OK, got my new '06 DRW 6 speed, Bighorn Edition w/sirius satalite radio, bright silver metallic (thanks Rockhound for talking me into the 6 speed ). I have 500 miles on it now, and like others post I have read, the towing and engine break-in thing is contradictory to itself in my owners manual...

The last 400 miles have had a 6000 lb load pulled behind it at varying speeds, and I thought I should maybe drop the oil, or should I run the factory fill untill say the 3000 mile mark?

I want to run synthetic, Rotella has the best bang for the buck, and have read good things about it, although now I read it "smells " but heck, diesels smell anyway. Also read Mobil 1 (which I currently use in every gas engine I own) is coming out with a synthetic diesel oil. Is there a special name for it? I have seen "Truck and SUV" on the shelf, but don't recall specifically for a diesel.

So the important question, is running synthetic this early OK since the manual states there is no "break-in period", or run dino oil for now and how long?

P.S. Love this truck (traded up from a gas guzzling V-10)

 

I think Cummins recommends that you wait till about 20,000 miles before going to Synthetic.

 

I changed mine at 400 miles. I think it's good to change oil at low miles because of break-in metal

 

Thanks, should I use the factory fill stuff like the Valvoline Blue with the Cummis logo on it, or Rottella ect?

 

Any of the major oils mentioned on this board regularly are fine. Delo 400, Delvac, Valvoline Premium Blue, and Shell Rotella are all great. Personally, I use Rotella and change every 5k with a Fleetguard Stratapore Filter.

 

I always change out my break in oil early but you do not want to run synthetic until at least 10,000 miles. Go at least one more oil change with dino oil then swap it out to synthetic after the motor has gone through the initial break-in. Synthetic oil is said to cause problems with seating the rings on a brand new motor.

 

Here's my post on my first oil change: https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=102251

I also sent a sample to Blackstone Labs. The post above says what they told me after doing the first change @ 7800 miles.

 

Ramified,
The reason for the initial break-in is more for the rear end than the engine. The engine will take at least 5k till it starts to settle in. The big thing is the rear gear set. Thats why they want you to baby it for the first 500 or so miles.
As for synthetic, I would use Dino oil for the first 2 changes, then switch to synthetic.

Nav

 

I just bought mobil 1 15w-50 for mine, does this sound ok. Sorry if this is a dumb ? I just don't know.

 

Diesel oil in 15w-40 or 5-40w/0-40w (Cold weather) is the recommended weight of oils for the Cummins.

Didn't know there's a Mobil 15w-50 Diesel Oil??? Is this a typo?

 

not a typo, I just got it from advanced auto, I hope it work cause I just changed my oil.