Seriously. It probably needs an oil cooler and all of the usual parts for an coolant contamination situation.
Milkshake Oil - Ram Ecodiesel
- Thread starter BigJohn
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...or he's just being hypersensitive because the EcoDiesel platform has had it's share of issues and the forums become echo chambers that repeat the experiences of a portion of owners.
I bet your oil is fine. But, yes, get an UOA. They are cheap and will give you peace of mind. I do an UOA every time I change the oil. I'm an oil "hobbyist" and think they're fun.
I change my oil every 5k miles with 15w40 Synthetic Blend and have a 3 gallon sump due to my aftermarket AFE oil pan.
I've had my timing cover leak, fuel pump fail, and EGR replaced (recall, no failer). All replaced/repaired under warranty. 75k miles on my truck.
I bet your oil is fine. But, yes, get an UOA. They are cheap and will give you peace of mind. I do an UOA every time I change the oil. I'm an oil "hobbyist" and think they're fun.
I change my oil every 5k miles with 15w40 Synthetic Blend and have a 3 gallon sump due to my aftermarket AFE oil pan.
I've had my timing cover leak, fuel pump fail, and EGR replaced (recall, no failer). All replaced/repaired under warranty. 75k miles on my truck.
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Had a 2003 Dodge PU with 4.7 gas engine. Because of the placement of the oil filler neck, the oil would cool and turn to a white froth.... looked like dirty cool whip. Supposedly no problem for the engine though. Some folks fashioned heat blankets around the filler neck to try and correct the problem.
My 2 cents. Only saw milkshakey oil once. When I drained the oil out of an air cooled Briggs powered mower. Mower ran out of gas right when I finished up using it. Flipped it over on a tree stump burn pile. Oil came out looking pale brown and frothy. Odd.
Wouldn't you expect the water to come out of the drain plug first? Assuming you changed the oil when cold, couldn't tell from the original post.
Hi
The way i see it is the oil and water emulsify and do not seperate out. I had a head gasket failure on a Rover K series engine and the oil looked like white coffee.
I've seen it in winter on an engine with a weak/stuck open thermostat that didn't get up to full temperature regularly, but only in the filler neck or valve cover. I think I would make them pressure test the cooling system & see if it holds pressure-if it doesn't, with no visible external leaks, it'll have to come apart. Had an abused GM straight six back in the day, cracked head & bad HG, the oil ALL looked like a milkshake!
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If this thing is not short tripped often and you’re getting that much moisture/water in your oil, take peoples advice and get it to the dealer. Something is not right.
I used to watch videos from a guy with his Ecodiesel...think his name was Sean...he was on the forums. Guy really documented his ecodiesel experience. Put a ton of miles on it in a short time, tried to modify a few things and had his “methods”. Loved that truck, but at 120,000 the top of the engine needed to be replaced...camshafts I think. Then he went out and bought a new engine. Guy ended up committing suricide...such a shame, had young kids too. Anyway, if you’re on the forums over there I’m sure you’ve heard of the guy and seen his videos. They’re pretty good I’m my opinion.
I used to watch videos from a guy with his Ecodiesel...think his name was Sean...he was on the forums. Guy really documented his ecodiesel experience. Put a ton of miles on it in a short time, tried to modify a few things and had his “methods”. Loved that truck, but at 120,000 the top of the engine needed to be replaced...camshafts I think. Then he went out and bought a new engine. Guy ended up committing suricide...such a shame, had young kids too. Anyway, if you’re on the forums over there I’m sure you’ve heard of the guy and seen his videos. They’re pretty good I’m my opinion.
I've spent time on Ram1500Diesel. Vern gets away with murder. He overloads his truck all the time. He probably gets lucky because he does drive his truck so much and is frequently towing. Its always at the same temperature and not dealing with constant heat cycling, which probably what causes failures with the oil coolers. Hot, cold, hot, cold, grow, shrink, grow, shrink.
341,000 miles in 5-6 years is a TON. That truck is always running.
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don’t want to pee in anyone’s wheaties, but this thread reminds me of why i am not an early adopter.
Update.... I have been driving the truck and keeping microscopic attention to the coolant levels. Initially, the coolant dropped about 1/2 an inch in the reservoir, but it appeared to boil out. Once that 1/2" was gone, it hasn't appeared to consume any more coolant and that includes a drive from COS to Cheyenne and back.
I received my Blackstone Bottle two days ago and haven't had decent enough weather to crawl under and get a sample. Tomorrow, we should have some warm temps and I will get a sample and mail off.
I received my Blackstone Bottle two days ago and haven't had decent enough weather to crawl under and get a sample. Tomorrow, we should have some warm temps and I will get a sample and mail off.
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I would have pressure tested the cooling system and known within minutes if coolant was finding its way into the oil.
not really as a pressure loss can go elsewhere.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. Used properly it will determine if there is a cooling system leak.
yes, but to the oil? could be external, could be to the intake or to the exhaust. In this case no coolant was found in the oil sample so even if you found a pressure loss it would not have pointed to a leak towards the sump. Also, unless this car has a variable displacement oil pump, most of the time the oil circuit would be higher pressure than the coolant circuit, you'd be likely to find an oily mess in the expansion tank.
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It would have indicated a leak, that's the point I was trying to make. Then the OP would not have had to wait on oil analysis, the pressure test in his case would have showed he had no problem with a cooling system leak, internally or externally. If a pressure test indicates there's a leak, the next step is to find it, visual inspection, check the oil, pull plugs, etc....
But his coolant level drops, it could've indicated a leak. That leak however might not be to the oil as it turned out. I've used pressure testing before as a pro mechanic, rarely does it get me results in 5 minutes though. Usually just another confirmation of what I already knew, but it's easier to get warranty work approved with a pressure test done.
Didn't even know a pressure test was available.... Should have done that. Thanks for the tip.
End of the day, my EcoDiesel is running like a top, especially with the GDE tune. Love the truck, even with 130k miles on her.
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Sounds good.
In the future when it's time for a new one, the Gen 3 engine found in 2020+ Rams is even better. 80% revised design, with large increases in power also, and a dual EGR system to prevent as much sooting of the internals. Might give it a shot!
