If you're hoping to use that from below, I'm sorry but you will not have any clearance as the below access is blocked by a cross member now. I recently tried to change my oil by going through the wheel well, but I seem to have extra pipes and stuff in the way, so I can't physically fit my oil filter through the wheel well. I've had to take the intake off to get this latest oil change done once again. Also, when I did my first oil change, I used oil filter pliers to bust it off. It is no exaggeration when people mention the Cummins Gorilla installing these things.
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Oil Change Question
- Thread starter KSams
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If you're hoping to use that from below, I'm sorry but you will not have any clearance as the below access is blocked by a cross member now. I recently tried to change my oil by going through the wheel well, but I seem to have extra pipes and stuff in the way, so I can't physically fit my oil filter through the wheel well. I've had to take the intake off to get this latest oil change done once again. Also, when I did my first oil change, I used oil filter pliers to bust it off. It is no exaggeration when people mention the Cummins Gorilla installing these things.
jus2shy, are you saying one can't get the filter out from below at all? And here I was hoping to use a bowl-type filter wrench (similar to that shown) and get it loosened from below.
What are the chances of getting this onto the filter? Several lengths of extensions might be needed. If it can't be accessed in a straight line, a u-joint included with the extension could help.
Well, I guess Jus2shy answered the question I had. I recently traded my 05 RAM Diesel for a 2014 RAM 3500 Diesel. I was wondering how the he_ _ do I get to the oil filter!!! On my 05, I came up from below with a cup type and extension on my socket wrench. But on this '14, there's just no getting to it from the bottom. So I guess I have to start moving things out of the way up top to get to it? UGH!!! Any tips, guys?
Oh, and one more question about the 2014 RAM diesels. They now come from the factory, filled with 5W40 Synthetic Diesel CJ4. I assume it's Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme since that's who supplies oil to Cummins. I sent an email to the folks at RAM and asked if there was an engineering or mechanical change to the new Cummins that made them change to synthetic oil. They said that it was simply to cover the bases in all climate zones since a good percentage of their trucks go to areas where the temps would require a synthetic. At first oil change, though, it was fine to use dino oil, as long as I was expecting the temps to be in the proper range. Then they added that the oil MUST be changed at the same intervals whether I use synthetic or conventional oil. My question is: Does that sound right to you guys? I ran 15w40 Mopar for the 9 yrs I had my '05 and had zero problems with the truck. It's hard for me to justify spending double or triple for synthetics without a darn good reason!
Oh, and one more question. I'm on a roll here, huh? I understand that a few yrs ago, Chrysler signed a long-term contract with Shell to supply all of their oil for both dealer bulk and for their MOPAR branded containers. It used to be Mobil that supplied the MOPAR stuff. Anyway, I guess the MOPAR 15w40 Diesel oil, then, is going to be Shell Rotella. Any opinions on the quality of Rotella? I have a couple of trucker friends that swear that Rotella is the best thing for diesel engines ever produced!
JLandry
TDR MEMBER
Agreed.
In my truck's case, I'll undoubtedly hit the 6 month oil change requirement long before reaching the 15,000 mile / 500 hour change requirement, so I plan on sticking with a good quality conventional oil as I did with my 2001.
John L.
SnoKing
TDR MEMBER
Here is a u-tube tip on how to fill the new filter with oil and get it in place. Chris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txKO8FMXyuI
On my oldie but goodie I use a strap filter wrench. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...l-filter-wrench/_/N-255s?itemIdentifier=72843
I remove the air hose from the air box to turbo. It is a bit hard to get the strap around the filter, however once in place it works well to loosen the filter from the top.
Watching the u-tube above, it seems once you figure out the loosening issue, than dropping the filter into a zip-lock bag would allow removing the filter out the notch in the wheel liner.
Will the bowl/cap filter wrench work with a ratchet wrench through the wheel liner notch?
Chris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txKO8FMXyuI
On my oldie but goodie I use a strap filter wrench. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...l-filter-wrench/_/N-255s?itemIdentifier=72843
I remove the air hose from the air box to turbo. It is a bit hard to get the strap around the filter, however once in place it works well to loosen the filter from the top.
Watching the u-tube above, it seems once you figure out the loosening issue, than dropping the filter into a zip-lock bag would allow removing the filter out the notch in the wheel liner.
Will the bowl/cap filter wrench work with a ratchet wrench through the wheel liner notch?
Chris
Last edited:
Regarding ARedmon question on Rotella oil, I have been using Rotella T 15W40 in my second gen CTD (5.9L 12-Valve) for over 240,000 km (150,000 miles). This is a good oil that meets Cummins engine specifications. I recently purchased a 2012 4th gen 6.7L CTD and intend to use the same oil in that engine. Rest assured it meets the specification of Cummins CES 20081 and API CJ-4. You can check this site: http://www.e-bookspdf.org/download/3810340-cummins.html and select Service Bulletin Cummins® Engine Oil And Oil Analysis, bulletin 3810340 dated 11-May-2007.
JLandry, I noticed that you have the factory 5th Wheel/Goose prep. Do you also have the factory 5th Wheel hitch made by Curt? I do, but haven't used it yet. If you have it, I was wondering how you like it.
I'm sorry this question is off the oil change topic.
Back to that oil change topic: Any tips, guys, on how to get to the oil filter on the 2014 HDs with Cummins? I wish the engineers would think about things like this when they design the truck/engine layout! It looks like it's going to be a real pain to change the oil filter!
I'm sorry this question is off the oil change topic.
Back to that oil change topic: Any tips, guys, on how to get to the oil filter on the 2014 HDs with Cummins? I wish the engineers would think about things like this when they design the truck/engine layout! It looks like it's going to be a real pain to change the oil filter!
SnoKing
TDR MEMBER
I actually tried to follow that video. I'm wondering if there's something up with my truck though. I can't physically fit a mopar MO-285 or Fleetguard LF16035 through that gap. The hoses and such are too tight together and I can't move either hose around because they're hard mounted.
gsbrockman
TDR MEMBER
A post I made on another forum several months ago :
Today I tackled the first oil change on my '13 RAM 3500. I'm at 12,317 miles and 241 drive hours / 0 idle hours (that's an average mph of 51.1). I decided I would share my experiences here based on this being a more search-friendly thread for other member's posts.
I began by removing the drain plug. Previously, I'd asked if the oil comes out like a cow peeing on a flat rock....with answers of a reassuring "yes". That's all validated as of today personally by me. Gotta love those oil-proof gloves.
#ad
I then pondered as to if I was going for oil filter removal through the wheel well or via the top. I actually incorporated both techniques.
I began by removing all of the duct work between the air filter housing and the turbo.
#ad
On edit 01/09/2014 : On my 2nd oil change, and block heater cord installation, I removed the ductwork as one assembly...and it makes everything go a little faster.
#ad
I loosened the old filter (the pic denotes the new LF16035 installed) via the wheel well. Every new RAM/Cummins pickup I've owned has had the Cummins Gorilla in charge of tightening the filters at the MREP. I used a band style oil filter wrench for removal.
#ad
Pic of LF16035 from topside. I can note that I was able to remove the old filter without spilling the first drop into the drip tray / trough. I'll also note that I was able to prime the new LF16035 just as I had my previous CTD's.
#ad
While I was at it, I checked the air filter. I deemed it good for a few more miles anyway. A refreshing 12 oz. Mountain Dew can pictured for reference.
#ad
A couple of shots of the mystery intake silencer....
#ad
#ad
Overall, everything went well. I must admit I was spoiled from all of the previous 5.9L & 6.7L CTD's oil filter removals from the bottom. It is what it is....and today was a learning experience. I'm quite sure the next oil change will go a tad quicker. My oil life indicator was at 16%. I reset the oil life to 100%.
Edited this post 01/08/2014 to add that when re-installing the ductwork, get a clean, wet paper towel and squirt a small amount of dishwashing detergent on it. Swipe the sections of intake hose with the soapy wet paper towel; everything goes back together muccccch easier!!!!
I also changed the fuel filters today as well. I'll be adding to another thread here shortly.
Today I tackled the first oil change on my '13 RAM 3500. I'm at 12,317 miles and 241 drive hours / 0 idle hours (that's an average mph of 51.1). I decided I would share my experiences here based on this being a more search-friendly thread for other member's posts.
I began by removing the drain plug. Previously, I'd asked if the oil comes out like a cow peeing on a flat rock....with answers of a reassuring "yes". That's all validated as of today personally by me. Gotta love those oil-proof gloves.
#adI then pondered as to if I was going for oil filter removal through the wheel well or via the top. I actually incorporated both techniques.
I began by removing all of the duct work between the air filter housing and the turbo.
#adOn edit 01/09/2014 : On my 2nd oil change, and block heater cord installation, I removed the ductwork as one assembly...and it makes everything go a little faster.
#adI loosened the old filter (the pic denotes the new LF16035 installed) via the wheel well. Every new RAM/Cummins pickup I've owned has had the Cummins Gorilla in charge of tightening the filters at the MREP. I used a band style oil filter wrench for removal.
#adPic of LF16035 from topside. I can note that I was able to remove the old filter without spilling the first drop into the drip tray / trough. I'll also note that I was able to prime the new LF16035 just as I had my previous CTD's.
#adWhile I was at it, I checked the air filter. I deemed it good for a few more miles anyway. A refreshing 12 oz. Mountain Dew can pictured for reference.
#adA couple of shots of the mystery intake silencer....
#ad#adOverall, everything went well. I must admit I was spoiled from all of the previous 5.9L & 6.7L CTD's oil filter removals from the bottom. It is what it is....and today was a learning experience. I'm quite sure the next oil change will go a tad quicker. My oil life indicator was at 16%. I reset the oil life to 100%.
Edited this post 01/08/2014 to add that when re-installing the ductwork, get a clean, wet paper towel and squirt a small amount of dishwashing detergent on it. Swipe the sections of intake hose with the soapy wet paper towel; everything goes back together muccccch easier!!!!
I also changed the fuel filters today as well. I'll be adding to another thread here shortly.
Last edited:
Re. oil change interval. The only way to know your oil load's condition for sure is to have it analyzed. There's a number of outfits that do this. I use Blackstone but I don't know if they are any better than the others. Just be sure to pay the extra couple of bucks for the TBN (Total Base Number) so you'll know how much detergent is still in the oil.
The center of Internet oil knowledge is BITOG, www.BobIsTheOilGuy.com. I know that sounds silly, but it was the tribologists that made it up, not me.
Our fathers changed oil pretty often because the engines were dirty and the oil not much good. As oil and engines improved oil change intervals (OIC) should have gotten longer but oil mfrs have marketing depts and they kept pushing the school of short OCI's. The problem with short OCIs is that 1) They are expensive and 2) They are tough on engines because fresh oil leaches a bit of surface material until it gets "mature." Then auto mfrs started paying for oil changes and suddenly OICs went to crazy long intervals like 15k miles which resulted in gummed up engines and PCVs. The right answer for OCI's depends on how you use your truck and your oil choices. The only way to know for sure is to send a sample out to be analyzed. My suggestion would be to send an oil sample out when you were figuring it was time to change your oil, and see what the lab report says. Maybe your oil has another 5k in it. Maybe 10k.
Oil choices. This is hard. Oil is like religion. Everyone loves what they use and few have hard info in support of their choice. The web is full of silly comments like "my engine loves WD40" or, "I've always use Castrol and I've never had problems." It gets worse. What was true about an oil last year isn't necessarily true about an oil this year. Some years ago, based on an old TDR article I started using Valvoline Blue in a BMW race car. After a couple events I sent an oil sample off and the results came back very different from the article. What I learned is that oil additive chemistry can change at any time. It can even change faster then the oil mfr's website so you can't even believe the official specs that you read on the mfr's site. All you really can believe is oil analysis.
If you're really interested in making sure that you're using a really great oil, spend some time searching around BITOG. I don't have a recommendation for you because I've not spent the time on BITOG reading up on diesel oils. Right now I put Shell Rotella in my truck, mostly because it's available, it's cheap, and I know from a small amount of research that it's not awful.
Synthetics vs. Dino oils. Synthetics do have some charms but for most folks the additional expense is probably not warranted. Synthetic oils handle high heat well. The turbo can get the oil pretty hot, but a diesel engine has such a large oil reserve that it should be an issue as long as you're monitoring oil temp for unusual behavior. Synthetic oils handle multi-viscosity well. A dino oil requires more viscosity modifiers than a synthetic oil. Those visc modifiers wear out, so a 10W40 dino with it's worn visc modifiers will be thinner 10k miles later than a 10W40 synthetic. The average person doesn't care about those issues much so for many people full synthetics might not be worth the additional cost.
Oil filters. There's some good oil filter studies on the web. The quality of the filters vary quite a bit. OEM recommended oil filters are pretty good. I personally know of no OEM recommended oil filter that is crap.
The center of Internet oil knowledge is BITOG, www.BobIsTheOilGuy.com. I know that sounds silly, but it was the tribologists that made it up, not me.
Our fathers changed oil pretty often because the engines were dirty and the oil not much good. As oil and engines improved oil change intervals (OIC) should have gotten longer but oil mfrs have marketing depts and they kept pushing the school of short OCI's. The problem with short OCIs is that 1) They are expensive and 2) They are tough on engines because fresh oil leaches a bit of surface material until it gets "mature." Then auto mfrs started paying for oil changes and suddenly OICs went to crazy long intervals like 15k miles which resulted in gummed up engines and PCVs. The right answer for OCI's depends on how you use your truck and your oil choices. The only way to know for sure is to send a sample out to be analyzed. My suggestion would be to send an oil sample out when you were figuring it was time to change your oil, and see what the lab report says. Maybe your oil has another 5k in it. Maybe 10k.
Oil choices. This is hard. Oil is like religion. Everyone loves what they use and few have hard info in support of their choice. The web is full of silly comments like "my engine loves WD40" or, "I've always use Castrol and I've never had problems." It gets worse. What was true about an oil last year isn't necessarily true about an oil this year. Some years ago, based on an old TDR article I started using Valvoline Blue in a BMW race car. After a couple events I sent an oil sample off and the results came back very different from the article. What I learned is that oil additive chemistry can change at any time. It can even change faster then the oil mfr's website so you can't even believe the official specs that you read on the mfr's site. All you really can believe is oil analysis.
If you're really interested in making sure that you're using a really great oil, spend some time searching around BITOG. I don't have a recommendation for you because I've not spent the time on BITOG reading up on diesel oils. Right now I put Shell Rotella in my truck, mostly because it's available, it's cheap, and I know from a small amount of research that it's not awful.
Synthetics vs. Dino oils. Synthetics do have some charms but for most folks the additional expense is probably not warranted. Synthetic oils handle high heat well. The turbo can get the oil pretty hot, but a diesel engine has such a large oil reserve that it should be an issue as long as you're monitoring oil temp for unusual behavior. Synthetic oils handle multi-viscosity well. A dino oil requires more viscosity modifiers than a synthetic oil. Those visc modifiers wear out, so a 10W40 dino with it's worn visc modifiers will be thinner 10k miles later than a 10W40 synthetic. The average person doesn't care about those issues much so for many people full synthetics might not be worth the additional cost.
Oil filters. There's some good oil filter studies on the web. The quality of the filters vary quite a bit. OEM recommended oil filters are pretty good. I personally know of no OEM recommended oil filter that is crap.
Last edited:
JLandry
TDR MEMBER
An important consideration is whether or not the vehicle (engine) is still under a manufacturer's warranty. To preserve all rights under that warranty, it's probably best never to exceed the manufacturer's oil change interval.
John L.
Thanks, guys, for the ideas and thank you, gsbrockman, for the pics. I believe I will do the same and remove the intake air ducting to get the filter from the top. I wish the engineers would put a bit more thought into the placement of routine maintenance items. I have a 2010 Jeep Liberty with the 3.7 V6 and you almost have to be a contortionist to reach in and get to the oil filter!?! What were they thinking?!? I'm going to continue to use Mopar 15w40 conventional diesel oil in my new truck. The service mgr and the nearby dealer confirmed that it is indeed Rotella. I use my RAM credit card points to pay for my Mopar oil and filters. The Mopar Cummins filters are Fleetguards. All other Mopar oil filters are Purolators. I have a good relationship with the parts guys at the dealership and he gives me a discount on maintenance stuff too; that helps bring the cost down to about the same as if I'd bought it at Walmart. I'm looking forward to my first camping trip with the new RAM! I'll be hooking the 34 ft 5th Wheel up to the truck in a few weeks!
SnoKing
TDR MEMBER
Pic of LF16035 from topside. I can note that I was able to remove the old filter without spilling the first drop into the drip tray / trough. I'll also note that I was able to prime the new LF16035 just as I had my previous CTD's.
The strap wrench I linked above will work well from the top. Get it around the filter and slide it to the top. Loosen to hand tight, remove wrench, work zip-lock bag around filter and then remove. Chris
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...l-filter-wrench/_/N-255s?itemIdentifier=72843
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
Digital Magazines
FREE!
TDR Test Drive - Digital Edition
Renew
Subscribe
Gift Subscriptions
Back Issues
Subscription Status
Address Change Form
Buyer's Guides
Ram Diagnostic Trouble Codes
The Perfect Collection
The Perfect Collection Vol. II
TSB Updates
Dodge/Cummins Historical Overview
Cameron Collection
What Makes Us Tick?
Product Showcase
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