Oil Change Question

[Too Tall]

The 2014 manual does say to fill the filter with oil but an alternative that would be better than a dry start would be to crank the engine with the fuel solenoid disconnect till you get oil pressure. When I had my 95, Cummins recommended if the engine was going to sit for more than several weeks, to do this. It's harder on the battery and starter however. The idea, based on what Cummins told me, was that cranking didn't load the bearing etc..compared to when starting with full compression etc.. I'm going to try fill it, at least partially.

Also, thinking about it, which is dangerous, one could get it in position and fill it with a small pump or siphon it in?

 

[Cummins12V98]

Vehicles I have had that had horizontal oil filters I would crank until I had oil pressure then start.

 

[Too Tall]

Vehicles I have had that had horizontal oil filters I would crank until I had oil pressure then start.

Yes, agree. On my Honda Goldwing, I have added oil to the filter to the point where the paper soaks up the oil but I stop filling when the paper is saturated. (roll it around a while to soak up the oil) I can usually get at least half the filter full of oil that way and still be able to turn it horizontal and not leak. Then crank it till oil light goes off.

 

[Wertles]

So I just did my first oil change yesterday and it almost made me wish for my 5.9 again. Almost. There was no way a filter was going in from the side so off came the air hoses. Not a bad job but it always makes me squeamish to pull that stuff off. Even though I had a large oil proof mat on the ground, I still made a huge mess as the oil came out faster then my pan would drain it. I see an order to Genos before the next one.

Had to use the strap wrench from the top and a few bad words to get the filter off but using the bag method, no mess from the filter. Interestingly enough, the Fleetguard Stratopre filter shows prefilling with oil right on the filter.

This time it took an hour and a half to change. Next time, 45 minutes.

 

[photowrite]

Totally agree with both of you! No need to do both. It's an either/or type situation. I'm going to be changing mine by removing the oil filter through the wheel house splash shield hole. I didn't have to remove the tire/wheel OR the shield. I had to use a strap wrench from above the first time because of how tight the filter was put on at the factory. Now that I've installed a filter at the correct amount of "tightness" though, from now on, I'll simply reach in through the hole in the wheel liner and remove the filter with a metal band type filter wrench. I used a Glad bag around the filter to keep the oil contained. After changing the oil the first time, I now believe that it's an easier job than it was on my 2005 Cummins Ram.

Helpful thread guys. I'm not new to diesels, the TDR, or Dodge/Ram/Cummins, but have not owned a Cummins for several years, though I have a new 2500 arriving soon. When it's time for my first oil change on my G56 truck it will be interesting to see if I have plenty of room to go through the wheel well or if I'll prefer pulling the intake.

 

[photowrite]

I'm as guilty as many gearheads of disregarding the OEM's rules...whether that means making modifications or ignoring the maintenance recommendations. In the case of the latter I often shortened maintenance interfaces, instead of extending them. However, I live in dry air Nevada, and really think that the six month oil dumping interval is excessive for me and my environment if I haven't accumulated enough miles or hours, one year seems more appropriate.

With a new truck I'll likely log plenty of miles initially, but with a few vehicles in our little fleet, in a year or two the miles will likely slow on the Cummins, it won't be/doesn't need to be a daily driver.

James

Right out of the on line owners manual, diesel supplement.........

" Replace the engine oil and oil filter every 15,000 miles
(24 000 km) or six months, or sooner if prompted by the
oil change indicator system. Under no circumstances
should oil change intervals exceed 15,000 miles
(24 000 km) or six months, whichever comes first"


Pretty much says it all......unless I'm missing something.

Sam

What you're missing Sam, is that some folks just can't stand to follow the manufacturer's maintenance requirements.

John L.

 

[Motschman]

the thing is IMHO, the factory recommendation are designed to be a mix of engineering and marketing. a 15K oil change interval is a big marketing push over say a 7500 miles change. They want to make sure the truck holds together at least 100K to cover the warranty period after that I doubt they care too much. So I feel it depends on how long you want to keep your truck. If you are interested in driving it till it falls apart then send in the oil for analysis when the computer tells you too change it and see how good/bad the oil is. I did that on my 300 before I got rid of it and the computer rec was about 3K short of what was left int he oil according to blackstone labs. I changed my 04 every 5K made it easy to remember and never had a problem. Maybe it's more often then I need but I think a few extra oil changes are worth it for the longevity increase that you might get. It's not going to hurt anything by changing it earlier. other then your wallet but a worn out bearing will hurt a lot more.

 

[photowrite]

the thing is IMHO, the factory recommendation are designed to be a mix of engineering and marketing. a 15K oil change interval is a big marketing push over say a 7500 miles change. They want to make sure the truck holds together at least 100K to cover the warranty period after that I doubt they care too much...snip

You make valid points as I think marketing vs. engineering compromises are present in most, if not all products we buy. However, I believe Cummins (if not Chrysler too) has much invested in the reputation of the Cummins engine and want/need them to last much longer than 100,000 miles.

With the oil monitoring system and modern oils/emissions a 15k OCI is probably reasonable, maybe even conservative, though I admit liking a shorter 10k number. Old habits die hard.

 

[Too Tall]

I'd like to see a 15K oil analysis. I would really like to put a bypass filter on the truck but I don't want to void the warranty. Someone mentioned the EPA is pushing for extended oil changes. It may have more to do with that. My 95 cummins oil stayed as clean as a gas engine. This new truck is sooted up immediately. I know that's what the CJ rating is all about, keeping the soot from clumping up and becoming abrasive. I'd like to filter the soot out with a 3 micron filter.

 

[tony1461571]

FYI, incase you did not know the LF 3894 will work fine on your new truck. I had a big stock left over from my 98 12V and have been using them on my 11.

Guys, I was looking at this last night and looked up the LF 3894 on Geno's as I have one left over to sell and on their site the LF 3894 is for the 98.5 to 02 24 valve engines only. There's a different filter for the 89 to 14 trucks.
FLEETGUARD LF16035 StrataPore oil filter for '89-'14 Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel with either the Cummins 5.9L or 6.7L engine. FLEETGUARD LF3894 StrataPore replacement oil filter for '98.5-'02, 24-Valve Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel trucks. So the LF 3894 won't fit the 14 trucks.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Guys, I was looking at this last night and looked up the LF 3894 on Geno's as I have one left over to sell and on their site the LF 3894 is for the 98.5 to 02 24 valve engines only. There's a different filter for the 89 to 14 trucks.
FLEETGUARD LF16035 StrataPore oil filter for '89-'14 Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel with either the Cummins 5.9L or 6.7L engine. FLEETGUARD LF3894 StrataPore replacement oil filter for '98.5-'02, 24-Valve Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel trucks. So the LF 3894 won't fit the 14 trucks.

Sorry but it does NOT say it won't fit the other years.

"FLEETGUARD LF3894 StrataPore replacement oil filter for '98.5-'02, 24-Valve Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel trucks."

It is a Strataopre filter the exact same as any other for the 5.9 or 6.7. The only difference is the fluted end on the newer filter.

Please call Geno's and or Cummins to see if what I am saying is true or not.

I have used the LF 3894 on every oil change on my 2011 6.7. If you don't need the flutes it's a less expensive alternate to the LF 16035.

 

[DClark]

OK. I just changed the oil for the first time on my 2014 RAM 3500 Dually Laramie Longhorn Cummins. I had intended to remove the air filter ducting and go entirely from the top. After sizing up the situation, I decided different. I DID have to use a strap wrench with an extension from the top side to break the filter loose because the factory torque on the oil filter was ridiculous! But, from this day forward, I should be able to use the common metal band type oil filter wrench through the wheel well opening. Once I'd broken the filter loose, I put a gallon size slider Glad bag over the filter from the bottom as far as I could pull it up. Then I slowly unscrewed the filter by hand through the wheel well, stopping occasionally to reposition the Glad bag. As soon as I felt that the filter was almost off, I repositioned the Glad bag one last time; then from the wheel well, took it the rest of the way off and dropped it down low enough that, by tilting it slightly, I could seal the Glad bag with the slider and then tilt it the rest of the way needed to pull it out through the wheel well hole. I didn't spill a drop of oil!!! I also found that when replacing with a new filter, I could actually prefill the oil filter with about a 1/2 quart of oil, letting it soak into the filter for a minute before tilting it as little as possible and fitting it back up to the threads; again without spilling any oil. Now that I've replaced that first "gorilla installed" oil filter, I think that future oil changes might actually be a little easier than they were on my '05. Oh, and if anyone is interested, I replaced the factory 5w40 synthetic with 15w40 Mopar MaxPro conventional diesel oil. It is simply Rotella with the Mopar label on it. Having never experienced an oil related problem on any vehicle I've owned and used conventional oil, I just didn't want the expense of synthetic. I have a camping friend that used to own a fleet of Semi-Trucks for his business before he retired. This was even in cold country (Ontario, Canada). I asked him about the use of synthetics in his fleet. He told me that his company couldn't justify the added expense of it. He used 15w40 Rotella in his entire fleet of Semis, Summer and Winter without any oil-related problems! That's good enough for me.

I was reading your experience of installing a new oil filter though the wheel well and wondered what it will be like after the truck has some experience on it (mud and dirt) and you then try to put that new clean filter through the wheel well without contaminating the new filter. Just a thought. You might want to cover it until it is inside the engine compartment. I don't have a new truck as you can see, but that would be a concern if I were doing it.
DClark

 

[Too Tall]

Gpa; while you are correct in a matter of fact way that the oil system has to function very briefly for the oil filter to fill, I have never filled the oil filter on any engine in advance, including drag racing motors with very high compression. The oil pumps on many engines (all of the ones I have worked on directly) fill the oil filter in a couple of seconds.

It's your opinion but not that of the OEM. Both the Ram service manual and Cummins says to fill the filter before installation. Cummins goes so far as to say, bearing damage can occur if you don't fill it. Visit the cummns site and you'll find that. Visit the Cummins service manual which I have if you'd like to see it.

 

[Too Tall]

Regarding Oil change interval, I want to see some oil analysis in a dino oil with 15k on it. I really want to install a bypass filter if it will get rid of the soot. Either way, I'm not going to 15K oil changes on these soot suckers.

 

[Cummins12V98]

It's your opinion but not that of the OEM. Both the Ram service manual and Cummins says to fill the filter before installation. Cummins goes so far as to say, bearing damage can occur if you don't fill it. Visit the cummns site and you'll find that. Visit the Cummins service manual which I have if you'd like to see it.

I have ALWAYS pre filled my filters, nice to have Cummins back up that method.

 

[Too Tall]

Regarding keeping the filter free of dirt while going thru the wheel well, this guy has a pretty good idea with the press and seal.

http://youtu.be/txKO8FMXyuI

 

[ARedmon]

Too Tall, I don't know how to explain the differences of opinion on this subject, but I distinctly remember the Cummins engineers at Pahrump a few years ago saying that they did NOT recommend pre-filling the oil filters. Their reasoning had to do with the fact that you're pouring the oil into the "clean" side of the filter, therefore pumping unfiltered oil into the engine. I remember being surprised at their answer because I assumed that new oil would be considered clean. They didn't think so. They also said that, IF it concerned you about the seconds it might take to get oil into the system, then just "bump" the starter a couple of times without starting the engine and it would fill the new filter. I don't know

 

[ARedmon]

Also, Too Tall, when you think about it, there are lots of automobiles on the market today with oil filters positioned in such a way that you can't prefill them. I'm assuming that there's never been a problem with oil starvation of these engines or the manufacturers would stop positioning them like that.

 

[Cummins12V98]

I think a lot of the reason they used to say not to pre fill was the silver film that used to be on the bottle caps. Can you say plugged cooling nozzle?

 

[Dieselram07]

Can someone help me. What's the oil change interval on my 2012?