on this truck almost 3k miles ago now and put just normal 15w-40 conventional oil in it. I don't think I want to go 15k on this OCI, but looking for a good number to start at?

My plan is with the next change, to go back to running Rotella T6 5w-40 like I did in the '05 and start UOA's then at that time.

Would I be crazy to change out this conventional oil at around 4-5k miles before we head to the Smokey mountains with the camper in Mid-July?

That's not enough info to know if you're crazy

 

[GrantP]

I don't think you'd be crazy to change it, peace of mind is worth the price of 3 gallons of conventional oil in my book. I have a 3rd Gen but my UOA doesn't look too good at 5k so that's my oil change interval. As usual, your mileage may vary...

 

[Cummins2014]

IMO follow the manual, and in my case I don' put enough miles on my truck to either go 15K or start getting oil samples. I change every 6 months regardless of miles , usually around 5K. NO I don't run the synthetic stuff, to me it makes no sense to dump that expensive snake oil out after 5k ,and six months.

There is some that will claim with valid oil samples that Ram will back the warranty if going longer intervals with oil changes . Of course they would like to go as long as they can running that expensive oil. I believe the one that claimed he was told that is running Amzoil , can't blame him. I sure would like that it writing from Ram before I start believing word of mouth if a oil related warranty problem occurred .

I can almost hear the conversation when asked to prove your oil change intervals , and you mention I was told its okay to go longer with good oil sample tests. I can just about bet where that conversation would go .

 

[Newsa]

Oil samples are adequate evidence. It is by law the burden of the manufacturer to prove that the oil caused the problem. The guidelines in the manual are a good rule of thumb. But they are not proof.


It is difficult to get perfect oil analysis on 12,000-15,000 mile oil.

If you let a truck sit for 6 months with fresh oil and do an oil analysis, you will likely have a perfect analysis and proof that the failure was not oil related.

 

[shorthorn]

Thanks all... not sure what I am going to do yet... I am just kind of nervous to put 15k on conventional oil...

Newsa - I can assure you I am fully crazy!

 

[sag2]

Oil samples are adequate evidence. It is by law the burden of the manufacturer to prove that the oil caused the problem. The guidelines in the manual are a good rule of thumb. But they are not proof.

Not exactly true. The manufacturer has a recommendation to change at x interval. It is the owners obligation to follow that or risk possible denial of warranty coverage. A UOA may show the oil still has useful life, but it does not change the terms of the written warranty. All that said, Cummins engines do not have oil related failures if you service them according to the manufacturer recommendations, or even exceed them by a reasonable margin. I would not be too concerned about a failure, but I would be concerned with someone encouraging another to ignore what the warranty states on the chance that a failure may be covered. Remember you would still have to sue the manufacturer to recover, and my experience with attorneys is they are not going to take a breach of warranty case for no fee up front. Take the risk as long as you understand the risk.

 

[Tuesdak]

Would I be crazy to change out this conventional oil at around 4-5k miles before we head to the Smokey mountains with the camper in Mid-July?

No. Synthetic oil has one advantage over conventional oil and that is a higher heat tolerance before it, the oil, fails and you scuff a piston. Extreme example of known oil failures piston scuffing is, but, a turbo is really hard on oil. Your engine may never see these conditions even loaded, pulling grades, in the hot summer. When the SHTF from a hose failure or other abnormal situation clearly it has an extra margin. Tuners/Hot Rodding change the equation. Synthetic may not be worth the cost to you in your use conditions.

On the flip side fleet managers run the cheaper conventional oil and they want the most miles out of that oil so the conventional Shell oil is tailored for fleet use more than the synthetic offering of theirs per the TDR article. (An article i wish they would expand on showing oil at the end of it's life, how it did, and what fleet managers consider failed oil.)

UOA as you already know is an excellent way to tell if you are pushing your oil to failure. For example if soot is low and the oil is stepping out of grade thicker you are likely overheating conventional oil. (Assuming a normal oil change interval mileage.) You don't need to wait for an oil change to do a UOA. Do one before you hit the mountain grades. Then do a UOA after you have gone through them to make sure your oil handled it. Now that's peace of mind!

Peace of mind by just changing the oil, NO! You can dump out early signs of antifreeze, fuel dilution, dust, abnormal wear, oil used up early, etc in the oil and be all happy you just wasted $100 on an oil change. You can be failing the conventional oil and not changing it soon enough or correcting the problem like a leak in the intake letting dirt in or running the tuner too hot on grades. Not saying you have a tuner as other problems can show up. Even without a tuner I have ruined conventional oil in other diesels.

At the end of the day the legendary million mile engine still has a flat tappet camshaft that really likes modern EPA neutered oil to be in good shape. This factor makes the conventional oil with it's higher numbers have an advantage over synthetic. Yes, my local shop showed me some UGLY worn abused Cummins camshafts.

One final thought. Modern oil is pretty tough. However it's more important to run good filters (air/oil/fuel) and know who makes your filters esp. after the Orange Can of Death, aka The FRAM group, bought out so many brands. I go so far as to cut filters open after use and have discovered media failure defects where a t-shirt stuffed into the filter can would do just as good. Oil filters have a limited life and may not make the 15K interval. Tear-o-lators are good to about 3000 miles before media failure that they claim is not an option, apparently it's standard. Air filters also can experience media and gasket failures.