2195 miles, time for the first oil change. <br><br>Question - How many quarts are in a gallon? A - 4<br>Q - How many gallons to fill a 12 quart truck? A - 3<br><br>Then why in @$#%^ did I put in 4?<br><br>Boy do I feel stupid. <br><br>Good thing I cought it before I started it up to check for leaks. Man I hate draining new oil. :'( Got it drained down, no leaks so far. Going to check it again in the morning. May have to add a quart.<br><br>OK, I've told on myself :-X :-X<br><br>BTW, the original filter was not as hard to get off as I was lead to believe. Did take a bit of grunting though.<br><br>

 

And how many litres to a quart...

 

Thought that I was the only one to something like that. doing oil change on the wifes car the other day. got distracted and put 2 qts in before I said to myself &quot; what is that tinkling sound&quot; Dang drain plugs :

 

Since we're doing True Confessions here,<br>I gave up on myself years ago, and established a long a trusting relationship with my local Lube Shop. They are happiest when I stay out from under my hood.

 

[quote author=bushpilot link=board=20;threadid=13191;start=0#124427 date=1049554852]<br>... and established a long a trusting relationship with my local Lube Shop. They are happiest when I stay out from under my hood. [/quote]<br><br>...as are most for-profit business's. <br><br>Glad to hear you've found a place you trust.

 

[quote author=bulabula link=board=20;threadid=13191;start=0#124429 date=1049555412]<br>[quote author=bushpilot link=board=20;threadid=13191;start=0#124427 date=1049554852]<br>... and established a long a trusting relationship with my local Lube Shop. They are happiest when I stay out from under my hood. [/quote]<br><br>...as are most for-profit business's. <br><br>Glad to hear you've found a place you trust.<br>[/quote]<br><br>Man I don't trust anyone around here to change my oil. MY bro inlaw had the local shop change his oil in his truck and they crossthreaded the plug, it has leaked ever since. It just makes me feel all warm inside changing my oil. I have it down to a pretty good system, I have found a craftsman strap wrench works great on the oil filter. <br><br>Has anyone tried those quick drain plugs? Anyone ever use them?<br><br>

 

I've heard great things about th sure drain plugs, but I find it hard to believe they get all the oil out. I mean, when you screw a fitting into the pan, doesn't stick up inside the pan a little bit? Thus causing some of the oil to stay in the pan? <br>Bushpilot, you're one of the lucky ones, with a trustworthy quicky lube joint at your disposal. I hate 'em... course then again, I don't trust ANYONE to service any of my vehicles in any way, shape, or form. Too many bad experiences. When something breaks, I'd as soon fix it myself.

 

I picked up one of those one touch valves from Geno's and put it on at the last oil change. I bought the valve with the nipple; and a hose long enough for it to reach to my 5 gallon jug. For the convenience it provides, I'll live with a frogs-hair of valve threads sticking up into the oil pan.

I don't think I'll ever get my hands dirty again doing an oil change on the RAM. Taking oil samples couldn't be easier either.

I had heard that changing the oil filter was going to be a PIA, but it wasn't nearly as painful as my cars or the boat. Amazing what a couple well place 4 letter words can do to help. Being vertical, I didn't spill any oil taking it off, nor did I spill any of the oil that I had pre-filled it with.

3 gallons to the tee.

 

4 quarts = 1 gallon.

My truck takes 11 quarts. One in the filter and 10 in the case. Sometimes I'll put an extra quart in to make it an even 3 gallons (12 quarts). No big deal.


You can use an 11 quart oil pan where the old oil can drain into, but I suggest getting a 10 gallon or bigger drum to hold the old oil until you bring it to be recycled. Unless you can bring an 11 quart pan after every oil change.

 

Wow another one from the grave.

 

No kidding. But its nice to be reminded that 4 quarts is a gallon still. And a year later and 3 oil changes later, 3 gallons still fit fine in mine.

 

For changing oil I use a 5 gal bucket with 2 inches that I sawed off of the top, leaving the handle intact. I still have the stock tires, and it slides under the truck easily. The free oil filter wrench from Geno's works ok on the Stratopore filters, but it'll slip sometimes so I'll be looking for a similar, better model. The biggest pain is pouring the oil back into the 1 gal bottles for recycling, so I may try a short ramp next time and use an unmodified 5 gal bucket that I can just put a lid on and recycle.
12 qts gets it to the 'safe' mark, but I like to get to the top of the 'safe' mark. Last time I used Exxon XD-3 Elite, a synthetic blend that made for a quieter engine, but I couldn't find anymore so I used 3 qts of Mobil 1 Truck/SUV oil and topped it off with Delvac 1300.

 

I also use the XD-3 elite, for now. I will be changing to the Valvoline premium blue due to the fact they still want $56 for a case, of 4 gallons. I told them, at 3 gallons a shot, I gotta find something else. I am not much on mixing the oils like that, I'll buy a synthetic blend.

 

I don't have the patience for the valves with the nipples to do an oil change, it takes too dang long to wait for all that oil to drain out! I installed one on my wifes SUV, and I am living to regret it. Yep, you do not get dirty...but man it takes a long time for that oil to get out!

 

I changed my oil for the first time last week, and it scared the hell out of me!

I used a 15 quart pan....figured no problem while doing the math in my head. Problem was the hole in the center of the pan (it's one of those new oil pans that has a hole in the center to drain into the lower part of the pan) almost wasn't big enough to take all the oil gushing from the cummins oil pan. It came within a 1/16" of an inch from the top edge and from overflowing.

Man did that scare the hell out of me!!!!!