6.4 Hemi Break In

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Blazin383

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Awesome to see a new spot dedicated to the HDs! Thanks moderators!

My question is regarding break in of the 6.4 Hemi. I have a 6.4 Hemi 2500 on its way and I'm looking for opinions regarding break in of the engine/trans. I assume the manual will have some break in requirements/instructions, but still like to hear what you all have to say!
Thanks!
 

Donelam304

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Just drive it like any other truck. Don't go racing in the Baja 1,000 anytime soon and you should be good. I've had my 6.4L for just over a year and just over 24,000 miles on it and it's ran great. I don't my first oil change when it told me to and everyone when it tells me to. No problems yet.
 

regularcab2500

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Unlike most of the people on here who ran the factory oil for the first interval, mine was changed immediately. The factory oil is high in zinc which helps the break in process. Because the dealership removed it idk when my engine will break in. Generally the first interval with factory oil does the job. Not sure how long it'll take but im almost to 10k miles..but yes the manual has proper break in techniques...
 

loveracing1988

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Unlike most of the people on here who ran the factory oil for the first interval, mine was changed immediately. The factory oil is high in zinc which helps the break in process. Because the dealership removed it idk when my engine will break in. Generally the first interval with factory oil does the job. Not sure how long it'll take but im almost to 10k miles..but yes the manual has proper break in techniques...

That was true in the old days, but standard oil comes in them from the factory now. Standard as in what is recommended for the 6.4 that is. I changed mine at around 3000 miles only because the weather and my schedule never cooperated so I could do it around 1500 miles like I wanted to. I plan on changing it between 8000 and 10000 miles and then go with whatever the oil change interval says and then changing the filter at 50% oil life left.
 

mowin

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I also belive your not supposed to tow anything for the first 500 mi or so.
Vary your speed. Dont jump on the highway and set the cruise.
 
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Blazin383

Blazin383

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That was true in the old days, but standard oil comes in them from the factory now. Standard as in what is recommended for the 6.4 that is. I changed mine at around 3000 miles only because the weather and my schedule never cooperated so I could do it around 1500 miles like I wanted to. I plan on changing it between 8000 and 10000 miles and then go with whatever the oil change interval says and then changing the filter at 50% oil life left.

Why would you change the filter at 50% of oil life? Isn't the filter designed to last as long as the oil? Is that just your presonnal pref, or does the manual recommend a filter change half way to the oil change?
 

loveracing1988

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Why would you change the filter at 50% of oil life? Isn't the filter designed to last as long as the oil? Is that just your presonnal pref, or does the manual recommend a filter change half way to the oil change?

My personal preference. The filter can only hold so much, after that it goes into bypass mode and starts running unfiltered oil to the rest of your motor. I don't know if that will happen at mile 1 or mile 10000 so I like to do it halfway just to be safe.
 
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Blazin383

Blazin383

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My personal preference. The filter can only hold so much, after that it goes into bypass mode and starts running unfiltered oil to the rest of your motor. I don't know if that will happen at mile 1 or mile 10000 so I like to do it halfway just to be safe.

I see! So what is the recommended oil change interval, or is it determined by the on board HAL 9000 that monitors all the perameters and triggers the oil change indicator when it deems necessary? :)
 

Donelam304

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I have had mine get me between 8,000 & 10,000 miles. This last one I have 8,467 Mikes on it when the light finally came on. I'm changing it here in just a few minutes. I got mobile 1 from advance auto 0W-40. And the mobile 1 oil filter. It is the same stuff my dealer uses. Yes, you can buy the other more expensive oils with all the X Y Z A B C letters on the end of it for additives. When it comes to oil for the most part. All automobile oils are the same, unless you want to buy something special. I spoke with 3 different dealerships and all 3 use a different oil. So the BS behind, oh no you have to use a certain brand and additives can't be true if all the dealerships around me are using different. And all of them warranty the engine with those oils.
 
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Blazin383

Blazin383

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Interesting! I read a post somewhere that said anything besides the Pennzoil 0-40 full Synthetic would throw some kind of code! Seemed far fetched to me when I read it!
 

Ratket

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nope no code will be thrown but this motor requires either mopar synthetic or penzoil synthetic due to the mds and the valves. u can run any manufacture u want I would just make sure it is synthetic and 0w-40
 

regularcab2500

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I also have free oil changes for the first 3 years so i go evey 3000 miles but after thats up i'll probably do it every 5000...0w40 is expensive lol!
 

NewBlackDak

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I have had mine get me between 8,000 & 10,000 miles. This last one I have 8,467 Mikes on it when the light finally came on. I'm changing it here in just a few minutes. I got mobile 1 from advance auto 0W-40. And the mobile 1 oil filter. It is the same stuff my dealer uses. Yes, you can buy the other more expensive oils with all the X Y Z A B C letters on the end of it for additives. When it comes to oil for the most part. All automobile oils are the same, unless you want to buy something special. I spoke with 3 different dealerships and all 3 use a different oil. So the BS behind, oh no you have to use a certain brand and additives can't be true if all the dealerships around me are using different. And all of them warranty the engine with those oils.

What kind of driving do you do? Mine starts screaming 5200-5800 miles.
 

Donelam304

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I drive a lot of 4 Lane at 70mph to 75mph. It's 55 miles each way to work. And today I drove my truck about 16 miles on the 4 Lane, changed my oil, and drove back home. No difference between old oil and new oil. And I did run my old oil thru our little gadget at the bike shop where I work at part time and it says there was still 17% of oil life left. Even though the truck said 0%. So now I am wondering what our trucks read or if they even sample the oil for deposits and crud in the oil. And if it even tests the oil for breakdown. We have the machine for our can am products an dies certified by Amsoil and Castrol for testing oil for breakdown, deposits and sludge/crap in the oil. You have to do a sample of new oil first and then old oil and it compares the 2.
 

NewBlackDak

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I drive a lot of 4 Lane at 70mph to 75mph. It's 55 miles each way to work. And today I drove my truck about 16 miles on the 4 Lane, changed my oil, and drove back home. No difference between old oil and new oil. And I did run my old oil thru our little gadget at the bike shop where I work at part time and it says there was still 17% of oil life left. Even though the truck said 0%. So now I am wondering what our trucks read or if they even sample the oil for deposits and crud in the oil. And if it even tests the oil for breakdown. We have the machine for our can am products an dies certified by Amsoil and Castrol for testing oil for breakdown, deposits and sludge/crap in the oil. You have to do a sample of new oil first and then old oil and it compares the 2.

Interesting. My commute is 62 miles, on the freeway at 65-70 mph. I would expect my oil life to be longer than yours with those parameters.
 

SETEX 6.4

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In the manual it states to change the oil when it tells you to or at no more than 8000 miles. Whichever comes first.
 

Donelam304

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I've just been following the truck oil monitoring system. But like I said. When I tested it today, it says it still has 17% of oil life. I've never tested it before, but I will start testing it now when I change it.
 

NewBlackDak

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Are you going by what the truck says and change it when it tells you to.

When I rolled into the dealership Thursday morning, the gauge on the truck said 1%. It had been 5874 miles since the last oil change. The truck always says to change it in 5200-5900 range.

In the manual it states to change the oil when it tells you to or at no more than 8000 miles. Whichever comes first.

I was just hoping to get closer to that 8K mark than I have been. Waiting 90 minutes for one of my "included" 3 yrs free oil/lube/rotations drive me a little bit crazy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Donelam304

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Wow. I don't think I've ever got any where near that low of miles between oil changes. Something has to be wrong. Mark your oil filter before you take it in to make sure they are replacing the oil filter. Dang.
 
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