When to do first oil change on new truck and which oil to use.

mohemipar · Jan 16, 2018

MeatCurtains said:
Well that depends on the use of the engine. If it just totes around an ego and grabs groceries I highly doubt any statistical evidence would prove the 5w20 any different to a 5w30.

However then there is the intended use aspect. Heavy towing, large loads, excess heat from stress. This is where the thicker weight would benefit as it would stay in an acceptable range if the oil reaches a higher temperature.

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What I was thinking too. If he is working the truck and planning on keeping it for 10+ years than I'd run 30. However I always ran the 20 in my 1500 and it never had what I'd call any kind of serious tick. I will say the 6.4 is quieter with the PUP "SRT" 40.

Your average dealer will probably look at you like you have 27 heads if you brought in a box of oil yourself or told them to put "30" in a new truck lol. There are dealers out there that will be fine with customizing your service though, just gotta find them.

You get less MPG with the HD but it's nice not having to deal with the ******** CAFE standards.

corneileous · Jan 16, 2018

mohemipar said:
What I was thinking too. If he is working the truck and planning on keeping it for 10+ years than I'd run 30. However I always ran the 20 in my 1500 and it never had what I'd call any kind of serious tick. I will say the 6.4 is quieter with the PUP "SRT" 40.

Your average dealer will probably look at you like you have 27 heads if you brought in a box of oil yourself or told them to put "30" in a new truck lol. There are dealers out there that will be fine with customizing your service though, just gotta find them.

You get less MPG with the HD but it's nice not having to deal with the ******** CAFE standards.

It’ll probably be a waste of time asking my local dealer but I will ask them about running the 30w in it when I take it in for it’s first oil change.

But I think I’m just gonna follow the general advice of the thread and use that synthetic Pennzoil Ultra Premium oil in the 20 weight. As far as filter goes, I guess I’ll just continue using K&N since my local Oreily’s carries them unless anybody knows of a better one.

But I have a quick question that may probably be better suited for the dealer but anyways, since I have the purchased lifetime warranty, is it still technically classified the same as the initial 3-year, 36,000 mile warranty or is this something that doesn’t begin until after that? The reason I’m asking is because if that’s the case, I would imagine that there may be a little bit of leniency after 3 years or 36,000 miles goes by since I paid for the lifetime and Chrysler paid fo the initial one, that maybe I could possibly switch to the 30w and not have as much to worry about. I dunno, it was just a thought.

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Burla · Jan 16, 2018

Why use 30 weight when you have a lifetime warranty? Bad choice.

corneileous · Jan 16, 2018

Burla said:
Why use 30 weight when you have a lifetime warranty? Bad choice.

Well because it sure sounded to me like that’s what the general consensus of the thread thinks I should use and it really didn’t seem to matter that I did have the lifetime warranty.

Believe me, I’m fine I guess with running 20w because that’s all I ran in my old truck with no issues to date but after reading some of these posts and that link you provided, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit concerned. If you remember way back when the conversation started? that after buying my last truck that I thought it was a little out of the ordinary learning that that big ole Hemi under the hood put its faith in 20 weight oil but quickly quit worrying about it because I took Chrysler’s word for it that it’d be fine.

But now, I don’t know.

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Ramnewbie · Jan 16, 2018

corneileous said:
Well because it sure sounded to me like that’s what the general consensus of the thread thinks I should use and it really didn’t seem to matter that I did have the lifetime warranty.

Believe me, I’m fine I guess with running 20w because that’s all I ran in my old truck with no issues to date but after reading some of these posts and that link you provided, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit concerned. If you remember way back when the conversation started? that after buying my last truck that I thought it was a little out of the ordinary learning that that big ole Hemi under the hood put its faith in 20 weight oil but quickly quit worrying about it because I took Chrysler’s word for it that it’d be fine.

But now, I don’t know.

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In all seriousness of I had a lifetime warranty I'd just take it the dealer and let them change the oil, upgrade to synthetic but use whatever synthetic they're using. Hell you could even just get a regular oil change. It will all be documented and whatever happens is on them. If you get a free rental with you're warranty you ain't got anything to worry about.

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Burla · Jan 16, 2018

When you buy a lifetime warranty, you shouldn't care about losing an engine, just being able to prove you did all of the maintenance with records. Why take a chance on 30 weight under that condition?

I'd have the dealer do all my changes and use whatever they want under that condition.

mohemipar · Jan 16, 2018

OP has lifetime warranty? Then yes, just run the 20, lol.

If you have Lifetime warranty OR no plans on keeping the truck/beating it up. Don't even worry about it. If anything, I would NOT use 30 if you have lifetime warranty. Because then if your engine does blow itself up some day they will say, Oh you used 30 weight? NO engine for you.

Burla · Jan 16, 2018

Make sure you use API cert oil as well, which means no Mobil 1.

If I had hemi tick with a lifetime warranty, I would just laugh at it. Turn up the radio.

corneileous · Jan 16, 2018

Ramnewbie said:
In all seriousness of I had a lifetime warranty I'd just take it the dealer and let them change the oil, upgrade to synthetic but use whatever synthetic they're using. Hell you could even just get a regular oil change. It will all be documented and whatever happens is on them. If you get a free rental with you're warranty you ain't got anything to worry about.

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I may just do that. I don’t like the idea of paying someone to do my oil changes for me but then again I’ve never had a brand new pickup with a lifetime manufacturer warranty on it, either. I may have to just suck it up and let them do it.

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Burla · Jan 16, 2018

Once you are in their system, they will be sending you deals on oils changes all the time. I get 29.95 oil change coupons all the time from local Ram, they actually want an extra 20 for the extra qrts a hemi takes, but still 50 bucks twice a year to have my warranty all locked up tight, is the smart move.

Good news, you never have to change the 8 speeds oil neither, big win for you. Never admit to towing if asked.

corneileous · Jan 16, 2018

Burla said:
Make sure you use API cert oil as well, which means no Mobil 1.

If I had hemi tick with a lifetime warranty, I would just laugh at it. Turn up the radio.

Which sure is awful strange since I always thought Mobil 1 was one of the top of the line engine oils that NASCAR used, and even some of the higher-end cars.

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Burla · Jan 16, 2018

It's Rams fault M1 doesn't meet their spec, not m1's. What they did with Pennzoil was shady ass ****. Gave them a 2 year monopoly on the spec was shameful. M1 gets the last laugh, they have their lower Mobil line meet the spec while their flagship oil does not. A true slap in the face. To top that off you can hardly get the oil made specifically for the hemi PUP. Pennzoil and Ram certainly lost that battle. Never **** off the company that monopolizes costco, you will look stupid.

corneileous · Jan 16, 2018

Burla said:
Good news, you never have to change the 8 speeds oil neither, big win for you. Never admit to towing if asked.

Ive heard that before. I even looked through the maintenance schedule in my manual last night and didn’t even see a spot for servicing the 8-speed tranny after any specific time or mileage. They had one for the 6-speed auto but not the 8-speed.

I bought me a little single-axle utility trailer but its not like it’ll get used much. I may buy my me large ATV someday to haul it around on but I have no interest in a boat or travel trailer.

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Burla · Jan 16, 2018

I don't care what you tow, just if asked never give them any info that can hurt you. If I towed the shuttle and ram asked me what I tow, I tow nawth'n man, I'm alergic to hard work, fix my **** now.

corneileous · Jan 16, 2018

So is it wise to just go off my oil life meter and do the first oil change when it says to or is it best to get that first oil outta there here pretty quick-like, around the 2,000 to 3,000 mile mark?

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Burla · Jan 16, 2018

This is exactly what I would do, nothing more nothing less.

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE Your vehicle is equipped with an automatic oil change indicator system. The oil change indicator system will remind you that it is time to take your vehicle in for scheduled maintenance. Based on engine operation conditions, the oil change indicator message will illuminate. This means that service is required for your vehicle. Operating conditions such as frequent short-trips, trailer tow, extremely hot or cold ambient temperatures, and E85 fuel usage will influence when the “Oil Change Required” message is displayed. Severe Operating Conditions can cause the change oil message to illuminate as early as 3,500 miles (5,600 km) since last reset. Have your vehicle serviced as soon as possible, within the next 500 miles (805 km). Your authorized dealer will reset the oil change indicator message after completing the scheduled oil change. If a scheduled oil change is performed by someone other than your authorized dealer, the message can be reset by referring to the steps described under “Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC)” or “Driver Information Display (DID)” in “Understanding Your Instrument Panel” for further information. 1500 Models Only NOTE: Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 10,000 miles (16,000 km), twelve months or 350 hours of engine run time, whichever comes first. The 350 hours of engine run or idle time is generally only a concern for fleet customers.

corneileous · Jan 16, 2018

Burla said:
This is exactly what I would do, nothing more nothing less.

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE Your vehicle is equipped with an automatic oil change indicator system. The oil change indicator system will remind you that it is time to take your vehicle in for scheduled maintenance. Based on engine operation conditions, the oil change indicator message will illuminate. This means that service is required for your vehicle. Operating conditions such as frequent short-trips, trailer tow, extremely hot or cold ambient temperatures, and E85 fuel usage will influence when the “Oil Change Required” message is displayed. Severe Operating Conditions can cause the change oil message to illuminate as early as 3,500 miles (5,600 km) since last reset. Have your vehicle serviced as soon as possible, within the next 500 miles (805 km). Your authorized dealer will reset the oil change indicator message after completing the scheduled oil change. If a scheduled oil change is performed by someone other than your authorized dealer, the message can be reset by referring to the steps described under “Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC)” or “Driver Information Display (DID)” in “Understanding Your Instrument Panel” for further information. 1500 Models Only NOTE: Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 10,000 miles (16,000 km), twelve months or 350 hours of engine run time, whichever comes first. The 350 hours of engine run or idle time is generally only a concern for fleet customers.

Yes, that’s an excerpt from the manual. I read that last night so in other words, you’re saying that until when the oil change indicator comes on, don’t mess with it?

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Ramnewbie · Jan 16, 2018

corneileous said:
Yes, that’s an excerpt from the manual. I read that last night so in other words, you’re saying that until when the oil change indicator comes on, don’t mess with it?

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As long as it's not over 1 year. I'm pretty sure it says a max of 10000 miles or 1 year.

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Say if you only drive the ram 4 or 5 thousand miles a year you should still have you're oil at the 1 year mark instead of waiting on the indicator to tell you to change it by use cycles.

corneileous · Jan 16, 2018

Ramnewbie said:
As long as it's not over 1 year. I'm pretty sure it says a max of 10000 miles or 1 year.

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Say if you only drive the ram 4 or 5 thousand miles a year you should still have you're oil at the 1 year mark instead of waiting on the indicator to tell you to change it by use cycles.

Well yeah I figured that part was a given, I’m pretty sure that the oil change light would not take a full year to come on, especially since I’m probably within the boundaries of short driving anyways since I’m only 8 miles from work and that a lot times the truck will just sit there at work in the same spot all week until I get home Friday and drive it home.

I’m not sure if the oil change reminder that was in my old truck was as complex as this one is but there was a few times it came on at as little as 2800 miles.

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Burla · Jan 16, 2018

Unless the light doesn't come on before the other criteria, 10k miles or one year. 10k miles, 350 engine hours, 1 year, or oil light comes on, whichever happens first. Personalty I think 10k miles is too much with the new low calcium spec oils, maybe lower that to 8. Nobody knows what the gf-6 oils will look like in long oci's now. If you run out of tbn, you likely will have damage starting in the form of rust and corrosion. I could almost see a manu saying it is the oil manu's fault. I would just avoid this by also including a tbn component, simply lower the max to 8k miles and leave the rest of the criteria the same, you will be 100% ok.

When to do first oil change on new truck and which oil to use.

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