Archived Oil Change Issue

[Cixelsyd1]

New Member to TDR, I have owned 7 Dodge Cummins and have run Delo 400 in all of them and love it. I recently (1400) miles ago had an oil change done to have the guy inform me they were out of Delo and he did me a favor and did not charge me for the Mobil 1 synthetic. Thanks for asking right. Well I've been too busy to swap the oil and the miles have now added up.



I do not like the synthetic and want to change back to Delo, is this an issue with only running 1400 miles on Mobile 1? Total vehicle miles are 6700 it's an 05 Dodge Ram 2500 3/4 ton. I usually change the oil every 23-2500 miles.



Thanks,

Craig

 

[JAYoung]

Mobile 1 Synthetic

You might want to search the forum, but I think Mobile 1 Delvac 5w-40 Synthetic is the preferred. Key word is "Delvac" (diesel rated) or "truck/SUV". As long as it's rated for diesel you should be OK.

 

[MacHaggis]

Craig, my understanding is that you need to keep dino in the crankcase until the rings have had time to seat, so there may an issue, certainly at least something to consider.



Cummins recommends running on dino for the first 5,000-20,000 miles for ring-seating, so you may be out of the woods, but you are on the bottom end of the range for switching out. Myself (I trust the dino and will stick with it for the long-haul), I'd dump the synthetic you have in there now and get dino back in for another 10,00o at least, before switching off to synthetic, if that's your ultimate intention. In any event, I'd get back to dino as soon as I could. It ws nice of them to cut you come "slack" on your last visit , but . . . tell the manager the engine wasn't broken in sufficiently for synthetic, see if you can get some slack on the price of the filter and refill.

 

[Cixelsyd1]

My main concern was not that I wanted to go synthetic. I just wanted to switch back to Delo 400 and was told that once synthetic was applied to vehicle that you could not switch back to a non-synthetic without causing harm to the engine.



Thanks for all of the advise!!



C.

 

[RT66DOC]

I ran dino for the first 12k miles then switched to Amsoil/Delvac. Then at 100k I switched back to Delo 400. Truck doesn't seem to mind a bit.

 

[DavidMartin]

I routinely put synthetic oil in for the winter months, as this is what Dodge recommends if you do not plug your truck in. I plug it in at home, but am unable to while at work. In the summer months I run Rotella. I am in Upstate NY and we have periods of time where it doesn't get above 0 for a few days and the lows can be -10 to -20, so I need to use the Synthetic. I have not had any motor problems related to switching back and forth. I think the "once you go synthetic you can't go back" is a myth for our CTD Trucks. Hope that this helps.

Dave

 

[2-ND TIME]

Oil changes

I would stay with the Mobil Oil till time to change again should think that it will only postpone your breakin time. Have been using it for years and it is very good. Inform the oil changer that the engine isn't broken in yet and not to put in the 5w/40.



I change the filters twice (fill them up) then change the oil since it is soooo good.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

The "ring seating" bit is pretty much a carry-over from decades ago when oils and machining were less than what we have today. Drive a new engine just a bit easier for the first 1000 miles or so, then drive it normally - use any of the approved oils - they're all pretty decent.



As far as avoiding synthetics in new engines, well a fair number of later engines. Like my '98 Camaro SS LS1 and all the later Corvettes, came filled with Mobil 1 right off the assembly line...

 

[Cixelsyd1]

Awesome, guys thanks for all of the friendly advise! I live in Viva Las Vegas, Nevada where we don't see too much weather bellow 60 degrees. I use to live south of Buffalo so I can relate to the cold weather.



Out here it can get pretty chilly when standing in front of the Freezer trying to decide which frozen pizza to burn, but beyond that our weather is pretty nice.



If it won't hurt I guess I will stay with the Mobile 1, I know that you can run it longer than the 2500 miles, but I guess I'm old fashion and will continue routine oil changes at 2500.



Thanks again, your advice and comments are very appreciated!!



Craig

 

[LandShark]

Go the the Exxon/Mobile site to learn about the Myths surrounding synthetics.



Some of the info on the TDR is from guys that grew up in the "olden days" when oils and breakin periods were very different than today.



You need to find out which Mobile 1 oil was used in your truck. Only a couple of them are diesel rated. If the oil is not diesel rated, dump it for some that is. The switching back and forth between synthetic and dino oil problems, are a myth.



You will find that Mobile states that no breakin period is required prior to switching to synthetic and that conflicts with what Cummins says for your truck. I would go with what Cummins recommends.

 

[DJW]

Regarding Oil Myths, the engines Mobile listed were not run of the mill auto engines where run of the mill engines have a "Rattling Good Fit" style of precision as the norm. Often high output engines are run on Test Beds before being fitted to the chassis. Not familiar with auto engines but engines fitted to BSA Gold Star motorcycles, were run on test beds then stripped down, high spots scraped etc. all parts inspected reassembled then run. Each engine had an Engineer's Signed Report stating Brake Horse Power etc. This was common knowledge in Britain, however in the USA on asking BSA Dealers if the practice was still current - 1955, they had never heard of it and at the time they were sponsoring Racing! Each manufacturer knows their own engines, so follow their advice. Scrum Down