Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > GENERAL DISCUSSIONS > Tow Vehicles & Towing
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-11-2005, 10:08 AM   #1
Montana_1424
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 286
M.O.C. #1424
Oil Change

I am getting conflicting information on the frequency of Oil Changes for my 04 HO Cummings Diesel. I currently do it at 3700 miles. The manual says to follow Schedule B, which is 7000 miles. The dealer sys to keep doing it every 3700 miles. The cummings website says every 7000 miles, so now I am just confused as when to change it. i would like to extend the time between changes, but I do not want to jepordize the warantee, and if I can save a little money in the process, that would be nice.
 
Montana_1424 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 11:03 AM   #2
faeb and genb
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location:
Posts: 1,804
M.O.C. #57
ED I have a 7.3 ford I change it every 7000 miles.
Gene
faeb and genb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 12:24 PM   #3
Montana_1424
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 286
M.O.C. #1424
Thanks for the info. I have been looking into switching to Amsoil, and doing the oil every 10K, with the filter every 5K.
Montana_1424 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 12:27 PM   #4
Glenn and Lorraine
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Clearwater
Posts: 10,917
M.O.C. #420
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by kozzy45

The manual says to follow Schedule B, which is 7000 miles.
The cummings website says every 7000 miles,
Sounds like a no brainer to me. My answer to your question has to be 7,000 miles. This subject gets kicked around on most every forum and I always wonder why anyone would want to differentiate from the manufacturers recommendations. They built the engine and I consider them the most knowledgable, even experts if you will, and afterall it is their warranty. I can understand your dealer is saying 3700 as he gets to make twice the bucks.
In my case, Chevy says 10,000 miles and I change mine by the book.
Glenn and Lorraine is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 02:37 PM   #5
Dave e Victoria
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Glendale
Posts: 1,219
M.O.C. #635
Opps
Dave e Victoria is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 02:39 PM   #6
Dave e Victoria
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Glendale
Posts: 1,219
M.O.C. #635
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Dave e Victoria

I Had a college classmate who rose to the head of Ford Electronics prior to it being spun off as a seperate company. He told me once, they were doing a market study into the possibility of installing sensors to evaluate the oil and alert people when to change oil.. Turns out, no one would pay for it. ( Of course now GM and others offer it for free in the high end units) Apparantly we are so brainwashed into believing rapid oil changes are necessary we are not even interested in the truth.

I'm with Glenn. I follow the owners manual. It is written and approved by the experts. The guy at the deal;ership is just trying to extract bucks from your pocket.
(BTW, in the interest of full disclosure, I m a graduate of GMI)
Dave e Victoria is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 02:53 PM   #7
azstar
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Chandler
Posts: 624
M.O.C. #740
Hello Folks,

My Dodge book has all sorts of schedules, for different situations. Reading it carefully the big issue is when Towing comes into play. I missed a short sentence and trusted that my Dealer was always going to do the right thing. When I was having some problems with the rear Diff. is when I started reading the Dodge book carefully for myself, and found out they weren't doing what Dodge recommended for heavy Towing.

I agree completely with Glenn. Read it carefully for yourself and follow the recommendations from, in this case, Dodge.

While we're on the subject, I saw the other day at Wally's, a new "Mobil 1 Extended Life" with a written guarantee for 15,000 mi between changes. When reading the fine print it said excluding vehicles used for Towing. I think there's a message here.

Happy Camping
azstar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 03:05 PM   #8
Charlie
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cooper
Posts: 1,230
M.O.C. #3029
Can't say about the Dodge manual. The Ford manual states that under "severe service operation" which includes towing a trailer over 1000 miles, sustained high speed driving, frequent or extended idling (over 10 minutes per hour of operation), operating in severe dust conditions and frequent short trips of 10 miles or less during freezing weather the oil should be changed at 3000 miles otherwise the normal routine change should be at 5000 miles. I agree about the dealer trying to extract $$, and not only there but if you go into a lube shop they are going to stick a little sticker right in front of where you look out the windshield telling your next lube change should happen 3000 miles from that point. I think that GM has a excellent idea of using the sensor to indicate when you need to change oil, but electronics are sometimes subject to failure so keeping track of your vehicles needs are of utmost importance for future performance.
Charlie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 04:28 PM   #9
Montana Sky
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Down the Road
Posts: 5,627
M.O.C. #889
I change the oil in my Duramax every 3,000 miles. I know some folks say that is too often, and others say it is right on. I figure when you pay that kind of money for any of the top three diesel trucks on the market what is $49.00 for an oil change. I figure better to be safe and get 250k+ miles out of my truck than try and extend the life of the oil beyond normal operation. I also have the oil life read out in my truck that tells you when an oil change is needed. I look at it to see what it is reading just for interest while driving down the road. Sure dont follow it.
Montana Sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 05:20 PM   #10
Montana_1424
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 286
M.O.C. #1424
Thanks for the Info, I agree with stiking to the 7000 in the manula for Dodge, it also lists towing as one of the conditions for the 7000 change. I also read on the TDR that many Cummins owners use the Aims Oil synthetic, and change it every 10k, with the filter every 5K, and they love it, improved gas milege and performance are also reported. The price of the Amsoil for that schedule is about 100 bucks, same you pay for 2 changes at the normal interval, so I am going to give it a try. The people I have talked to that actually use the Amsoil swear buy it, and it is supposed to be top of the line.
Montana_1424 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 05:26 PM   #11
Dave e Victoria
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Glendale
Posts: 1,219
M.O.C. #635
Montana Sky
Iwonder why you don't follow the indicator' There is no evidence anywhere that you are doing anything except wasting oil (IMHO). After speding so much for a truck, why not believe those who designed it? I went to school with a lot of them and they are good folks..
Dave e Victoria is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 05:30 PM   #12
Bob Pasternak
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. John
Posts: 591
M.O.C. #800
Send a message via ICQ to Bob Pasternak
My 2001 Dodge Cummins says 3750 miles under 'severe service': Otherwise it's 7000. Since all my truck is used only for towing the 5er and does get a little respite when we're parked somewhere with the 5er I split the difference and change at 5000. Also I use Mobil Del-Vac 15-40 in it. Change tranny oil every 3rd oil change. Rotate tired every other oil change.
Bob Pasternak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2005, 09:00 PM   #13
Montana Sky
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Down the Road
Posts: 5,627
M.O.C. #889
Dave,
I work in the grocery business and unload semi trucks every day. I have had this very same discussion with at least 40 different drivers as to when and what should I do to my diesel to keep it running for the long haul? I bet at least 25 of them all said the same thing, change the oil every 3,000 - 4,500 miles. They went on to give me a few other pointers, but oil change was the main answer I had received. I talked to the local Isuzu commerical shop here in town and the guys there pretty much said the same thing, especially with the amount of towing and the weight I tow. I also had double checked with all 3 Chevy/GMC dealers here in town and they as well said I only had to change it once every 10,000 miles to keep the warranty in effect, but the more frequent, the better chances you have on not having any major problems down the road. My final reason I run 3,000 mile intervals is my own peace of mind.
Montana Sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2005, 02:32 AM   #14
Bill and Ann
Montana Master
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Napanee
Posts: 3,440
M.O.C. #1493
This is an interesting post. Our dealer said to change the oil when the on-board computer said it was time to change. To me that is about 10,000 miles.
Bill and Ann is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2005, 06:00 AM   #15
exfuzz02
Established Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Lakewood
Posts: 35
M.O.C. #2240
Send a message via ICQ to exfuzz02
I change mine every 3 months or 3000 miles for mostly around town driving. If I spend a lot of the time on the freeway at higher speeds I change it at 4 months. An oil and filter change is the cheapest thing you can do for your engine.....
exfuzz02 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2005, 08:09 AM   #16
kdeiss
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Englewood
Posts: 3,095
M.O.C. #164
I agree with exfuzz02 you can put in the best oil money can buy but they all become contaminated that was told to me by a Chem Eng that worked for Gulf research. I also go with the 3 Months or 3,000 miles.
kdeiss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2005, 10:02 AM   #17
BillyRay
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Malta
Posts: 3,075
M.O.C. #607
I never bought into the 3 months or..... why change it in 3 months if it doesn't have much for miles....makes no sence to me! so if you put 300 miles on it in 3 months you should still change it!!??? sounds like a money maker to me.

me personally with the car...every 3,ooo miles....but not every 3 months...it usually is done twice a year. same with the diesel though. I figure even though it can go the extra miles, it's working harder. ...and if I only do it twice a year....well now it was only $100...not bad for the money. peace of mind....besides, I had a car several years ago that I didn't stay on top of and ...you guessed it...it threw a rod at only 80,000 miles.
BillyRay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2005, 12:36 PM   #18
trukdoc
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Sulphur Springs
Posts: 748
M.O.C. #2220
Send a message via MSN to trukdoc
KDEISS hit it on the money!!! I being in the business have been to oil seminars the last one by Unocal. An engineer gave the class, he said how he was supposed to give the speech how their oil is the best. He went on to say that there are several good oils out there. As far as the high dollar oils. They were a waste of money. We discussed the hyped up additives. He said there is no better thing to do for your engine than use a quality oil and a quality OIL FILTER and regular oil changes. If the additives did as they claimed they would have it in their oil in an effort to gain marketing advantage but then they would have to back up the claim. He stressed oil filter saying people will spend $9 bucks a quart for some exotic oil and spin on a cheap filter. The point to regular oil changes is NOT that the oil breaks down. It does not. One of the major reasons to change oil is to get the unfilterable compounds out of your engine, like acids, nitrates and other byproducts of combustion that I cannot name all of. Common sense and the manufacturers recomendations will take you a long way. Heavy duty and city driving change more often, long easy trips you can streatch it out a bit.
Be careful of sales pitches... they have no money as in ZERO NADA ZILTCH in YOUR investment.
trukdoc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2005, 12:47 PM   #19
BillyRay
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Malta
Posts: 3,075
M.O.C. #607
well said!
BillyRay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2005, 08:38 PM   #20
Montana Sky
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Down the Road
Posts: 5,627
M.O.C. #889
Well I am glad to see I am not the only one who sticks with the 3,000 mile oil changes. For a while there I was starting to think I was the odd man out. Will be interesting to see how many miles I will actually get on this truck. I am hoping for at least 200K on it.
Montana Sky is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Name change K&Gs3400RL New Member Introductions 8 10-02-2011 09:46 AM
What a change!! Rondo Sitting around the Campfire 5 01-31-2008 05:30 AM
JOB CHANGE AT 50?? cmp-shooter Sitting around the Campfire 6 05-04-2006 10:01 PM
Name Change Montana_2821 General Discussions about our Montanas 11 01-14-2005 10:01 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.