ATL777

Hello Everyone,

I'm new so over look any mistakes.

I've just purchased a 05' Ram 2500 5.9L. Actually I kinda stole it! Dealer quoted me a low price and still honored it.
I want to give it a 1st time(for me) fluid/filter change. What kind of oil (engine and trans) and filters should I use.
On TDI Club there is a lot of discussion on this but here, not so much. At least I can't find it . Please help me get off on the right foot with my new to me truck. The truck will mostly be a family truck with minimum towing and hauling.

Any other info/ suggestions I should do for my truck would be greatly appreciated too ie best ride, fuel milage, long life, engine monitoring, etc.

slickwillie

regular dino: valvoline blue, rotella, delo

synthetic: amsoil(made my truck stink for 10k miles), royal purple

for the trans i would stick with atf +4 made for the dodge, i think you can buy it at walmart

SundayMoney

The 5.9 Cummins is known for being easy on oil. I've read tons of Used Oil Analysis reports and there really isn't difference in any of the conventional oils.

I've ran Valvoline Premium Blue,Rotella and now have Mobil Delvac in my truck.

I use Fleetguard filters for the fuel and oil,and Napa Gold for the air.

Cummins recommendeds a 7500/15,000 oil change shedule. 7500 for severe driving and 15,000 for non severe. Fuel filters are every 15,000. Changing oil at 3000 miles is a HUGE waste of money and resources.

I change the oil at 7500 and the fuel filter at 10,000.

ATL777

Thanks!!!

I might stretch the oil change to around 10k cause I'll be doing little pulling.

Any ideas on engine monitoring? What is good and and what is over kill? I don't mind spending the money but I don't want to throw it away either.

paroxysym

past couple i have done, i have used rotella 5w-40 synthetic

TonyB

I use Valvoline Premium Blue 15W40, and may try some synthetic next time.

I was sampling oil at ~3500mile intervals and changing at 7500. No negative oil reports. I am now sampling at 7500 mile intervals, just to keep an eye on oil at 7500.

Tony

ATL777

Again Thanks All!

Best place to get the Rotella 5w40? Does Walley World carry it?

Paroxysym:
I see you have several mods listed in your sig. Any mod specificly done to increase fuel milage?

TonyB:
I also see you've monitor a lot of PSIs and Temps. What do you use to do that? Also I see you have an 06 Jetta. What oil do you put in her. I have one too

TexasCTD

Yes Wally World carries it. It is an excellent oil. One thing to watch for is that it is still CI-4+ rated and not the new CJ blend like on most of the regular dino oils...including the 15w40 Rotella.

There has been some testing and the newer oils don't protect the pre 07.5 engines as well as the older CI-4+ blend. That is exactly why I switched to Rotella 5w40 Synthetic over the (new) Rotella. Plus as an added benefit, the 5w40 is easier on the engine during cold starts.

FWIW....I always change the oil every 5k and use a Fleetguard stratapore oil filter.

..

TonyB

I use the gauges not for racing, but towing. Even though it's bone stock, I like to know when I should back out of it. I could climb the hills at 65mph in 4th gear, but EGT's would be ~1450. Drop into 3rd and at 65mph, egts drop to ~1100.

For the Jetta (and passat) I use the factory oil, which is now 5W30 Castrol SLX OE. Internet pricing is not that much cheaper, and shipping costs are on the rise, so paying local tax is about even. BTW, my local dealer sells it for ~$7/qt.

Tony

Sprinter17

Any CI4 oil, I don't think anyone here has worn out a Cummins, it's usually after they mod it they start having problems.

paroxysym

um not really. i mean the FASS kinda helped a bit, the smarty jr i just bought i havent thrown it on to see how it does. the best thing for mileage was throwing 35s on

sdaly

I used Valvoline blue early on, but I've been using Chevron Delo 400 for the last 60,000+ miles now because I can get it cheap at Costco and all my Blackstone oil analysis reports with it at 7500 mile drain intervals have been good. Don't waste the money on synthetics unless you're a low mileage driver that won't reach 7500 miles in 6 months. If you're only driving 7500 miles per year, then a synthetic might make more sense.

For filters, I use all Fleetguard Stratopore's. I usually order them from Geno's Garage or Scheid Diesel.

For ATF and gear oil, I've been using Redline C+ ATF and 75W90 with great success, although now I'm thinking about switching back to the Mopar stuff (get it from Wal-Mart) because it's much cheaper and still does the job.

ATL777

Thanks Again,

I went to Wally world late this afternoon.
1 gal. Rotella T 5w40 CI 4+ not the CJ (Thanks Tex) for $16.94
1 Quart Mopar ATF +4 for $4.42
Got enough to do the job.
Filters from Geno's Garage. Will be here very soon.

I soon be able to do my first fluid change in my truck.This will get me by till I've got my feet wet.


I just can't decide which Psi and Temp monitoring system to get.

sdaly:
I keep reading about the Blackstone UOA test. How much oil do you need to send them to test? Any special requested test to ask for? Any watch out fors? I recon I'll google them find out more about them. Is there a thread on this so I can read up on it?

Thanks again everyone

sdaly

Here's the link to Blackstone Labs:
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

Just request a free test kit right from their web site. They'll send you a kit with a bottle for collecting your oil sample. The bottle is less than a half pint in size. Just request the regular oil analysis and pay the extra for the TBN analysis. They include a written summary along with their test results, so they'll help you interpret the numbers and make recommendations to you.

TonyB

You better have 3 gallons for an oil change!

Tony