# Diesel Oil Change



## MJP (Dec 9, 2007)

How often should I change my oil in my diesel truck?


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## Chuck (May 21, 2004)

That is a topic debated all the time but I believe the current recommendation is: Conventional motor oils is 5K, synthetic is 15K. That can change depending upon driving conditions (temp, dust, etc) and the weight being towed.


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## wfishtx (Apr 10, 2006)

I've never heard of anyone going 15k between oil changes, but anything is possible. I used to change mine about every 5k miles and used Rotella 15-40 oil.

I didn't haul much and could have probably waited to do it about every 7500 miles or so.


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## txbigred (Aug 7, 2007)

MJP said:


> How often should I change my oil in my diesel truck?


If it is new and under warranty, just do what they call for in the owners manual.

Dave


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## Chuck (May 21, 2004)

wfishtx said:


> I've never heard of anyone going 15k between oil changes, but anything is possible. I used to change mine about every 5k miles and used Rotella 15-40 oil.
> 
> I didn't haul much and could have probably waited to do it about every 7500 miles or so.


 Some of the newer synthetics are recommending intervals of 40K and these are in the diesel engines of over the road trucks pulling 45-55K pound loads. But when you calculate the cost of the synthetic vs petroleum oils vs the intervals, they all seem to come out around the same price! I just switched to an Amsoil synthetic in my 7.3L ford and noticed about a 2 mpg gain.


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## fishinfool (Jun 30, 2004)

my 6.4l recommends 10K between changes if you its standard driving( no towing, or extended ideling or traffic) other wise it says 5K i think.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

It all depends on how you use the truck. If on every trip, you get it fully warmed up and run it at operating temperature for 20 minutes or so after it's warm, you can get by on the max oil interval for that oil type. If you take a few trips of 15-20 miles or less where the oil never get's fully warmed up, the service life is cut down a lot due to condensation accumulation in the oil. Note, coolant tem is NOT an indicator of oil temps. The coolant will come up to temp and needs to stay there for a good 12-20 minutes before the oil temp will get up much above 170-180 where it needs to be to cook off the accumulated moisture.


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## Roby (Jul 12, 2005)

Oil does not wear out. It becomes contaminated with a multitude of things like wear metals, silicon, antifreeze, water, fuel, etc. The additive package can also be depleted. Once the contaminate level reaches a certain point or the additive package becomes depleted it is time to replace the oil. With proper filtration and a good running engine, you will be amazed at how long you can run between oil changes. It is not unheard of to run 50k-75K miles on an oil fill, but you need to run oil analysis to prevent damage to the engine. We throw away a whole lot of "good" oil. Thanks to the 3,000 mile oil change mentality that oil producing companies and quick lube's like to push. But then again, if you have an engine that holds a small quantity of oil, you can replace it for the cost of an analysis. But if your crankcas holds 11 gallons, the analysis can pay of big, especially if you own a fleet of large trucks. So, are you driving an International with DT466 or a pickup that holds 16 qts? I would not hesitate to go 10,000 miles between oil changes as long as you rack that up in one year.


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## bowed up (Apr 1, 2007)

my 5.9 gets fresh oil every 5k, but i pull a load for about 1k of that. i recommend change it btwn 5-6k. your fuel mileage will begin to drop as the oil breaks down and gets closer to needing to be changed.


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## fishinfool (Jun 30, 2004)

can someone fill me in on the oil analysis idea. how much it costs, were can i get it done. how do you get out just a small amount of oil? $100 bucks an oil change is going to add up the way i drive, 12000 miles in less than 6 months. yikes.
thanks, MIKE


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

Roby said:


> Oil does not wear out. It becomes contaminated with a multitude of things like wear metals, silicon, antifreeze, water, fuel, etc. The additive package can also be depleted. Once the contaminate level reaches a certain point or the additive package becomes depleted it is time to replace the oil. With proper filtration and a good running engine, you will be amazed at how long you can run between oil changes. It is not unheard of to run 50k-75K miles on an oil fill, but you need to run oil analysis to prevent damage to the engine. We throw away a whole lot of "good" oil. Thanks to the 3,000 mile oil change mentality that oil producing companies and quick lube's like to push. But then again, if you have an engine that holds a small quantity of oil, you can replace it for the cost of an analysis. But if your crankcas holds 11 gallons, the analysis can pay of big, especially if you own a fleet of large trucks. So, are you driving an International with DT466 or a pickup that holds 16 qts? I would not hesitate to go 10,000 miles between oil changes as long as you rack that up in one year.


Good info, thanks


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## Blue Water Ho (May 21, 2004)

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/


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## Lat22 (Apr 7, 2005)

I use Blackstone labs.


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

The dealer for my new 2007 2500 said the truck would tell me when it was time. I began to worry about 7000 miles but waited just to see. The message "change oil" came on at 10,000 miles. I changed with synthetic royal purple and now have 17,000 miles. Waiting to see again.


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## gitchesum (Nov 18, 2006)

I change mine at every 3000 miles most of the time. If I'm not making weekly runs to the dragstrip, I'll let it go to 5000 miles.


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## Argo (May 21, 2004)

im using amsoil and I go 15k between oil changes, no problems so far...


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## troutslayer (Feb 7, 2006)

I drive an 07 Duramax and I am wondering if the truck is actually testing the oil or is a time/mileage thing.....My first oil change came @ 8000 miles and it still showed 22% left on the indicator....but i looked at the oil and it looked like it was good and dirty so I changed it....does any one know? "Not to steal a thread"
Thanks


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

Good question trout. I was wondering the same thing.


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## Roby (Jul 12, 2005)

The oil change indicator is a program that the processor uses to calculate when the oil is due to be changed by taking into account the number of times the engine is started, run time, rpms, engine oil temp, etc..... An algorithym some engineer came up with in the lab. I would imagine it is somewhat accurate, but definately not near as accurate as an oil analysis will be.


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## KevinA (May 22, 2004)

do not go buy your oil life calculator,

a buddy took his 07 Duramax in because it was burning or loosing oil,

Beck & Masten told him that his oil was burnt/contaminated and he needed to change his oil every 5000 miles regardless of what the computer told him. 


call your dealer if you arent sure.


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## willielancon (Feb 15, 2007)

we just sold a 96 powerstroke with 325k and six oil changes.....i am not recomending that by any means, but it will make you wonder how often do you really need to change you oil. the motor was still in good shape for a 12 yr old.


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## Red3Fish (Jun 4, 2004)

*Not on subject, but funny...*

Years ago, I had a non mechanical grandfather that had a 53 or 54 chevy, with the 200 cid in line six cylinder engin in it. He said it had started to miss, would I check it out for him. It had 98,000 on it...I asked when he last changed plugs and points....never....when he last changed oil...never, just added to it when low. These older cars usually had to have plugs and points about every 10,000 to 15,000 miles. He lived in a small town, and his average daily trip was less than 5 miles....the car was about 15 yrs old then.

Changed plugs, points and condensor...old ones were *totally* gone, electrodes burnt *OFF*, and fouled. Instantly, miss was gone and purred like a top. Dropped oil pan....about 2" of goo in the bottom...unbelievable...but 98,000 and 15 yrs without oil change!! Yeah, it smoked a little, but not real bad! Continued to drive it the rest of his life!! LOL

Later
R3F


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## aneel (Oct 8, 2005)

Verry good information guys.I have a 05 Dodge 5.7 hemi and 99 Chevrolet Z71 5.3.I was going 5,000 using castrol gtx.I swapped both trucks to Royal Purple synthetic.I have about 500 on each and gas miliage has improved.Will i be able to go longer w the synthetic or stick to the 5000? As far as the deisels go i always go to 10000 loaded or not.


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## rockhound76 (Feb 22, 2007)

We usually change the oil in our 6.0L "X" every 5000 miles. Our injectors use the oil, so it helps to keep it really clean.

The new ULS fuels have lower lubricity, so that's another reason to change more often...

YMMV


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## Little Jimmy Cook (Oct 22, 2004)

*02 Duramax and 182 k on the motor*

I change my oil about every 8000 to 10,000 miles. Now I drive in the city doing my sales calls 800 miles a week or 3200 miles a month (average). I change my oil about every three months and all has been well so far. I work for a lumber company who services our own trucks so I ask our in house mechanics what they thought and they all aggreed that about 7500 to 10, 000 was ok since I was out of warranty. They did tell me for those that have warranties to follow the recommended procedure.


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## KID CREOLE (Oct 28, 2005)

Get your oil analyzed, that is the only way to really know!


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

KID CREOLE said:


> Get your oil analyzed, that is the only way to really know!


How muck does that cost.? My oil change already cost 100 bucks.


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

As I said in earlier post, I was going to wait in 2007 Duramax "change engine oil" message. The oil change message came on at 10,000 miles and I changed oil (royal pruple synthetic) and the second message came on yesterday at 19,997 miles. I will change this weekend and use synthetic again. I have changed driving habits (went from daily work commute of 100 miles to 11 miles) so I will test the engine one more time. I normally change out oil (synthetic) every 7000 miles.


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## KID CREOLE (Oct 28, 2005)

Redfishr said:


> How muck does that cost.? My oil change already cost 100 bucks.


Redfishr,

They cost 22.50 plus shipping. I do it once a year on my 2000 Ford diesel and every other oil change on my 1993 Ford diesel. My 2000 runs best on Shell Rotella 5W40 Synthetic, I can run it 10,000 miles on a stock Motorcraft filter.

The 1993 runs on vegetable oil 90% of the time and right now my lead readings are a little high. So I'm trying different oils and different filters to find what works the best for the veggie oil in that motor.

I usually change my own oil, but sometimes I'll cruise into Wally World and have them change the oil, here in southern California they charge me $10.00 plus the oil which I buy off the shelf from Walmart.


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## troutslayer (Feb 7, 2006)

I talked to a buddy of mine who knew someone @ Royal Purple and was running RP for 5000 and changing the filter and adding one QT....then he would put an addtional 5000 and change the filter and add one QT..then when he got to a total of 15000 he would change the whole thing and start over..he said the the data on his oil would allow him to continue this for another 5000 but he stopped at 15000.....what does a quart of Royal Purple cost?


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

about $7.50 plus or minus 25 cents depending where you get it. I did see it at 9.29 a quart at chiefton auto parts. O'Righlie had it for about $28/gallon. The stuff ain't cheap that is for sure.


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