Oil,Oil Oil what type should I use

[KennethS]

I had a 1999 dodge diesel and used Rotella 15w-40 and change It every 3000 miles. I am going to do the same on my 1995 dodge diesel and 2004 dodge diesel. Someone said they did not like Rotella. What do you fellows use. I know that this has been talk about before. Now I know there nothing like clean oil and that why I change It every 3000 miles. I am leaving for out west today If the wife gets loaded up. She got half the house loaded on the truck. I guess what we can't haull we can drag. :-laf . So I will be gone for 3 weeks or more I guess. So happy trails.

 

[CajunDieselMan]

Rotella works for me, after 2 trucks and 100,000 miles. But you'd want to hear from a 300,000 mile person, I'm sure. The only thing I don't like about the containers is that little aluminum seal at the top--I'm always afraid of dropping a small piece in the new oil when I cut it open.

 

[nickleinonen]

nothing wrong with rotella... just has a unique smell to it you sometimes get a whif of in the cab from the crankcase vent tube...



IMHO, 3000 miles is WAY overkill as change intervals... you can double that or tripple that... i went last oil change ±10,000km [±6200miles] and the oil was just begining to get darker on the dipstick... that was with 5w40 duron in the sump... i now i have 0w40 XD-3 in the sump and i will run for about another 10,000 and change it out for the same...



and you may like new clean oil, but just know, a dirty oil filter cleans better than a new one... so with a new oil filter in there, there will be more dirt getting through until it gets dirty...

 

[Bertram65]

I like Delo 400, no smell, wear reports show it as good if not slightly better than Rotella or Delvac 1300. Any of the three are fine, take your pick. I change it every 5k miles, makes it easy as I rotate the tires on the same schedule. The oil is usually black within 500 miles after I change it.

 

[GFritsch]

Here are a few threads that might help.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125504&highlight=engine+oil



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114655&highlight=engine+oil



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84546&highlight=engine+oil



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68186&highlight=engine+oil



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66892&highlight=engine+oil



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54308&highlight=engine+oil



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64964&highlight=engine+oil

 

[KHogan]

I just let the dealer mess with it. They use the pre-packaged Mopar part number diesel oil (it's definitely not Valvoline Cummins Blue). I paid up-front for the DC Diesel Essential Care: $15 oil changes (paid up-front) for the next five years (mileage independent). I just hand 'em a coupon, and let them get dirty and dispose of the oil and filter to boot. It stunk (i. e. , vapor from the draft tube) during the first 5-10k miles, especially immediately after an oil change, but after that (I'm at 30k mi. now), it's not an issue anymore. The original Cummins factory oil fill (Valvoline) wasn't quite as bad as the Mopar oil. Others here on the site have also reported that Mopar's oil smells pungent. Maybe it's Rosmella, er, um, Rotella, LOL!

 

[EErmert]

How about mobil 5 - 40 ?

About three month's ago, i ask the TDR for some info on using mobil synthetic, so i did it... it's in the Dodge owener's manual, ( 5- 40wt)... After 1000 miles, my milage has improved from 1. 5 to 4. 5 "on the road". Around town, city driving is on the low side of the 1. 5 gain. I'll change the oil filter around 3000, have a oil test done, and plane on changeing the oil 'tween 20k and 30k...



Eric - '03 HO QC SWB SRW 4X4 LIMITED SLIP SLT MAJOR MOPAR< stock cummins... 3:73 6SPD (NV5600) has 34. 2k on factor tire's, White

 

[Heavyweight]

Mobil Delvac 1300... ... . Oo. Oo.

 

[Buffalo]

I'd have to agree that 3000 mile intervals is probably overkill, unless you are in an incredibly dirty, dusty environment.



I base this on the fact that a few years ago, there was a TDR member that towed trailers for a living and put a lot of miles on their vehicle. They had 1,153,000 miles on their Dodge, without an engine rebuild. The nice thing was that they documented everything that had ever been done to the vehicle including frequency of oil changes. They changed oil every 5000 miles, using Shell Rotella 15w/40 & Fleetguard filters. Most of those miles were trailer-towing miles.



You could conceivably go past the 5000 mile oil change intervals because, the new oils are of a higher quality and so are the filters (Microglass/Stratopore).

In conventional oils, I've been hearing that the Chevron Delo 400 is just a little bit better than the others because of the addition of Boron and Moly. In reality, I believe any of the name brand heavy-duty, fleet-rated, diesel engine oils should be just fine.



Joe F. (Buffalo)



PS: If you want some "information overload" regarding engine oils and lubes, in general, go to 'bob is the oil guy.com'.

 

[KBennett]

The only thing I didn't like about Rotella was the smell of the blowby after the first 500 miles of the oil change so I switched to Delo. It's about $30ish a case of 6 gallons at Costco.

 

[Rman]

I run valvoline premium blue. Lots of guys around here like labels, and this one has a big ole cummins C on it. Can't go wrong there.

 

[Ncostello]

If its 15W-40 CI-4 approved its good for use. Its all good.



If you get super technical... and read the specs and understand what they mean you'll see the DELO400 is slightly better than other brands. DELO400 covers me well for ACERT Cats and newer Cummins engines. Cat and Cummins have different ideas on what an oil should do.



But again... 15W-40 CI-4 is all you need to know. Citgard600, DELO400, Rotella-T, Valvoline Premium Blue, Texaco Ursa, Mopar... all are going to provide excellent lubrication to your Cummins and keep you on the road for hundreds of thousands of miles if changed according to the manual.

 

[C. Harlan]

3000 mile intervals do not overkill, especially if you are heavily fueled or something along those lines. . Rotella has a distinct smell, with its detergents, and when they break down, it turns to a sour smell, indicating that the detergents have all but broken down.



Rotella Gets my Vote. . All my truck has ever seen! That's the only kind of oil that will ever go in there!



-Chris-

 

[Tony T.]

I've used the Delo 400 15w/40 since the first oil change in my truck, but would not be afraid to use any of the other approved oils that have been mentioned. Also noticed that Delo has done away with the foil seal on the gallon containers, and went to a pull-tab seal, which I like better.



Tony

 

[AHuggard]

Folks. All the oils mentioned in the post are good, but if you want the best in my opinion use MObil 1 the 100% synthetic. If you have any doubt, take metal cop and freeze your oild and the Mobil 1. See which one flows after an over night stay in your old frig. Then take the cups with what is left and put them on the stove. Watch them was they get hot. As the regular oil begins to smoke dump them out. The Mobil 1 will pur and flow and the regular oil wil sizzel as it fows out of the cup on the holt metal. I use Mobil 1 in every thing that turns here except my old tractors that burn more than is economic to use a synthetic. I mean rear ends, trannys, and oil sumps. The one thing you have to watch is leaks. Systhetics find any leak available and flow through it.

 

[Grizzly]

You can use whatever you want. I like Delo 400 best and I change oil every 5000 miles. It works for me.

 

[EricBu12]

Valvoline premium blue extreme 5W-40 Full synthetic...



This oil is still recomended by cummins and the 5W part of it is good for the cold temperatures that as in Salt Lake City here, is cold in PA as well I assume... Since this is a full synthetic, I go 5000 miles on the filter, change that, then top off the oil and go another 5000 miles... Makes the added cost of the synthetic down to like regular oil.

 

[rweis]

I think you should go about 10k - 20k on dino oil before you go to synthetic if that is in your plan. Reason is for the engine to lap parts fully.



CI-4



I used Delo400 for 50k then switched to Mobile 1 SUV & Truck Synthetic for the next 950k.



Bob Weis

 

[RedRamer]

Rotella. now @ 445k klics and still runs like a champ. I get oil tested and now change it @7,500 klics (about 4. 5k miles) unless you're in dirt all day.

 

[jeepit]

3000 mile intervals do not overkill, especially if you are heavily fueled or something along those lines. . Rotella has a distinct smell, with its detergents, and when they break down, it turns to a sour smell, indicating that the detergents have all but broken down.



Rotella Gets my Vote. . All my truck has ever seen! That's the only kind of oil that will ever go in there!



-Chris-

Ditto here)