OCI Guidance
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1 page up from the one you posted addresses short trips specifically. It states to follow the OLM or 1 year. Like I’d said in the post where I posted the manuals direction, the current fill has approx 4,000 miles on it and has been in service for 8 months.Probably not a useful reply, but driving longer/further just to warm up the oil a bit more seems kinda crazy to me. I know you have an OLM system, but does the owner’s manual have some kind of extreme/severe use guideline? Just looked it up, looks like 4K miles or 350 hours of run time, seems like that would be reasonable? Or just use “good enough” oil/filter and change at whatever interval makes sense to you? Seems like false economy driving significantly more (time and gas) rather than just changing the oil, I think somebody already said that though
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If the MDS system couldn't handle higher viscosity, it couldn't handle cold weather.
I'm guessing the MDS has a tie-in to the coolant temp and ECM though, so operating in cold weather.
Worst case scenario, it will slow down the MDS cycling an almost imperceptible amount. Give it a shot with Mobil 1 15w-50 (available and cheap) before trying HPL. I'm confident the MDS doesn't care even a little that you are using thick oil.
This is true, and it’s never really cold here. Not enough to matter anyway. I may try this route next change, I’ve already bought the 5w30 to change it in the next few days.
Completely agree. If you're driving extra, taking a longer way to work, spending more on fuel, more miles on the car, I think you've lost the plot.Probably not a useful reply, but driving longer/further just to warm up the oil a bit more seems kinda crazy to me. I know you have an OLM system, but does the owner’s manual have some kind of extreme/severe use guideline? Just looked it up, looks like 4K miles or 350 hours of run time, seems like that would be reasonable? Or just use “good enough” oil/filter and change at whatever interval makes sense to you? Seems like false economy driving significantly more (time and gas) rather than just changing the oil, I think somebody already said that though
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How about an Ebike you don't have to peddle and get all sweaty.
Right, especially when there are other, more sensible ways to get a bit more "warm time" in a vehicle. Run some errands on the way home, combine some trips and use the vehicle in question instead of another vehicle you might take.
There's really no excuse for driving more miles just to burn more fuel and get temps up.
Then again, if you want to burn more fuel just to have fun of for any reason you want, do it. It's a free country and you're paying for the fuel.
I have considered biking and/ or walking and still do play with the idea from time to time. I may end up buying a bike but I doubt it will be a long term solution to get to and from work but I would be able to use it at work to ride around the plant rather than walking.
It’s more than laziness. I’m sure everyone suggesting such is looking at it in the most straight forward manner.. bike to work at 0900 and back home at 1700, what the big deal? But I am working nights right now so my schedule looks more like 1800-0600, which means I’d have to ride home in the dark. Next month I’d be riding both home and to work in the dark, alongside an unlit 50 mph highway and crossing another 55 mph highway in a curve. That coupled with the humidity and mosquitos that are so plentiful here makes travel in anything less than an ATV of sorts a deal breaker. It’s not that I am lazy, I walk around a plant up and down stairs all night on a 11/3 schedule. Those who have never experienced the humidity here in real time don’t even need to comment. Seriously it’s like walking around with a damp hot towel wrapped around you. Finally, I am there for 12 hours. Do others generally go to work with no lunch, extra clothing, etc? At the very least I’m carrying a 13 qt Engel cooler with my food and drinks and a backpack.
I realize I replied to previous poster suggesting this in a snarky fashion and didn’t bother to fully explain my situation and that is a mistake on my part. I really would love to leave this thing parked, but for me it isn’t feasible. I’d much rather change oil than arrive to work every single day humidity soaked before even starting work, eaten by mosquitos and on a possibility that I may not be able to leave on time the next morning due to pop up showers that are extremely common here as well. It just doesn’t sound like a good time to me.
When I mentioned different routes, errands are what I had in mind. That or just to change the routine up once in a while. This is why I said every few days. Gas is a non issue even with burning a little more. I’m using so little as is I doubt I would even notice enough of a difference to think twice. On weekends if we need to go somewhere we do take the truck specifically for this reason. My wife’s 4runner is drivin 35 miles 2x daily from Mon - Friday so it is well within burning off contaminants. . With all the ideas here I will figure something out that works for the truck, just trying to get there is why I started the thread. My first instinct was to reduce changes to 6 months. I know I will never reach a certain mileage in that time, just wanted to see what other suggest and may already be doing.
My research has uncovered the 5.7 Hemi MDS system prefers a lighter weight oil due to small orifices in the system. I now have 216k miles and have upped the oil weight to 5w-30 Pennzoil syn from the recommended 5w-20. I bought the truck pre-Covid with 200k miles.
There is plenty of owner info on the Ram forums.
Perhaps a used oil analysis after 3-4,000 miles will help you determine your best interval. Good luck, John
There is plenty of owner info on the Ram forums.
Perhaps a used oil analysis after 3-4,000 miles will help you determine your best interval. Good luck, John
The man lives in South Louisiana . We get sweaty just looking out the window .
I use 5w30 myself but am Leary of going much thicker than that. I frequent several forums and am pretty informed about this generation truck and inherent issues which is why I tended to change oil at half the manufacturers directed schedule and use synthetic oils. I will figure something out, just need to filter through and try some stuff.
So,
1 mile per day and some here are talking 3000 miles?
Lets see we work typically 20-22 days per month........so roughly 260 days per year, monday through friday grind.....
3000/260= 11.5 years? Come on.
I think in your particular, you need to go with the "3 month" portion of the old "3 months|3000 miles thing".
Further, i have another suggestion: walk to work.=once per year, maybe +better health+no gas+better for environment and unicorns++++
Thank you! You understand what I’m dealing with.The man lives in South Louisiana . We get sweaty just looking out the window .
Please read a couple posts up. There are reasons I choose to drive rather than walk or bike.
I have a similar situation. I average 3k miles per year. Owner's manual says to follow the OLM or one year, whichever comes first. The OLM is on track to call for a change at 3k miles which will probably happen right at the one year mark. It's probably due to lots of short trips and idling. That's OK. When it's 110+ outside, I don't do a lot of walking. I can't imagine any recent mass produced vehicle that would be harmed by a 1yr/3k miles OCI using whatever lubricant recommended by the manufacturer.
When I mentioned earlier about my change in commute from 3 miles to 5 miles, which added 3 miles of highway, my fuel economy ended up going up by 3 MPG. By choosing the slightly longer route, my oil gets fully warmed up, I get lower fuel dilution, wear metals decrease due to easier miles driven, and I only use about 50 more gallons per year of gas. I'd rather spend an extra $2.70 per week on gas and give my engine an easier drive.
Also don’t really want to be consistently burning month old gas either.
Yeah. I went from filling up every 3-4 weeks to filling up every 2-3 weeks.
CleanSump
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Month old gas is not a problem.
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