Oil sump capacity mismatch

[rbattelle]

In the service manual it says specifically that the Cummins takes 11 qts in the crankcase. BUT, in my owners manual it states 12.



I know the 2nd gen trucks took 11. On my 1st oil change I put in 12 and it took it just to the full line. On my 2nd change I put in 12 and it took it about 1/8 inch past full.



What gives? Is it 12 or 11?

 

[JWerkheiser]

12 qts on mine

 

[Prairie Dog]

Yep, 12 with filter change.

 

[MMeier]

Did my first '03 change last night, st***er did the first two, took 12. 5 qts. to get to the full line. Double checked after sitting all night and right on the line!!

 

[DPKetchum]

Mine is on full cold with 12

 

[rbattelle]

Well, I've been fighting mine now for 2 days. I put in 12, thought it was too low, added another 3/4 of a quart. Of course, after an overnight it was about 3/4 of an inch beyond "full" . So last night I drained about 1. 5 qts out of it. This morning, it was dead center (1 qt low). I added about another 1/2 qt. Between finding a level patch of ground to park on and having to wait 8 hours for the oil to completely drain to the pan, I'm driving myself crazy!



From now on, it's 12 qts in and call it a night. Sometimes my obsession with this truck really gets in the way of regular life.

 

[JHardwick]

In the service manual it says specifically that the Cummins takes 11 qts in the crankcase. BUT, in my owners manual it states 12.

Don't forget to put 1 in the filter and the other 11 in the pan

 

[Fireman]

Yep! Just buy 3gal of oil, fill the filter and dump the rest in the crankcase. It's too easy. As long as the oil level is between the marks you'll be OK.



Well there's my $0. 02



Fireman

 

[mconstable]

Once again, I'm with Fireman, my dipstick reads too full with the 12 qts. bugged the crap out of me for a bit having blown a seal on a gas motor when I was younger for adding too much oil... but all my searches here said put in 12 qts. and hush

 

[Dean Upson]

Originally posted by mconstable

Once again, I'm with Fireman

Fireman is very wise , I seek his wisdom often. What everyone said: 12 qts. One of these days I'm going to get around to marking the stick when the engine is hot.



Dean

 

[amsoilman]

"NORMAL" oil sump capacity is 12 US qts. unless you have a by-pass oil filtering setup, then it will be more. Mine now has 14 qts. capacity, using a BMK-11 Amsoil by-pass and BE-100 filter element.



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

My '01 HO took 11 quarts, put it a bit under the Full line. 12 would've put it way over.



My '03 takes a full 12 which puts it right on "Full. "



Vaughn

 

[Cooker]

I found this on Cummins site. I wonder if it is not revelant for the 2003's?



http://www.cummins.com/na/pages/en/....cfm?uuid=9306709A-04CE-11D4-98530004AC33EA57

 

[rbattelle]

That FAQ is for the '02 engines, mostly.

 

[Dean Upson]

There should be no confusion about the oil capacity of the '03: twelve quarts.



Dean

 

[MCummings]

To the best of my knowledge, when the 24V's came out, some trucks had the wrong length dipstick.



I can't exactly recall if the dipstick was shorter, or longer than what it was supposed to be, but I do remember that if you put 12qts in the motor, it would read an incorrect level, even though the fluid amount was correct.



My $. 02



Merrick Cummings Jr

 

[DPKetchum]

On the early 24valves you are correct.

 

[Dean Upson]

I had one, there was a tsb out and they replaced the dipstick. I believe the dipstick showed full a quart to soon. The TDR had a blurb on how to mark (drill a hole?) to show where the full mark should be. I've been going to drill a small hole where full is when you shut down before the oil gets a chance to drain back into the pan.



Dean