2013 Ram 2500 w/Cummins 6.7

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synormin

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Aug 22, 2008
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Location
Woodinville, WA
Hello all,
Last September my wife and I purchased a '13 Ram 2500. The purchase was primarily to pull our travel trailer as well as daily transport for the wife and kids. The truck pulls the trailer beautifully and the wife loves the truck, perfect.
I was just reading the post from the guy with the '12 Ram w/Cummins minus the DEF tank. Our truck does use DEF. The owners manual calls for 15,000 mile OCI (or every six months, whichever comes first). Currently the truck has about 4,500 miles on the odometer. Is there any issue using 5w40 all year long? The manual calls for 15w40 above 18F but the truck will see lots of short trips in the mostly cool Seattle area temps…so my thought there was better cold flow with the 5w40.
Thanks!
 
I would follow what the manual says, if at least for the warranty period. Id likely use a 10W40 instead..and i doubt a 5W40 would cause any issues but if it works fine on 15w why change?
 
Yep she runs fine on whatever the factory fill is. Not sure if that is 15w40 or 5w40. I considered a 10w40 as well . Shell offers Rotella in all three grades and they all are CES 20081.
I'm interested in running B20 biodiesel which the manual states is acceptable yet when I contacted Dodge they don't recommend anything over B5. Any thoughts on B20?
Thank you!
 
you can use 5w40. It's only available in synthetic as far as I know. It will start easier in the cold vs 15w40.
 
Originally Posted By: synormin
Yep she runs fine on whatever the factory fill is. Not sure if that is 15w40 or 5w40. I considered a 10w40 as well . Shell offers Rotella in all three grades and they all are CES 20081.
I'm interested in running B20 biodiesel which the manual states is acceptable yet when I contacted Dodge they don't recommend anything over B5. Any thoughts on B20?
Thank you!


Congratulations on the new truck !! I would follow what the manual calls for during your warranty period. Did the dealer tell you why on nothing over B5 ? I just think you need to be cautious since you have a new vehicle and not be denied any work if something should arise. There use to be a service manager from Carson City Dodge on one of the forums but has since retired that had some good advice to share and they use to have a 4 hour class once a quarter to go over maintenance tips on the Dodge Cummins truck. It has been four or five years since I read about about the class on their forum so not sure if it goes on today.

Cheers
B
 
Originally Posted By: Boczec
Congratulations on the new truck !! I would follow what the manual calls for during your warranty period. Did the dealer tell you why on nothing over B5 ? I just think you need to be cautious since you have a new vehicle and not be denied any work if something should arise. There use to be a service manager from Carson City Dodge on one of the forums but has since retired that had some good advice to share and they use to have a 4 hour class once a quarter to go over maintenance tips on the Dodge Cummins truck. It has been four or five years since I read about about the class on their forum so not sure if it goes on today.



Cheers
B


It wasn't the dealer that i questioned, it was Dodge/Ram Truck Customer Service. They didn't elaborate as to why I couldn't use B20, their answer was something like they didn't recommend anything over B5. I also contacted Cummins and they told me basically the same thing as Dodge yet tried to explain why. I spoke with two different Cummins customer service/call center people on two separate occasions and was told that the engine seals were not compatible with B20 (or higher biodiesel concentrations). I wasn't satisfied with that answer and called back a few days later hoping to hear something different! The other Cummins service rep. said that using B20 would greatly reduce the life of the engine.
As with everything I purchase, small or large, I try to care for it the best I can. There are a few aspects of B20 use that I find appealing, namely the greater lubricity over petroleum diesel as well as the higher cetane rating, generally. The last few fill-ups I have used Stanadyne Performance Formula fuel additive.
I should see if there's some sort of maintenance class offered around here…that would be right up my alley!
Thanks for reply!
 
I am going to predicate my advise based upon the conditions you stated; Seattle and surrounding area use, short trips, RV pulling, etc.


There is ZERO reason you need a syn. None. Zip. Napa.

The average low temp in Seattle is 36 degF. In fact, the record low (RECORD LOW) was only +11 deg F. It simply never gets could enough in your area to ever justify the "need" for synthetics, period.

And, although you may OCCASIONALLY drop below freezing, it's not like the ISB in your new ride is simply doing to implode and seize up if you use 15w-40 below freezing. If that is your fear, then you really have very little faith in the equipment you paid good money for.

If you were going to operate in temps where you never got above freezing, and the vast majority of cold starts were below 20F, then I might say you could argue a case for syns. If you saw frequent starts below zero degF, it would possibly matter. But that is not how you describe your planned use. Not for one second do I believe that the rare occurrence of below freezing starts and operation is driving a necessity for syns here. That's just plain silly.

Now, if you WANT to use syns, then by all means, go for it. But know that the engine is not going to be "better" protected. You have a common rail, intake heated, direct injected diesel engine. It does not "need" syns to start and survive.

Additionally, given that the OEM OCI plan requires 6 month OCIs, it's likely you'll be changing oil way before it's actually in need of a change. So why dump expensive lube out when even conventional oils are still viable at much longer durations? Do not get lulled into the false opinion that "better" protection comes from syns; that is simply untrue in nearly any "normal" application. You bought a heavy-duty truck with a reputable, world renowned engine. It's not like the use you'll put it though is "severe" in terms of real world use; that is what these trucks are made for. And they are designed to survive just fine on decent quality CJ-4 conventional HDEO; syns are not "required" nor expected to be used just because you feel a chill in the air, or hook up your RV and head up a mountain pass.


Do what you want, but what you want and what the engine needs are two totally different things.
 
Op, to answer your question: 5W-40 would be fine year round. I must say that I wouldn't have the nerve to go 15,000 oci without uoa at increasing intervals. ex 5,000 first, then go 7500mi, then 10000 mi, etc.
I have a much older cummins dodge than you so this isn't a good comparison but at 7500mi the iron levels are as high as I want to go with the engine oil. (i use Blackstone Labs) Who knows , maybe your truck will go 15,000 oci with flying colors. The lab will guide you as to how far you can run it.
 
Originally Posted By: synormin
Originally Posted By: Boczec
Congratulations on the new truck !! I would follow what the manual calls for during your warranty period. Did the dealer tell you why on nothing over B5 ? I just think you need to be cautious since you have a new vehicle and not be denied any work if something should arise. There use to be a service manager from Carson City Dodge on one of the forums but has since retired that had some good advice to share and they use to have a 4 hour class once a quarter to go over maintenance tips on the Dodge Cummins truck. It has been four or five years since I read about about the class on their forum so not sure if it goes on today.



Cheers
B


It wasn't the dealer that i questioned, it was Dodge/Ram Truck Customer Service. They didn't elaborate as to why I couldn't use B20, their answer was something like they didn't recommend anything over B5. I also contacted Cummins and they told me basically the same thing as Dodge yet tried to explain why. I spoke with two different Cummins customer service/call center people on two separate occasions and was told that the engine seals were not compatible with B20 (or higher biodiesel concentrations). I wasn't satisfied with that answer and called back a few days later hoping to hear something different! The other Cummins service rep. said that using B20 would greatly reduce the life of the engine.
As with everything I purchase, small or large, I try to care for it the best I can. There are a few aspects of B20 use that I find appealing, namely the greater lubricity over petroleum diesel as well as the higher cetane rating, generally. The last few fill-ups I have used Stanadyne Performance Formula fuel additive.
I should see if there's some sort of maintenance class offered around here…that would be right up my alley!
Thanks for reply!




It sounds to me like your looking for someone to tell what you want to hear rather than believe an educated Cummins rep on the Biodiesel thing. What would they have to gain by keeping you from a fuel that could be less than best for your application? Read up on bio-diesel, even on this site. You'll be surprised how many people have gotten off of that bandwagon. Bio-diesel is way over rated along with hybrids and ethanol fuel. Regular diesel has worked for many years and the lubricity thing....well, there are much better alternatives than biodiesel if you are that worried about it. I have been using low-sulfur for years and have yet to have a fuel system failure due to lack of lubricity in diesel fuel.

"they" have said for years that we would be out of water by 2013. I just did dishes and took a shower an hour ago. Imagine this...water came out of my faucets! All I am saying is don't believe the hype. When a person you asked doesn't tell what you want to hear and gives you an educated answer, do what you want to anyways because all you are looking for is validation on what you have already decided is best for yourself. Your dissatisfaction with facts does not make them untrue.
 
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Originally Posted By: cowhorse01

It sounds to me like your looking for someone to tell what you want to hear rather than believe an educated Cummins rep on the Biodiesel thing. What would they have to gain by keeping you from a fuel that could be less than best for your application? Read up on bio-diesel, even on this site. You'll be surprised how many people have gotten off of that bandwagon. Bio-diesel is way over rated along with hybrids and ethanol fuel. Regular diesel has worked for many years and the lubricity thing....well, there are much better alternatives than biodiesel if you are that worried about it. I have been using low-sulfur for years and have yet to have a fuel system failure due to lack of lubricity in diesel fuel.

"they" have said for years that we would be out of water by 2013. I just did dishes and took a shower an hour ago. Imagine this...water came out of my faucets! All I am saying is don't believe the hype. When a person you asked doesn't tell what you want to hear and gives you an educated answer, do what you want to anyways because all you are looking for is validation on what you have already decided is best for yourself. Your dissatisfaction with facts does not make them untrue.


Well, no. The information at Cummins site is somewhat nebulous. There's this bit...http://cumminsengines.com/cummins-turbo-diesel-2013?Filters=0&Categories=103#overview and then this...http://cumminsengines.com/biodiesel-faq
So my phone call(s) to Cummins were intended to get clarification on this issue and honestly the person (at Cummins) who told me that biodiesel would affect the seals did so in a less than confident manner, which is why I called them back. Admittedly I was hoping to hear someone at Cummins say to me, "Yes, use B20 with confidence". But I didn't. So I will continue to use petroleum diesel. I'm not looking to break new ground here…or my new truck for that matter. Some things are black and white, others a bit gray. I neglected to mention I contacted the local Cummins people (Cummins Northwest) and was told I could run B20 in my truck. Just a bit confused at this point...
 
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