Oil Change Mileage

TeamJackson · Apr 5, 2013

My owners manual in my new 1500 Ram says 8k Oil Change intervals. My dealer said 3k....what gives?

ram-head · Apr 5, 2013

I wondered the same thing. I went ahead and changed at 3,500. Then a little over 6,000 I switched to Amsoil Signature Series.

ram-head · Apr 5, 2013

I do mostly in town driving so I wasn't comfortable going to 8,000. Whatever you do, I would check your oil level regularly. I've had a catch can on less than two weeks and there is already enough oil in it to slosh around...not a lot, but just barely enough. I can only imagine the amount that's lost after three months or six if you go by the manual.

garner · Apr 6, 2013

Dealer just trying to make and save money and going by the old 3,000 mile rule. It's a lot easier and cheaper for them to print out a sticker that says 3,000 miles instead of 5,000 for certain vehicles and 8,000 for another and say 10,000 for another

brightwhitesport · Apr 6, 2013

I still go by 5000km which is about 3000mi, I don't care how advanced the motor is, as far as I'm concerned its still a just connecting rods and pistons and that hasn't change for years

WhiteExpress · Apr 6, 2013

brightwhitesport said:
I still go by 5000km which is about 3000mi, I don't care how advanced the motor is, as far as I'm concerned its still a just connecting rods and pistons and that hasn't change for years

But what has changed is the materials used in the bearings, and the additives in oil. Try running an old big block that made 400 HP on 5W20 :naughty:

Not going to last long.

There has been considerable engineering advances in the production process to allow for tighter tolerances etc.

My point? I'm at almost 30,000 miles and I've not changed my oil yet :roflsquared:

Ok, like 2 or 3 times. I'm going with a 7500 interval with Mob 1 5W20.
(This is after sending in a few samples for oil analysis)

Ike · Apr 6, 2013

For us that grew up changing oil every 3000, Is it really going to hurt it to change it more often than reccomended? I personally dont care how advanced things are, I'll spend the $25-$30 every 3-3500 mis to change oil and a filter, If I start using Synthetic maybe 5000 mis. its oil, it gets dirty. change it.

Ike

WarrenRam · May 16, 2013

Old thread I know, but to add to the discussion...

Say you decide on 5,000 mi change intervals. What about time intervals? What if you drive it 5,000 mi annually? Can you get by with one oil change a year in that case? (Assuming 'standard' driving conditions; not overly dusty or harsh conditions).

ram-head · May 16, 2013

WarrenRam said:
Old thread I know, but to add to the discussion...

Say you decide on 5,000 mi change intervals. What about time intervals? What if you drive it 5,000 mi annually? Can you get by with one oil change a year in that case? (Assuming 'standard' driving conditions; not overly dusty or harsh conditions).

I would check your manual. Mine says 8,000 miles or 6 months. If you're using conventional oil, I would stick with the 6 months if you haven't reached the mileage. I put in Amsoil Signature series, 25,000 miles or 1 year, but I do about 98% in town driving, so I'm still going to change around 6 months which will be about 5,000 miles for me. I may have some of it analyzed to see how it's holding up, and if I can go longer or not.

WarrenRam · May 16, 2013

ram-head said:
I would check your manual. Mine says 8,000 miles or 6 months. If you're using conventional oil, I would stick with the 6 months if you haven't reached the mileage. I put in Amsoil Signature series, 25,000 miles or 1 year, but I do about 98% in town driving, so I'm still going to change around 6 months which will be about 5,000 miles for me. I may have some of it analyzed to see how it's holding up, and if I can go longer or not.

Thanks for the input. Dealer threw in 4 oil changes when I bought the truck, so I was thinking of stretching them out over two or three years. I won't drive it much at all, probably 5,000 miles a year at most, which is why I was asking.

Casper · May 16, 2013

garner said:
Dealer just trying to make and save money and going by the old 3,000 mile rule. It's a lot easier and cheaper for them to print out a sticker that says 3,000 miles instead of 5,000 for certain vehicles and 8,000 for another and say 10,000 for another

^^ The whole maintenance industry has kept the 3,000 mile myth alive to soak repsonsible owners as frequently as possible. If the mfgr rates oil life at 8K then the dealer is just perpetrating theft and playing on your fears--unless your driving a city taxi.

Modern detergent oils don't breakdown the way old timers remember from back in the day. Synthetics are even more long lasting. I might not go 8K if I'm doing heavy stop and go or lots of short trips in cold weather, but I'm not going to follow outdated standards like a lemming either. Typically I let the RAM tell me when it needs changing, or 6 mos which ever comes first.

Worst lying bandits are Jiffy Lube.
:Big Laugh:

Texasez · May 16, 2013

I have the warranty forever on my truck from my dealer. They put it at 7,500 miles or 6 months unless your oil change indicator comes on before.

rocky279 · May 17, 2013

manufacturers recommend changing the oil once a year or every 7,500 miles in passenger car and light truck gasoline engines. For diesel engines and turbocharged gasoline engines, the usual recommendation is every 3,000 miles or six months.

If you read the fine print, however, you'll discover that the once a year, 7,500 mile oil change is for vehicles that are driven under ideal circumstances. What most of us think of as "normal" driving is actually "severe service" driving. This includes frequent short trips stop-and-go city traffic driving, driving in dusty conditions, and driving at sustained highway speeds during hot weather. For this type of driving, which is actually "severe service: driving, the recommendation is to change the oil every 3,000 miles or six months.
---------------------------

2013 MERCEDES BENZ SL-CLASS

LS5DodgeRam · May 17, 2013

WhiteExpress said:
But what has changed is the materials used in the bearings, and the additives in oil. Try running an old big block that made 400 HP on 5W20 Not going to last long.

There has been considerable engineering advances in the production process to allow for tighter tolerances etc.

My point? I'm at almost 30,000 miles and I've not changed my oil yet
Ok, like 2 or 3 times. I'm going with a 7500 interval with Mob 1 5W20.
(This is after sending in a few samples for oil analysis)

My stingray eats through oil...! and I use some thick heavy oil in it, I dont even bother using synthetic is it since it would be expensive.

I usually wait untill i check the oil, if you put it on your fingers and rub it in, if it is chalky and dissipates quickly, then i usually change it at that time.

USMC1188 · May 17, 2013

I have used Amsoil 15W40 Signature Series for almost 3 years now and changed one at around 18,000 miles, because 25k sounded ridiculous, even for a diesel engine. Then my last one, I was at 26,500k miles before I changed it and still had no issues. It all comes down to modern oil and these new, high-tech engines. If you want to waste your money, change it every 3,000 miles, that is exactly what they want you to do. Dealers don't make any money selling cars, they make it in their shop... changing oil every 3,000 miles. It's great now that I am an Amsoil dealer, I can hopefully start to change people ideas around and help get the word out that times have in fact changed, that these new synthetic oils are fantastic, and may be more expensive up front, but are much much cheaper in the long run. You don't need to change your oil as often and they are better on your engines

emjohn4 · May 17, 2013

Go by the owners manual - not the dealer.

Dealers are trying to make profit (can't blame them there - we all do) - but their tactics to do so are misguided (I can blame them for that).

Bottom line - follow the manual. The dealer didn't design your truck - Chrysler did, and coincidentally, they also wrote the manual.

wingnut · May 24, 2013

For my last Ram, a '95 318, that I got with 7500 miles on it, almost new. I ran nothing but Mobil One, or Valvoline Synthetic 5-30. Around 180k it got overheated and a head gasket started leaking into the crankcase. I figured it wouldn't last much longer, so I did nothing to it. Just continued the regular oil changes at what I figured right, about 7-8000k. It ran this way for another 109k till the tranny went. Amsoil sounds good, but I'm not sure if it's more of a diesel thing. I rebuild the Chrysler 2.7's, and still keep them on a 7k oil change schedule with synthetic, and have no problems.

willee51 · May 25, 2013

How do you know....

that if you pay anyone, even the Stealership, to put Synthetic oils in you vehicle, that that is indeed what they put in it??????? :Pshyco:

Roastbeef · May 25, 2013

just use Valvoline full synthetic and change your oil at 4000 mile intervals... dont forget to sign up for the 300,000 mile engine guarantee.

audio1der · May 29, 2013

Do you have enough varying opinions yet? LOL
I change our vehicle's oil every 5,000km. I sell Amsoil so it's cheap insurance. Maybe it's overkill, but overkill protection never hurt an engine's lifespan.

Oil Change Mileage

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