Cost of Supplies for 6.4 Hemi Oil Change

[Tanman_2006]

Wow! Did you get 40K out of the stock crapper Firestone's??? If so, that's the best I've heard of and there has been a lot of discussion about it. Mine were at the tread bars @ 29K.

I used to run nothing but firestone and always got 40-50k on my half tons. My '18 ram had the rear tires air to 90 when I got it, doesn't help tire life or my back.

 

[olyelr]

The tires on my power wagon were aired up beyond the manufacturers max air pressure right from the dealer.... I think that dumb stuff is quite common with dealers/manufacturers.

Truth is (especially with pickup trucks), tire pressure depends greatly on what kind of load the vehicle has on it.

 

[Mr Rich]

I only have ~4960 miles on my 6.4L so far. I noticed that the filter is mounted horizontally above the frame and has a splash pan underneath. I'm a DIY-er and would like to use some kind of deflection shield to catch the excess mess. It always seems like a gale wind comes up during my oil changes and starts deflecting the stream of oil all over the place. I notice that the K&N HP-1017 is listed for this engine and I was wondering if anyone has found a longer filter than this small one.

 

[olyelr]

I only have ~4960 miles on my 6.4L so far. I noticed that the filter is mounted horizontally above the frame and has a splash pan underneath. I'm a DIY-er and would like to use some kind of deflection shield to catch the excess mess. It always seems like a gale wind comes up during my oil changes and starts deflecting the stream of oil all over the place. I notice that the K&N HP-1017 is listed for this engine and I was wondering if anyone has found a longer filter than this small one.

Yea the location and orientation of the filter makes oil changes kind of a ****show. This is by far the worst of any vehicle I have had. That being said, the plastic drain setup they have in place under it does a pretty dang good job overall. I just drain the pan, then loosen the filter up a bit and let it drain out onto/through the plastic trough, then once its done dripping I remove the filter and then do my best to wipe up the mess on the plastic piece.

I havnt looked into a larger filter.

 

[Mr Rich]

I've owned GM's all my life and the filter would drain on top of the front axle U-joint on my '89 K1500 EC. I cut a plastic bottle up to use as a cover when I did oil changes on my old truck (still have it too). My Hummer H3T has a little drip cup on top of the cross-member to catch the dripping from the oil filter. There are short and long sizes of filters that work on the GM LS engines; that's why I brought up that question on this Dodge Ram. I think I would rather have some kind of disposable catch pan to use on oil changes for this truck. I'm a young 65 and can still do my own work which I prefer.

 

[EastWestHemi]

0w40 Mobil, Castrol, PP euro can all be had for $22-28 per five quart at Walmart. The best Mobil or Fram ultra filter is around $10. A Walmart oil change is $45 after tax.

Use a pennzoil $2 per quart rebate or Mobil sometimes rebates also and your cheaper.

Although I have a stash of PUP 0w40, I have found no difference with the 5w40 oils I have cycled through the engine, I am positive the other 0w40 oils would be very good.

 

[mtofell]

Although I have a stash of PUP 0w40, I have found no difference with the 5w40 oils I have cycled through the engine, I am positive the other 0w40 oils would be very good.

I had one of the very early 6.4 Hemi HD trucks and the oil thing was a bit tricky. This is one reason I ultimately ended up just buying a pack of changes at the dealer. Basically, there was only one brand Ram blessed and I seem to remember I couldn't find it in my area and really didn't want to hassle with ordering it (Now 5 years later I order everything online )

I want to say there was only one brand Ram endorsed and for some reason they even changed that sacred brand for some reason. I also remember hearing stories of guys getting CEL with different weight oils so I'd be careful about putting anything other than the 0W-40 in these things. Maybe that was just Ram trying to scare us.

 

[SouthTexan]

I had one of the very early 6.4 Hemi HD trucks and the oil thing was a bit tricky. This is one reason I ultimately ended up just buying a pack of changes at the dealer. Basically, there was only one brand Ram blessed and I seem to remember I couldn't find it in my area and really didn't want to hassle with ordering it (Now 5 years later I order everything online )

I want to say there was only one brand Ram endorsed and for some reason they even changed that sacred brand for some reason. I also remember hearing stories of guys getting CEL with different weight oils so I'd be careful about putting anything other than the 0W-40 in these things. Maybe that was just Ram trying to scare us.

It is just Ram trying to make/save money. Most of the time when a manufacturer recommends a certain oil by name, it is because they have a contract with that brand for cheaper factory fill oil. You see, Ram has to buy the factory fill oil that goes into these engines, but if they can cut a deal with a certain brand to give them a discount on this factory fill oil by telling their customer's that their brand is the only one they recommend, then it is a win-win for Ram.

Cummins did this with Valvoline when I worked there. Valvoline cut Cummins a deal on all of their factory fill oil and other lubricants such as bearing grease, and Cummins endorses Valvoline as the only brand it recommends. However, if you go online to Cummins Quickserve, there is a long list of "acceptable" engine oil brands and grades.

 

[Mr Rich]

So the HP-1017 is the K&N filter listed for this engine. That filter is also used on GM LS engines. Now that brought me to another realization that I have been using the HP-2011 which is the same filter as the HP-1017, only longer that I have been using in my GM auto. There are some Dodge/ Chrysler filters that cross reference to that longer filter as well like a 5184231AA. (I may have missed a digit on that last one...)