2016 cummins... oil change

[ram5.7hemi]

Im having trouble finding some of these answers dealer is no help.

just bought a brand new CUMMINS a couple months ago.. I have 5500 miles mostly highway towing.

when should first oil change be? or does it matter? all the book says that i seem to find is every 15k or 6 months... this is my first diesel but 15k seems kinda long?

what is in my truck from the factory? cummins endorses valvoline so I'm kinda guessing that what is put in? wouldn't the oil be put in by cummins after the engine is built then shipped to ram? but is it conventional or synthetic? I've heard the ship with synthetic and I've heard your not sopose to put synthetic in until after 15k miles...

i want to use an approved oil so I am thinking either valvoline or shell rotella...

but i need to know whats in it... if it has synthetic i want to stick with synthetic but if not then ill just use what conventional is in it... heard a lot of bad about using conventional after synthetic oil. also heard it doesn't matter but who knows.

 

[zeddy]

im sure someone here will jump in a chime in... But you should really go over to the cummins forum and search there....

 

[SouthTexan]

Whoa, that is a lot of questions.

When should first oil change be? or does it matter?

Some do the first engine oil change early. The reasoning is because the machining process of a new engine leaves behind little metal contaminants. In many cases the oil will do its job to carry these contaminants away from the engine and to the bottom of the oil pan making it harmless. For peace of mind, people like to change make the first oil change sooner because the thought of these metal contaminants are unnerving. There is no no real proof of the contaminants shortening and engine life so just do what gives you the best piece of mind for your wallet.

All the book says that i seem to find is every 15k or 6 months... this is my first diesel but 15k seems kinda long?

I would not exceed the 15k mile mark, but the 6 month thing can be stretched to a year. The 6.7L in other applications where the interval is 15k miles also has a year interval so why Ram dictates 6 months in their manuals is beyond me.

Your oil change interval is based on many factors, but one of the biggest factor is your oil pan capacity. Most people think it is the oil, but today's oil can easily last 10-15k. Along with cooling the engine and lubrication, the job of oil is to carry contaminants away from the engine so they can be stored at the bottom of the pan. The greater the oil pan capacity, the greater the amount of oil and the amount of contaminants it can hold away from the engine. Eventually the oil will get too contaminated to the point where it cannot hold anymore without excess engine wear. The oil filters holding capacity is also another determining factor in oil change intervals.

I can tell you that there was a lot of research from Cummins that went into that 15k miles interval recommendation. They didn't just throw a number in the air and call it good. They put these engines through various scenarios testing the engine oil for contamination to ensure they don't get too high to harm the engine. Below is an snip of my Quickserve showing the various recommendations for different duty cycles and application for the 6.7L. So rest assure when they say 15k, then you can bet that you can go 15k between changes without harming the engine.






What is in my truck from the factory? cummins endorses valvoline so I'm kinda guessing that what is put in? wouldn't the oil be put in by cummins after the engine is built then shipped to ram? but is it conventional or synthetic? I've heard the ship with synthetic and I've heard your not sopose to put synthetic in until after 15k miles...

Factory fill is a Valvoline 5W-40 synthetic for the pickups and 15W-40 oil in the HD chassis cabs. Use synthetic or mineral depending on your conditions.


I want to use an approved oil so I am thinking either valvoline or shell rotella...

There are many oils approved by Cummins just as long as they meet the standards. Valvoline is the only one "endorsed" and "recommended" by Cummins. Below is a snip from my quickserve login showing what is "recommended" and acceptable alternatives. The alternatives list is pretty long and I am not going to even try to list all of them, but Rotella is on there.




If it has synthetic i want to stick with synthetic but if not then ill just use what conventional is in it... heard a lot of bad about using conventional after synthetic oil. also heard it doesn't matter but who knows.

The use of synthetic or conventional is determined by the temperatures you drive in. For most, conventional is perfectly fine, but for some who live in very cold climates synthetic is recommended. Here is what Cummins has to say on the matter.





Hope that helps.

 

[ram5.7hemi]

Whoa, that is a lot of questions.

When should first oil change be? or does it matter?

Some do the first engine oil change early. The reasoning is because the machining process of a new engine leaves behind little metal contaminants. In many cases the oil will do its job to carry these contaminants away from the engine and to the bottom of the oil pan making it harmless. For peace of mind, people like to change make the first oil change sooner because the thought of these metal contaminants are unnerving. There is no no real proof of the contaminants shortening and engine life so just do what gives you the best piece of mind for your wallet.

All the book says that i seem to find is every 15k or 6 months... this is my first diesel but 15k seems kinda long?

I would not exceed the 15k mile mark, but the 6 month thing can be stretched to a year. The 6.7L in other applications where the interval is 15k miles also has a year interval so why Ram dictates 6 months in their manuals is beyond me.

Your oil change interval is based on many factors, but one of the biggest factor is your oil pan capacity. Most people think it is the oil, but today's oil can easily last 10-15k. Along with cooling the engine and lubrication, the job of oil is to carry contaminants away from the engine so they can be stored at the bottom of the pan. The greater the oil pan capacity, the greater the amount of oil and the amount of contaminants it can hold away from the engine. Eventually the oil will get too contaminated to the point where it cannot hold anymore without excess engine wear. The oil filters holding capacity is also another determining factor in oil change intervals.

I can tell you that there was a lot of research from Cummins that went into that 15k miles interval recommendation. They didn't just throw a number in the air and call it good. They put these engines through various scenarios testing the engine oil for contamination to ensure they don't get too high to harm the engine. Below is an snip of my Quickserve showing the various recommendations for different duty cycles and application for the 6.7L. So rest assure when they say 15k, then you can bet that you can go 15k between changes without harming the engine.

View attachment 76616

View attachment 76620


What is in my truck from the factory? cummins endorses valvoline so I'm kinda guessing that what is put in? wouldn't the oil be put in by cummins after the engine is built then shipped to ram? but is it conventional or synthetic? I've heard the ship with synthetic and I've heard your not sopose to put synthetic in until after 15k miles...

Factory fill is a Valvoline 5W-40 synthetic for the pickups and 15W-40 oil in the HD chassis cabs. Use synthetic or mineral depending on your conditions.


I want to use an approved oil so I am thinking either valvoline or shell rotella...

There are many oils approved by Cummins just as long as they meet the standards. Valvoline is the only one "endorsed" and "recommended" by Cummins. Below is a snip from my quickserve login showing what is "recommended" and acceptable alternatives. The alternatives list is pretty long and I am not going to even try to list all of them, but Rotella is on there.

View attachment 76617


If it has synthetic i want to stick with synthetic but if not then ill just use what conventional is in it... heard a lot of bad about using conventional after synthetic oil. also heard it doesn't matter but who knows.

The use of synthetic or conventional is determined by the temperatures you drive in. For most, conventional is perfectly fine, but for some who live in very cold climates synthetic is recommended. Here is what Cummins has to say on the matter.

View attachment 76618

View attachment 76619

Hope that helps.

thank you very informative. if i read the oil part right cummins recommends conventional oil unless the temps are below 0 degrees? and recommends full synthetic in colder climate.. of course it seems you could run synthetic all around.

where I live it doesn't get down below 0 degrees very often... but it can happen... usually not very long though.

 

[JRG18]

My only suggestion would be to jack it up high enough to be able to use a 5 gallon bucket for draining the oil. Learned that the hard way a couple months ago. The oil catch I had didn't let the oil in fast enough and my driveway paid the price.

 

[ram5.7hemi]

My only suggestion would be to jack it up high enough to be able to use a 5 gallon bucket for draining the oil. Learned that the hard way a couple months ago. The oil catch I had didn't let the oil in fast enough and my driveway paid the price.

ohh, thanks for the heads up. so now your driveway is a blacktop? lol

i have one of the 16 quart things from walmart but now that you mention it on my hemi it would fill up pretty quick in the pan before draining... never spilled any... at least not from the pain... the first time i changed my oil i made a mess with the filter haha

 

[JRG18]

ohh, thanks for the heads up. so now your driveway is a blacktop? lol

i have one of the 16 quart things from walmart but now that you mention it on my hemi it would fill up pretty quick in the pan before draining... never spilled any... at least not from the pain... the first time i changed my oil i made a mess with the filter haha

Yeah pretty much. Took a whole lot of kitty litter and dawn to get most of it up. Still noticeable but not too bad.

 

[ram5.7hemi]

Yeah pretty much. Took a whole lot of kitty litter and dawn to get most of it up. Still noticeable but not too bad.

kitty litter hmm? interesting but i ca see how that would help. I've done my oil changes on my other truck in the garage so the little I've spilt no big deal... idk if this truck will fit in the garage lol... maybe the front part lol

 

[lukedukem]

stop yelling

 

[smurfs_of_war]

A RAM-CUMMINGS MECHANIC (8 Years) THAT OWNS A 2014 6.7L SAID TO ME:

CHANGE IT EVERY 5,000 AND DON'T BE A CHEAP **** OWNER.

WALMART DINO OIL $27/3 GALLONS,

100% SYNTHETIC IS AS LOW AS $55/3 GALLONS FOR DIESEL OIL

He said 10,000 is okay if it's 100% Synthetic with no towing!

What's with the CAPS? What does the image attachment of the fuel economy have to do with anything in this post? Why on earth would anyone take the advice of a 3rd party unknown source that is a "RAM-CUMMINGS" mechanic unless it is directly from the source, when there is good, quality information from a member directly in the thread who actually worked for Cummins in what seems to be a fairly technical role? What the hell is a "CUMMINGS"? Is it a Chinese knock-off or a bad **** flick?

5000 mile OCI for a diesel with a massive oil capacity is simply not necessary unless you're driving on the surface of the moon or towing a space shuttle through the Sahara. This recommendation is thread pollution in my opinion.

 

[Hootbro]

What's with the CAPS? What does the image attachment of the fuel economy have to do with anything in this post? Why on earth would anyone take the advise of a 3rd party unknown source that is a "RAM-CUMMINGS" mechanic unless it is directly from the source, when there is good, quality information from a member directly in the thread who actually worked for Cummins in what seems to be a fairly technical role? What the hell is a "CUMMINGS"? Is it a Chinese knock-off or a bad **** flick?

5000 mile OCI for a diesel with a massive oil capacity is simply not necessary unless you're driving on the surface of the moon or towing a space shuttle through the Sahara. This recommendation is thread pollution in my opinion.

cash4acres is a retard. Do not expect the guy to actually answer you.

I wish the moderation staff around here swung a heavier **** hand with idiots like this.

 

[PippinAin'tEasy]

This is where you can find "ram cummings":
http://www.whitmorefarm.com/for-sale-sheep-breeding-stock
Fact: "**** hand" should be more widely used in these discussions.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

 

[Klaus96]

**** Hand? Never heard that one....but I like it

 

[Hootbro]

I SHARE INFORMATION, I'M NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT, I TELL THE 100% TRUTH, IF YOU FEEL OTHERWISE, TOUGH.
HERE ARE SOME TRUMP2U FACTS:
760 BUSINESS BOOKS READ SINCE COLLEGE DOUBLE MAJORS
6TH PASSPORT BEING FILLED
700 PLUS PROPERTY ESCROWS
27,000 ACRES BOUGHT & SOLD, MOSTLY CALIF.
3 STATES GUN LICENSES
8 CALIBERS PERMITTED TO CARRY IN CALIFORNIA
$14 MILLION LIABILITY INSURANCE TO PROTECT MY INVESTMENTS
9 FIG-NET, PUTS ME IN THE TOP 150K AMERICANS POOL PER WSJ & FORBES. I ENJOY HELPING OTHERS & I HATE LIBERAL CRY BABIES!

Thanks for proving my point.