Synthetic Oil

[2011 2500]

I switched to Amsoil, and their proprietary filter. Since I don't drive that much, approximately 7000 miles per year, I was worried about filter, etc.

I changed again in October of this year with Amsoil again. Noted no issues with removing the filter, the filter was in new shape, no issues at all. I appreciate changing oil only once a year, and when the weather is nice. Previously, I would have to change in December or January, which is a pain in the snow. Since with my truck I can change the oil, I'll do it versus taking it to a lube shop and having them do it.

I have noted no issues changing to Amsoil. I have a friend that is a dealer and I get the oil and filter at his cost.

 

[rocket]

Not anymore they sold of their stake in Chrysler a couple years when bailout stuff all went down.

That explains the chrysler 200.........

 

[rocket]

I switched to Amsoil, and their proprietary filter. Since I don't drive that much, approximately 7000 miles per year, I was worried about filter, etc.

I changed again in October of this year with Amsoil again. Noted no issues with removing the filter, the filter was in new shape, no issues at all. I appreciate changing oil only once a year, and when the weather is nice. Previously, I would have to change in December or January, which is a pain in the snow. Since with my truck I can change the oil, I'll do it versus taking it to a lube shop and having them do it.

I have noted no issues changing to Amsoil. I have a friend that is a dealer and I get the oil and filter at his cost.

I had an extra mopar filter.......I used it .

 

[smiley]

That explains the chrysler 200.........

Do you not like the 200 or are you saying the new one is sick and you can see Chrysler has a new owner?

 

[rocket]

Do you not like the 200 or are you saying the new one is sick and you can see Chrysler has a new owner?

I actually heard they are not the best sedan according to consumer reports.....After seeing what the journey has , I wouldn't bother with either.
I'm just happy my RAM has been quite good to me so far.

 

[smiley]

I heard this one time from this one guy in a magazine.

 

[Hemi395]

A few weeks back, I read through this entire thread. There is some seriously good oil info in here and it has prompted me to do a lot more research on motor oil. So I figured I'd post my oil experiences so far with my Hemi.

I bought my truck with 13 miles on it. I left the factory fill in until 2000 miles and changed it with Pennzoil Conventional. Left that in there until 3000 miles and switched to Pennzoil Platinum as I have used it for years. At about 4000 miles I noticed the infamous Hemi Tick after the oil reached about 190 degrees. Also noticed a good amount of chatter for a minute or two on a cold start. I waited until about 5500 miles and changed it again with Pennzoil Platinum. Same noises, chatter on cold start and the tick after the oil reached 190. I took it into the dealer at around 8500 miles and was told that it was "normal Hemi noise" and theres "no abnormal noises at this time". I also got a lecture about changing my own oil. Definitely wasn't satisfied with that answer but I figured hey, if the engine blew after they said it was fine its on them. Also set up an appointment to have them change the oil as I got 4 free oil changes when I bought the truck. Got my truck back and wow, no chatter on startup! The tick after 190 was there still but less pronounced. Did some research and it seems they use Pennzoil Conventional at the dealerships unless otherwise specified for something like an SRT. I didn't find any concrete evidence saying they use Pennzoil Conventional but it seemed to be the general consensus.

To test that, after about 500 miles on the dealer oil, I dropped it and put in Pennzoil Yellow. It sounds exactly the same as with the dealer oil.

Maybe Burla can jump in on this, my conclusion is that because Pennzoil Yellow has approx 270 ppm of moly as opposed to Pennzoil Platinum having 60, that is what quieted it down. Plus I had NO tick before I switched to Pennzoil Platinum. Now could it have been just a coincidence that it started ticking after Platinum? Maybe. Other people on here report their Hemi sounding better after switching to Platinum. I'm probably going to try Redline with a RP filter and see how that works. I only put about 5-7000 miles a year on my truck so I figure I could run Redline for a year.

Also, don't remember seeing anything about this but has anybody actually tried running a 5w30 oil with MDS enabled?

 

[smiley]

Also, don't remember seeing anything about this but has anybody actually tried running a 5w30 oil with MDS enabled?

It messes with the ability for it to switch to 4 cylinders. It probably won't destroy the engine but also it won't be as efficient. I personally would not do it as it won't protect better that is just a misconception people have with oil.

 

[Burla]

Exactly, your tick is the dry condition at start-up and even though platinum is a better all around oil, I bet that is exactly why the yellow quiets it. Honestly, I would stick with yellow in your case because it is the best conventional oil and it is working for ya.

However, the problem is that Moly is so good at what it does that it is masking your condition. And as long as it is stopping the friction in your out of tolerances lifters (assumption) all is fine and dandy, but your condition still is there beneath the Moly. You may want to first see if the dealer will replace your lifters under warranty, but they need to hear the tick to consider it. Or you can just keep running yellow and hope that it always works. It isn't the end of the world, it is just at some point you my opt to replace lifters.

So as long as I been using my high Moly oil I have not heard the tick. But recently I broke my leg and I can't drive at all. So my engine hadn't got turned on for a long time and when I turned it on, low and behold it was ticking bad, but only for a short time and then it went away. but what this tells me is that my oil is masking the tick, and there is no guarantee that will always work. Moly is an element, so in the situation when the truck sits that long the moly will also be less effective but again it lets you know the lifters are still ticking. At some point it is also possible lifters may go farther our of tolerance and create the tick even with a good oil.

Bottom line is guys under warranty should always ay least ask the dealer to replace, it seams to be hit or miss. It seams like guys with real low miles tend to get them replaced probably because the dealers feel guilty, dunno. I kind of regret not trying this myself, but obviously the condition in my truck seams mostly fixed at the current time, almost two years since running Redline. In Feb I'm gonna do another oil analysis that should really shed light on hemi tick and oil, either wear numbers will be down, the same, or up.

Lifter tick does lead to wear and if you are interested in longevity it is a good idea in my opinion to address the problem. if using yellow bottle oil works, well damn why not just stop there job done. Sweet find.

 

[smiley]

These Hemi's can make that noise almost new. They will last a long time and if it was me unless the noise in insane I would not want them opening up my engine. Based on what I have read even when people have louder tick they still have no actual engine issue.

 

[Burla]

Many guys ignore the tick and have good luck anyhow. But, with zero doubt and many many UOA's studied my myself, Hemi's have unusually high wear numbers. Could be the use of unusually high soft metals like copper in our engines, or possibly a combination of issues. Again, in February a big piece of puzzle will appear of me anyhow. Either the fact my engine hasn't been ticking for two years will lead to same, less or more wear numbers. Both years same type of miles for the same period, when I get the info I will have a lot to say. I don't think I would be afraid of the dealer fixing a warranty item, especially if it is early in the warranty, but I did have a bad experience on something big under warranty so I hear you. I once had a tranny replaced and the guy didn't replace a 15 dollar seal, dang truck leaks until I sold it. I think replacing the lifters isn't that big of job though.

 

[freddyx844]

Also, don't remember seeing anything about this but has anybody actually tried running a 5w30 oil with MDS enabled?

I'm giving it a try this week, already purchased redline 5w30.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hemi395]

Exactly, your tick is the dry condition at start-up and even though platinum is a better all around oil, I bet that is exactly why the yellow quiets it. Honestly, I would stick with yellow in your case because it is the best conventional oil and it is working for ya.

So you would say no to Redline at this point? Truck has 10700 miles on it now...

You may want to first see if the dealer will replace your lifters under warranty, but they need to hear the tick to consider it. Or you can just keep running yellow and hope that it always works. It isn't the end of the world, it is just at some point you my opt to replace lifters.

This is what really irks me, I've brought it to the dealer for this twice now. I explained that it HAS TO BE OVER 190 DEGREES both times and both times I was told that its normal. I have the new EVIC in my truck so its really easy to tell when its over 190. The second time I made sure to leave it running (dealer is a good 15 miles away so it was well over 190), a tech came out and listened to it and told me he heard "nothing abnormal". I would try another dealer except the next closest one to me is about 75 miles away.

So as long as I been using my high Moly oil I have not heard the tick. But recently I broke my leg and I can't drive at all. So my engine hadn't got turned on for a long time and when I turned it on, low and behold it was ticking bad, but only for a short time and then it went away. but what this tells me is that my oil is masking the tick, and there is no guarantee that will always work. Moly is an element, so in the situation when the truck sits that long the moly will also be less effective but again it lets you know the lifters are still ticking. At some point it is also possible lifters may go farther our of tolerance and create the tick even with a good oil.

Damn man I'm sorry to hear that. Its almost like they need to bathed in moly constantly and this is what really bothers me. This is the first vehicle I've ever had and I've had quite a few, that I've considered buying a top shelf oil for to quiet it up. But at the same time it also seems to be a fairly common problem with Hemis which is why I have started to live with it.

if using yellow bottle oil works, well damn why not just stop there job done. Sweet find.

Thanks. Honestly it was you pushing us to do our research that led me to the high moly in yellow bottle. I would be perfectly happy staying with dealer oil/yellow. Its cheap, readily available, and my Hemi seems to like it. It just makes me cringe knowing its dino...

 

[Burla]

I would never say "no" to Redline or Motul, I think they are the best oil you can buy. But it seams yellow is working for you, and I am also a big fan of if it aint broke don't fix it. There are plenty of other benefits you do get from using ester based oil like natural cleaning ability, the way esters stick to metal, and stay cleaner longer because of the smaller uniform molecules, the fact there is no wax or other impurities, and better film strength, of course you do have to pay to play for the good stuff. If you do try either of the group 5's, I say use a synthetic filter and get your moneys worth by going a long time between oil changes. But if I was you I would stay with the yellow for now, your truck seams to like it.

I wouldn't be bothered by some of the things we have to deal with, in the end these hemi's and Ram's in general are the best trucks you can buy these days so you can only do what you can do. Nobody makes anything like they used to, and we just have to deal with the small stuff.

 

[Burla]

Here is a little gem about esters as a base oil, kind of simplifies it in a couple paragraphs.

 

[Hemi395]

Here is a little gem about esters as a base oil, kind of simplifies it in a couple paragraphs.

OK that sealed it. Redline it is after I run my yellow bottle for a few thousand miles[emoji12]

 

[MackayHFX]

My truck was just into the dealership's ExpressLane to get its first oil change last Friday, got rid of the factory fill break-in oil at 3000 km's (~1800 miles) and had a WIX filter installed with 6.5L of Castrol Edge Synthetic 5W20. I went with it because its one of very few oils that meets Chrysler's MS-6395 specification for oil.

I wanted Mobil1 but the back of the bottle didn't specify that it met MS-6395 so I went with Castrol for now. The new Penzoil Pure Platnium made from Natural Gas meets that spec so I might switch to it next fill.

 

[rocket]

I use m1 specifically because of my short trips to an from work......I actually idle for a few minutes because of the short trips.....Knowing full well that the oil will give me the added protection needed for the (abuse) of the 12 miles per week I put in going to work and back.

 

[Big Blue Hemi]

Never knew there was so much to know about motor oil. Holy cow! What I got out of reading nearly 60 pages is that there is no clear winner but that Pennzoil Ultra and Pure Platinum seem seriously good choices and perhaps the best values.
I run Redline in my Harley and used M1 exclusively in my Ford but the Ram is different. Me thinks I'll be trying Pennzoil next oil change.

 

[toofart]

there is no clear winner

And that takes you back full circle to this:

Never knew there was so much to know about motor oil.

As you've discovered, all the analysis in the world shows us there's nothing to know, really. If fleet vehicles can easily get 200,000 miles on their engines using any random oil they can get at the lowest cost, what we learn is that it's not the brand that matters but actually changing the oil.

That being said, I use quality brand name oils (mostly Mobil 1 that I stock up when it's on sale), but I just don't get the Amsoil/Redline/Royal Purple hard-on that people get, when most of them probably won't even own the same truck in 5 years time.