Girlfriend's new-to-her ride: 2015 Durango Citadel 3.6

[danthaman1980]

Good Day BITOG-
So, my girlfriend recently traded in her rust-bucket Suburban for a new-to-her 2015 Dodge Durango Citadel AWD w/the 3.6 Pentastar. Yours truly will be tasked with the routine maintenance.
Since I have little experience with the platform or the Pentastar in general, I thought I'd engage the BITOG community for a few helpful hints, if possible, from other current/former Pentastar owners.

Oil: The owner's manual specs 5W-20. I'm planning to use Rotella Gas Truck in 5W-20 at least initially (AAP clearance at ~$2/qt is too good to pass up), but I have quite a large stash of 0W-20 RGT as well. Any known disadvantages to using 0W-20 in the Pentastar? Both oils meet the Chrysler MS-6395 spec, so I'm thinking either would be fine...

Oil filters: I went out and bought a few to try later: Fram XG11665, Mobil 1 M1C-456A, Wix WL10010 (and even a SuperTech ST11665, because I was in WM anyway, and it was only $3). Any observations from people using any of these? Or any other recommendations from Pentastar owners?

Oil Change Interval: The Durango has an oil life monitor but I'm typically a bit more conservative than the OLM. Note, the dealer changed the oil before the sale, but they forgot to reset the OLM... it is currently showing 10% oil life remaining at about 9,000 miles since the last oil change : 0
What is the prevailing wisdom on oil change intervals for Pentastars of this vintage? (I'm not doing 10,000 miles between oil changes!!!)

Anything else to be aware of? Special tools needed to change the filter? How messy is it changing a topside cartridge filter?

 

[Skippy722]

The Pentastar is a wonderful engine, and pretty rock solid reliable.

You’ll be fine running 0w20 if you so desire. I’ve ran 0w40 in mine with no issues. No special tools required to change the oil filter, but do be careful when tightening it. I tighten mine till it just barely bottoms out. The cartridge filter is super clean to take out, no spills.

I run a 6 month interval on mine, which equaled out to ~6,000 miles.

Check the tailgate racetrack light seals. They shrivel up over time, allow water to leak in, and kills that part of the racetrack. $500-$700 part if you get new and do it yourself.

 

[sloinker]

Keep an eye out for leaks in the intake valley that will migrate down. The filter assembly is a known issue. It has a couple coolers and two sensors on it. The above mentioned oil pressure sensor itself has been known to have a short service life. If you start hearing a tick from the engine. Diagnose it quickly for repair. The '15 should be past the issues of earlier models but you never know. The rockers can eventually damage a camshaft, hence early detection.

 

[oldhp]

DO NOT TORQUE the OIL CAP. Paint a mark on the cap and housing before you take off the oil cap. When you install the cap, screw it down to that mark and STOP. You can't/shouldn't torque plastic. The O-ring in cap keeps it tight. 99.99% of leak problems come from over tightening the oil cap. Oil the O-ring on the cap and the oil filter tip. I've never changed the O-ring on the oil cap. I've had 5 3.6's, never a problem. "If" you do want to change the O-ring on the cap, make sure you put the O-ring in the correct groove. Take a picture to make sure. 3.6 engines are pretty bullet proof. Enjoy!!!

 

[JC1]

My caravan has seen 5w-30 5w-20 and 0w-20. I'm using VWB currently, but will go with full synthetic after this OCI. You can run conventional if you want. I like full synthetic for the winters.

I usually change the oil after a max of 6500-7000 miles. As for the oil filter I've used Mopar, Wix and now onto Fram Ultras. I leave the Ultras on for at least two OCI.

As others have said don't go nuts when tightening the oil filter cap. You don't want the crack the housing. Check the valley of the housing with a flashlight to see if there's a pool of oil down there. That's indication that the housing may be leaving because of cracks.

 

[tiger862]

If you want 5k oil changes then Valvoline Daily Synthetic Blend (Mine loves it and better fuel mileage), RGT 0w20 has shown to be good for OLM with more than enough protection. I am running Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 this oil change then going to Valvoline Advance Synthetic,5w20 for next 2 oil changes. Since it looks like once a year I am set for awhile. I go about 7k a year so no reason I can't make it as I was every 6 months but at 3500 miles I felt like I was throwing away money. I think I have 4 more Mobil1 oil filters left from clearance. I look at it like this the more you change your oil on this engine the more problems you can have as oil filter housing can crack and drain plug is soft. As far as tick it won't matter if you change oil early or by light it is luck of the draw