Oil Changes

[robo59097]

Sort of going off of the Dmax post regarding maintenance of the TV. I have had 2 thoughts on the frequency of the oil change for my GM 6.0L. My custom is to change every 3000k but many have told me that the new oil monitors (which display an oil life percentage left) are what to go off of. At times this is over 5000k and I do notice that the percentages drop faster when I am towing. What is the opinion of the frequency, mileage or meter?

[edatlanta]

I feel oil and a filter is cheaper than an engine. My Duramax would go 10-12,000 miles if I went by the computer. I just can't do that and change at 5,000.

[mach8274]

When I had my 2002 F150, I started out changing at 3k miles. Over the course of ownership, that changed to 5k miles. I always used the same oil over the life of the truck, Motorcraft 5w20-synthetic blend. My new truck, 2011 F250 PSD has an oil life monitor on it. Some folks over on the FTE site are getting over 10k on an oil change. I simply cannot do that. 5k is my max. It was changed first at 3k miles-free at the dealer, so my next one will be at 8k.

[29BHS ECO]

3 to 5k with mobile 1 in the truck, 5k in the fusion( per the book) also with mobile 1. Larry

[Crabman]

Yep us guys who are used to changing oil every 3 to 4K religiously are hard to convince on these oil life monitors. I just can`t let it go that long, even though "they" say the oil is fine despite being black as tar. My oldest son has a Chevy Cobalt and I asked him how many miles he had on his oil and he said " I`ve still got a long way to go according to the oil life monitor. I responded, "that was not my question". He said I was old school and there was no need to change oil that often. He may be right, but I`m stuck in my ways on this, right or wrong. No matter what the book says. BTW I also change the oil in my boat engines every 100 hrs.

[3Pillons]

The jusrisdiction I work for has gone to changing oil at 7500 miles for our entire fleet (police, sheriff, water resources, board of eduaction, all of them). Haven't seen any issues yet and we stay on the road a lot longer without having to drop our cars off for service. They actually reset the oil life monitors to reflect the new mileage so they don't start dinging at 3k.

My personal stuff, I change at around 4k.

[FPM III]

When I had my 96 F-250 HD PowerStroke, I changed the oil/filter religiously every 3,000 miles. On the 09 GMC 2500-HD Duramax, I changed it the first time at 3,000 miles. After that, I let the DIC tell me when to change it. It seems to be working out to approximately 5,000 miles between changes. Obviously, the oil is much dirtier than when I changed it at 3,000 miles. As to whether this has a negative impact on engine wear, only time will tell. I've always used just the normal Rotella-T 15w-40 in my diesels.

I find it interesting that the Duramax takes less oil (10 vs. 14 quarts) and goes at least 2,000 more miles between oil changes than my 7.3 PowerStroke did. For comparison purposes, I'd be curious to know what the oil capacities and recommended change intervals are for the newer Cummins and PowerStroke diesel engines.

[SmokerBill]

The 2010 Ram Cummins interval is either 7500 miles, 6 months, or when the truck computer tells you it's time- whichever comes first. Capacity is 12 quarts.

I've been changing mine in the 3,000 to 4,000 mile range, which has always been before the computer says it's time and before 6 months. I would go longer, but the newer Cummins' emission systems tend to put a lot of soot in the oil, plus depending on the type of driving you do (towing, short trips, etc.), can cause dilution of the oil with diesel fuel. If I notice my oil level rising from dilution, it worries me some so I change it out with fresh oil and a new filter.

I don't use synthetic because in my opinion, with the short change intervals it would be a waste of money. If the engine ran cleaner and I was putting more miles/hours on the oil I'd consider using synthetic.

[clutch]

On my last Cummins I changed oil every 3500 miles. I kept that truck 10 years. A lot of wasted money for me. On this Cummins I change between 5000 and 6000 miles. I will keep it for 10 years too. I don't use synthetic oil because I just can't leave it in for 10,000 miles or more.

[bounder]

I change the oil & filter plus the external spin on trans filter every 5000 miles.
Lube job every 10000 miles.

[mach8274]

The new Powerstroke diesels have 13 qts. I will be changing mine every 5k like I said earlier. I use Rotella T-6 synthetic.

[dg1971]

I know this post is talking about oil changes but how about diesel fuel filter changes. How often is everyone changing theirs. Every 4-5-6 oil changes or longer?

[clutch]

I usually change mine every other year. I have never had a filter plug up but I am sure my turn is comming.

My cousin changed his for the first time at 50K miles. It was still working fine.

[FPM III]

Originally Posted by dg1971

I know this post is talking about oil changes but how about diesel fuel filter changes. How often is everyone changing theirs. Every 4-5-6 oil changes or longer?

On my Duramax, the DIC tells you when to change the fuel filter. There was 18,379 miles on the clock when I changed it for the first time. Sorry to say that changing the fuel filter on the Duramax is a PIA compared to my former 7.3 PowerStroke. You have to remove the plastic wheel housing liner just to get at it and, for me, there was an additional step involved of removing the splash guard. Plus, it's recommended that you buy a special wrench for removing the water sensor that's attached to the bottom of the filter because it's easy to crack the plastic water sensor or damage the nut that's part of the sensor (which will set you back some $$$ if you do) with a regular wrench or pliers if you're not careful.

[edatlanta]

I change mine every 10,000 miles. Clean fuel is the life of a diesel as well as effecting performance.
I also don't remove the splash guard. If you remove the right side battery, which is easier than the splash guard, you can get right to the filter. I don't have the special tool for removal of the moisture sensor. I use a 15" crescent wrench, but I tighten it by turning the filter not the wrench because of the size of the wrench. I have used this procedure 9 times so far with zero problems.

[RedHorse1]

Every 5k! And always a new filter. I use Castrol Syntec (it has a new name but I don't remember what it is) and Motorcraft filters.

[clutch]

The fuel filter on a Cummins is on the drivers side of the engine in the open.

[FPM III]

Originally Posted by edatlanta

...I also don't remove the splash guard. If you remove the right side battery, which is easier than the splash guard, you can get right to the filter. I don't have the special tool for removal of the moisture sensor. I use a 15" crescent wrench, but I tighten it by turning the filter not the wrench because of the size of the wrench. I have used this procedure 9 times so far with zero problems.

Gee, Ed, I wonder which is the lesser of two evils- removing the battery or removing the plastic wheelhouse liner and splash guard (if installed)? Looks like either way, you have to remove something.

[Seann45]

The computer looks at how long the engine was run each time how hard it worked to do the calculations for when to change oil... when it says time to change I send my oil in for analysis. It always comes back with about 10% life left... so knowing that I now just do an analysis every 3 or 4 changes to keep track of how the internals are doing...
Seann

[3'senough]

5K or 6 months whichever comes first. Recently I changed to full synthetic 5W-40 Mobil 1 and my mileage has gone up. We'll see after 1K and a few tanks if it's true. Did notice a little more power on the start and the pressure came up faster upon start up.