Oil Brands for Diesels - Montana Owners Club

randye · 03-07-2008, 04:46 AM

Hello All I have a question, I'm in the posistion were I can do my first Oil change on my TW the 2007 Dodge Disel. What brand of oil have you Dodge owners used, I saw were it needs to be a low ash oil? I would really like some opinions from those who have owned a dodge for a few years give or take. Thanks for the help

racerjoe · 03-07-2008, 05:57 AM

If it still is under warranty, I would make sure you use accepted oil, and keep receipts so there is no question on any problems.Brand of oil should'nt be a problem as long as it meets factory requirements.

Ozzie · 03-07-2008, 05:58 AM

I cannot address what Dodge owners are doing as I have a Chevy, but one thing I have been reading is many are going to synthetic oils.
There is also some discussion about when to do that - as in let it break in a bit first. I went to around 10k before I switched over - some are going out to 20k.

TLightning · 03-07-2008, 07:48 AM

Over on the diesel forum, the favorite appears to be Shell Rotella 15w40.

skypilot · 03-07-2008, 11:15 AM

Randye: 2007 requires the new CJ-4 oil; Rotella 15-40, Dello 15-40, all are good. No need to go synthetic -- local Dodge dealer actually recommends against it until you get the engine broken in some (15 to 20K at least). Oil will be BLACK and will become BLACK as soon as you start the engine up again -- nature of the beast with the EGR they now have.

Waynem · 03-07-2008, 11:16 AM

Rotella has been the favorite of diesel owners for years. All the big rigs use it most of the time. I use it in the 2005 F-350, and at $100 a whack I change it every 5000 miles, and my transmission fluid every 25K miles.

BigAl52 · 03-07-2008, 02:30 PM

People who reccomend against synthetic oil are just plain living in the stone age. Not to mention they do not even have a clue what they are talking about. Synthetic oil is her to stay. Synthetic oil is so much better than dino it is not funny. You can run it longer and it protects better under start up in cold weather than any dino oil does. I have run it in my Dodge for over 2 years now along with all my other vehicles. I have used it since 1978 when everbody says I was nuts. I change my oil not near as often as most of you do and save a ton of money. You are all lookin for ways to off set the high price of fuel change your trucks to synthetic. Change your rear ends to synthetic and I guarantee you will get better mileage and save money not having to change so often. Just beware not all oil that says it's synthetic is synthetic. AL

bigmurf · 03-07-2008, 02:43 PM

Amsoil and change once a year.

GregN · 03-07-2008, 11:25 PM

Rotella 15-40, Dello 15-40 are good oils. A lot of diesel owners swear by synthetic oils. Matter of preference. Go no longer between change than the manufacters suggest. The more frequent you do change, the longer your engine may last. I go on the side of caution, I change every 4000 tops. One thing to remember is to prefill your oil filter. My oil filter holds almost 2 qts of oil.

Delaine and Lindy · 03-08-2008, 12:16 AM

I have used Rotella 15/40 in all 6 of my Duramax's and will continue to use Rotella until GM tells me to use the Synthetic. The cost just doesn't justify the Synthetic. I to me is just a good talking point. I change my oil when the the Manual tell me to at what mileage. I haven't had any engine problem in over 50 years. Long before Synthetic. Most people change their oil to often. Its just a waste of money, and good oil. Which oil is better, I don't have a clue. Most test are to sell what ever oil they are pushing. Ash yourself when is the last time you had a engine failure due to oil. GBY...

dsprik · 03-08-2008, 12:44 PM

I am currently trying my second oil change of Valvoline Premium Blue 15w40. It is 1/2 synthetic. Almost same price as straight dino oil. I am due for my 3rd change just before heading up north for the summer. So far I like it.

Montana Sky · 03-08-2008, 01:59 PM

I ran 80,000 miles on Mobil (dino) oil and changed it every 3,000 miles. Since moving to the Midwest back in November I have logged just shy of 13,000 miles with a synthetic blend. The reason I changed is because the Chevy dealership uses the 1/2 and 1/2 blended here. Personally I see no difference in performance, mileage, power, or oil pressure during cold starts and at operating temps between the two oils. Will continue to stay on 3,000 miles oil changes with the 1/2 synthetic oil as well.

BigAl52 · 03-08-2008, 04:05 PM

You never will sky because you are not using a true synthetic oil. There is no regulation on what can be called synthetic. It's just like the grocery store if it's organic it's worth more money. It's your choice and everyone elses. It's another topic like some of the others that you will never change ones mind they need to change on there own. To me changing every 3000 miles is throwing good oil away. Al

Ozzie · 03-08-2008, 05:38 PM

Interesting point Al...last time I had my oil changed I attempted to get the Rotella Synthetic. I say attempted because I asked specifically for synthetic and was getting different answers from them on whether or not it was a true synthetic. They weren't even sure themselves.

Redrover98 · 03-09-2008, 01:14 AM

I use Rotella 10w15 oil on my 98 Dodge and change the oil and filter every 5000 miles. I use Fleetguard Statsphore filters from Geno's Garage. They are supposed to be the best oil filters around according to The Turbo Diesel Register. I got a maintenance sheet from Cummins service center and they show changing the oil every 7000 miles. My truck just turned 165K. I also change the fuel filter and transmission filter on a schedule.

richfaa · 03-09-2008, 03:59 AM

I use what the manufacturer (FORD) recommends or approves and do service at their recommended intervals.I do not pretend to know more than the manufacturer about their product.Because we do a certain thing or use a certain product does not mean it is best for the vehicle . This falls into the "Been doing it for years and never had a problem" category.Had my service done at 6K on my shinny new Ford which is the interval recommended for " towing" use. Being the curious type I asked the diesel guy who did the work his opinion on the condition of the oil.. His response was that it was fine and need not have been changed at 6k miles.he also said that using synthetic oil was ok but if oil is changed at the recommended intervals there is no need to spend the extra money.Also any oil that meets the Ford ULSD 08 Diesel specs is OK.He did stress the importance of regular maint and using the intervals that relate to your driving conditions (how you use the truck) He stated he had seen more motor failures due to lack of maint that any other reason...This is a guy with 0ver 30 years of Diesel experience.''We need to keep in mind that starting in 07 these are a new generation of diesel motors and much of the 'Lore" that existed before no longer applies. We have to keep up..

BigAl52 · 03-09-2008, 05:44 AM

Ozzie
The oils your are talking about are a class 3 synthetic which means they are a super refined dino oil with some synthetics added to them. Castrol Syntec, Valvoline Blue, Rotella Synthetic,and alot other the other major oils are not a true synthetic. filtration is the key to all of this oil talk. Fleetgards filter is a 30 micron filter. Donaldson is a 20 micron filter. Most of the over the counter filters fall some where close buy. Our shop at work with the trucks that run even around town with N-14 525hp that are pulling bigger loads than these fivers are get serviced every 12000 miles. Cummins says who is the manufacturer you can run them longer. By the way the last rebulid we did is on an N-14 and it has 1,200,000 miles on it. Most of these service guys at the dealerships no nothing about oil they are only pushing there own products and service. Al

bigmurf · 03-09-2008, 07:38 AM

BigAl: Do you guys run any sort of bypass filters?

BigAl52 · 03-09-2008, 08:45 AM

Bigmurf
I don't at this time but I am going to in the future. If you do you can run the oil even longer as the by-pass filters for your pick-ups will filter down to 2 microns. Al

sreigle · 03-09-2008, 10:40 AM

I also use Rotella T 15W40. If you have the 6.7L Dodge then you must use an oil that meets the CJ-4 standard and only that. There are several oils that do meet that standard and any of those will work fine for you.

On our Ford 6.0L I used the Rotella T synthetic. That engine was before the new emissions and did not require CJ-4 oil. Rotella T does not yet have a synthetic marked as meeting CJ-4. The Dodge manual says no synthetic until 30,000 miles because of breakin issues with synthetic. That tells me synthetic does a superior job of protecting the engine from friction. So, when we hit 30k miles I'll look to see if Rotella T synthetic meets CJ-4 yet. If not, I'll look at Delo 400 or some others.

Just be sure the oil meets the CJ-4 standard if you have the 6.7 Liter Cummins or any of the newer diesels with the new emissions.

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