Originally Posted By: Clevy
I had that exact truck last year. I don't know if mine had the mds option however my owners manual said the hemi needs 5w-20 and my oil fill cap said 5w-20.
I bought it privately so I doubt a dealer slapped a 20 grade cap on it although it is possible.
OP. My truck went to salvage,I totalled it. I bought it with 240k and totalled it at 280k. It got dealer bulk oil changes all its life according to the receipts that came with the truck.
It didn't consume a drop of oil between changes and honestly it felt just as torquey as my dads 2014 hemi ram.
I was always a thicker is better guy however mileage doesn't lie and my personal experience with a high mile hemi is that the 20 grades don't shorten engine life whatsoever.
That truck is already hard on fuel,why not try for a mpg or 2 with a 20 grade.
As far as thicker oil affecting mds it does. It will slow its engagement by 0.20 seconds meaning the engagement and disengagement will happen in under half a second with thicker oil.
It really doesn't matter what oil you use however a 20 grade will still enable your hemi to last longer than the body it's fitted in.
If you had a 2004 it did not have MDS. MDS was never an "option". It was 1st used in 2006 on the Rams and is standard equipment. Never has been an "option". I wish people would stop the false info on MDS being available before 2006 in the Rams. It was NOT!
If it was a 2004 it spec'd 30 weight as well not 20 weight. Are you sure you didn't have a 2005 which was the 1st year for 20 weight in the Rams? Oil cap means nothing unless you are sure it is the original one. Did you ever look to make sure it had the correct year owner's manual? The 2004 OM for the Ram trucks makes no mention of 20 weight oil for them at all.
ALL gas powered Rams, regardless of engine( not including the SRT10 trucks ), spec'd 30 weight in 2004. Direct copy of 2004 Ram 1500 Owner's Manual oil selection info...

I am not trying to be a jerk here but this thread is full of false info and it is getting out of hand.
I had that exact truck last year. I don't know if mine had the mds option however my owners manual said the hemi needs 5w-20 and my oil fill cap said 5w-20.
I bought it privately so I doubt a dealer slapped a 20 grade cap on it although it is possible.
OP. My truck went to salvage,I totalled it. I bought it with 240k and totalled it at 280k. It got dealer bulk oil changes all its life according to the receipts that came with the truck.
It didn't consume a drop of oil between changes and honestly it felt just as torquey as my dads 2014 hemi ram.
I was always a thicker is better guy however mileage doesn't lie and my personal experience with a high mile hemi is that the 20 grades don't shorten engine life whatsoever.
That truck is already hard on fuel,why not try for a mpg or 2 with a 20 grade.
As far as thicker oil affecting mds it does. It will slow its engagement by 0.20 seconds meaning the engagement and disengagement will happen in under half a second with thicker oil.
It really doesn't matter what oil you use however a 20 grade will still enable your hemi to last longer than the body it's fitted in.
If you had a 2004 it did not have MDS. MDS was never an "option". It was 1st used in 2006 on the Rams and is standard equipment. Never has been an "option". I wish people would stop the false info on MDS being available before 2006 in the Rams. It was NOT!
If it was a 2004 it spec'd 30 weight as well not 20 weight. Are you sure you didn't have a 2005 which was the 1st year for 20 weight in the Rams? Oil cap means nothing unless you are sure it is the original one. Did you ever look to make sure it had the correct year owner's manual? The 2004 OM for the Ram trucks makes no mention of 20 weight oil for them at all.
ALL gas powered Rams, regardless of engine( not including the SRT10 trucks ), spec'd 30 weight in 2004. Direct copy of 2004 Ram 1500 Owner's Manual oil selection info...

I am not trying to be a jerk here but this thread is full of false info and it is getting out of hand.
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