OCI suggestions for Cummins

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I am running Delvac 1 ESP 5w40 CJ-4 in my 2008 Dodge 3500 Cummins. The truck will pull 10-14,000 pounds continuosly. I plan on doing UOA's but at what mileage should I pull a sample and how long do you think I can safely go? I have chosen this oil because I spoke with Doug Hilary about my concerns with the diesel particulate filter and EGR that this engine (and all newer light diesel trucks) has. This truck needs to remain reliable so I do not want to "chance" an emisson related breakdown.
 
I would pull a sample at the oem recommendation first. Then continue with uoa from there at 3 to 5000 mile intervals until you find an area that you are comfortable with. But thats just me, others will pass along good info as well.
 
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If it's towing on the highway I'd probably start with around 5k and sample, then continue sampling every 2500 or so.

How fast will the miles be put on? If you are towing on the highway and hot shotting or similar where the truck is on the road for 11 hours a day then 7500-10k would be fine.

Much of how the OCI will be determined is in exactly how the truck will be operated. UOA's will tell the finial tale. I'd start at 5k tho, it just seems like a nice number.

This is a 6.7 ISBe in your truck? How many mile so far? Some of the UOA info on a new engine will be skewed from the engine brake-in. Should see the numbers level off around 10k and probably lower and finally stabilize around 15-20k.
 
I tow horse trailers with it...probably 2-3000 miles per month. I've chnaged the oil twice in 6000 miles and plan to go with the delvac at the next change around 8000 miles...It is the new BlueTec Cummins 6.7...man does it pull!!! Had a 2007 F350 with a Powerstroke that self-destructed at 62,000 miles. Never again....
 
If you could stretch out the OCI to 9k with UOA's then you would only have to change the oil every 3 months. In that service I don't see it as being a problem, but for the first year I'd do quite a few UOA's and see what the truck will like. The 07+ engines are harder on oil from both a heat and soot standpoint. EGR is murder on soot loading.
 
depending on your horse trailer we used to run 27k combined weight behind power strokes running two drivers coast to coast and make it in just a hair over 52 hours Orange County, CA to Lexington, VA 75 mph.

Got back and dumped the delo with 12K on it and was just barely starting to show high wear metal levels. Even with the high foaming and shear in the stroke motors the oil was fine.

Delo 400 15W-40 with fleetguard stratapore filters.

Truck as i look at it out the window right now has 347,000 miles on it.
 
This is an application (towing, lots of miles) that would benefit from a bypass filter...

I would run the recommended OCI, drain and collect a sample to see how the oil faired for the recommended interval. I would then start pushing the OCI out, sampling every so often to ensure the oil is suitable for use...

I'll bet the solids/soot becomes a problem well before anything else.
 
I'd have to agree with deeter.

You'll accumulate enough miles per year that bypass filtration would really pay off by greatly extending the OCI.

In this case, the cost of a UOA is a lot cheaper than 3.5 gallons of Delvac 1. You might UOA a bit more often to develop your comfort level, but then settle into a rythm after the ranges and trends are established.
 
Originally Posted By: dnewton3
I'd have to agree with deeter.

You'll accumulate enough miles per year that bypass filtration would really pay off by greatly extending the OCI.

In this case, the cost of a UOA is a lot cheaper than 3.5 gallons of Delvac 1. You might UOA a bit more often to develop your comfort level, but then settle into a rythm after the ranges and trends are established.

+1
 
Hi,
oliver88 - As alluded to by others a sensible UOA programme will best determine your OCI

Donaldson's ELF filters are a great performer with a synthetic HDEO

The economics of using a by-pass filter need to be carefully looked at. In my heavy diesels the "break even" point was at three years. This was covering around 240kkms (150k miles) annually with the lubricant cost at aroiund $A11 per litre and ELF filters at around $A65 each (2 required)! However I believe that the centrifuge by pass I used enabled the normal scheduled valve adjustments (every 250kkms) to be dropped

Using by-pass filters do not always stack up ecomically when compared to using an excellent lubricant, good quality FF filters and a UOA programme to determine the ultimate OCI for your application
 
I am in agreement, as usual, with Doug, and the recommendation of the other folks participating in this thread. Donaldson ELF filters can be had quite reasonably if you go through a Donaldson distributor (i.e. like your local Kenworth dealer-not an Amsoil dealer). The lubricant you are looking at will perform admirably in severe service, and the OA will guide you to whether or not you need the bypass to meet your desired OCI's. I'd OA at 100% OEM service interval and then at 150% of the interval. My guess is that soot and TBN are going to be your limiting factors. Be sure to address your intake air side before you start on this path, because restricted or unseated air filters can really jack up your OA's. The ELF filters at your mileage accumulation rate could be used for 2 drains without replacement. Remember that Soot and TBN are not in most cases going to be affected by the 15 micron filter's capacity so leaving it in place to get your monies worth is not a sin :). I definitely appreciate your analytical approach outlined here and take solace in knowing that there are a good number of folks (as you know) on this board who have taken the extended drain plunge with their diesels.
 
If the soot loading is anything like my '06 5.9-even a cheaper bypass such as the Ralph Wood toilet paper filter would really help w/soot #s (I've got one to put on mine once I start running it more)
 
Thanks everyone and Thank You Doug! I will pull a sample at 5000 miles. Decided to use the factory Mopar oil filter which I gather is the same as the Fleetguard Stratapore?
 
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