There's been a ton of oil related threads on the forum. Everybody has their opinion. The ONLY important thing with oil is to change it and change it early. I'm not saying it's required to change it early, but it's some pretty cheap insurance. Check out some of Blackstone's newsletters, they do a good job of comparing different brands of oil, and have never seen a noticeable difference between any of the comparable brands.
My opinion is this:
Buy oil from a reputable manufacturer for a good price and change the oil in your 6.7 every 5,000 miles.
I have seen a few places that have special diesel oil, i.e. Shell Rotella. Is there a difference compared to regular 10w30 oil?
Also, I have been thinking about going full synthetic abut have heard you need to let the rings settle using conventional oil, then go to a blend and then go to a full syn. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Last, doesnt the new superduty tell you when to change the oil so you dont have to mess with it at 5k? I read that in the manual and wondered how that would work with a synthetic. How does the computer know that its syntehtic or not, I assume it doesnt and you would need some way to tell it was time to change the oil. Any thoughts on this would also be appreciated.
Yes, you need to buy Diesel oil. It typically called Heavy Duty Oil. For instance; Walmart carries Rotella T conventional, synthetic blend and full synthetic, Delo 400, Mobil, Motorcraft, and their own brand. DO NOT USE REGULAR MOTOR OIL.
As far as synthetics go. I see no reason to waste money on them. Read the Blackstone reports. I would never trust my oil to go 15,000 or 20,000 miles on synthetic. Like I said earlier, changing your oil early every 5,000 miles is cheap, cheap insurance on a $15,000+ engine.
Your engine will tell you when to change the oil, but's I believe it's only based on mileage since reset.
There will be guys on here saying that they let their synthetics go for 20,000 + miles using Amsoil. I would never buy a used truck that the owner did that, no matter what. Having good oil change records is a good way to boost value on a truck when you go to sell it.
Oil breaks down over time and looses it's lubricity and protective qualities. Keep clean oil in it and your engine will thank you.
Probably going to go with full synthetic with this truck. With my 7.3's in the past I always used rotella 15w40 every 5000 like mor4wd said. I can't decide to put the truck on a routine or let the computer tell me.I think the computer is going to go farther than 5000 miles maybe 7500 miles,but if we change at 5000 we are assured its ok,but it will cost more.I think I'm too old school to let a computer tell me when to change the oil or just ignorant:dunno:
I don't let the computer tell me either - I just don't change it. My Duramax got an oil change every 25000 miles or so whether it needed it or not. This one will get AmsOil synthetic and I plan on having an oil analysis done every 15000 miles.
It has all sorts of little issues - radio doesn't, no power door locks, water pump is leaking, radiator should be replaced, transmission needs work, but the engine runs like a top. I checked the oil level about 8 months ago and it needed to be topped up - I honestly can't remember how many miles or years ago it was changed. The truck only has about 120,000 miles on it - I can only remember changing the oil three times.
Amsoil is awesome stuff! I wouldn't let it go that long though lol 15k is the max for me but to each their own. I run motorcraft 10w30 diesel oil in mine for warranty purposes. No problems with it at all
My '04 dodge ran great. I changed it every 10,000.
I read the manual the day I got that truck and it showed two options A:dirt roads, heavy loads, etc = oil change every 7,500. and B: highway, light loads, etc = oil change every 15,000. I didn't haul heavy loads and did 50/50 hwy/city. That is how I got my number.
Call me crazy but I never had any issues with the engine (200K miles).
I plan on changing mine every time the computer says, and the light just came on yesterday with 6950 miles.
I just don't know if I will use synthetic or regular.
So does anyone know if you switch to synthetic, fit he computer knows it can go longer on an oil change or are u just pissing in the wind with synthetic?
The computer doesn't sample the oil. It predicts oil breakdown based on driving conditions - things like distance driven, engine rpm, engine temperature etc. So no the computer doesn't account for oil quality. If you want to change your oil based on some "real" guide line, I would say use the best full synthetic oil you can buy and then get a regular oil analysis done. I think it is very interesting that the combines in my signature are run in the most adverse conditions imaginable - 2100 rpm, extreme heat and dust, full power all day long with a 40 hp power boost being applied during certain conditions. The manufacturer does not specify synthetic oil and yet recommends an oil change interval of 600 hrs. In 600 hours these engines, working the way they do, consume approximately 7000 - 9000 gallons of fuel. How far would you travel in 600 hours of driving your truck? How far would 7000 gallons propel your truck? (These engines are not entirely different than your truck engine: they are turbo charged diesels rated at 350 hp with a peak hp of 390 and have a displacement of 9 litres)
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