Diesel Oil Change intervals

[BEERviper]

How often (miles or months) is everyone changing the oil? I did my first oil change at 5,000 miles and now approaching 10,000 miles...

The owners manual suggests to change the oil based on the automatic oil change indicator system but never exceed 10,000 miles. This assumes that the indicator system takes into account short trips, trailer towing, extreme temperatures, etc ... but how does the computer know how this will ultimately affect the oil quality and duration??

The only mention in the owners manual regarding "Severe Duty Conditions" maintenance interval is in the Engine Air Cleaner Filter section, however I cannot locate any Severe Duty Conditions maintenance interval in the owners manual!?!? I looked for a supplement that might contain this but didn't find anything...

The chart on page 416-417 (Diesel Maintenance Plan) of the owners manual (2021 JT) separates everything into 10,000 mile increments or 1 year (whichever comes first) however oil change is NOT one of the line items.

I checked the 3.0 section on JLWranglerForum but didn't see any answers to this question, at least not in their own topic. I have not checked the RAM 3rd gen Eco forum.

Is anyone just going by the indicator system? Anyone just doing every 10k miles? Anyone doing every 5k miles?

Just looking for the best option so as to not have to do expensive oil changes more frequently than needed. I am willing to have the oil tested through Blackstone as I have done this in the past for a previous vehicle, curious if anyone else has already tested their oil.

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[Jeep-A-Kneez]

It took me a while to come off that old way of thinking of every 3k miles. With the improvements in oil and machining, I've grown to let the milage go on up to that 5 & 6k range. Will take some more time to persuade me to do the 10k oil change.

 

[Mr._Bill]

I would monitor the oil life indicator, but would not go more than 6 months or 5000 miles between changes.

 

[FutureOdin]

The indicator system most definitely takes into consideration your driving habits. I was due for an oil change after ~6000 miles that were all towing a 3500lb. camper.

Anyways, I will be following the oil life indicator anyways, going forward. I changed my oil at 2500mi, another at 9000mi (before I did my XC trip), another at roughly 16000mi (during my trip), and am currently at 19000mi with about 50% oil life left on this change.

Also, if you want to cut down on cost, I would recommend the Quaker State 5W-40 at Walmart for >$20 per 5 qt. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Quaker-State-5W-40-Euro-Full-Synthetic-Motor-Oil-5-Quart/737859365

 

[WXman]

You rightfully noted that the manual says to never, under any circumstances, exceed 10,000 miles. That insinuates that you should be changing your oil earlier than that.

I just finished putting 18,000 miles on this same powertrain in a 2020 Ram 1500. My oil life monitor would hit 0% at roughly 7,500 miles or so. I'm at 2,500 miles in the 2021 Jeep and so far the monitor seems to be on pace with what the Ram would show.

I will also mention that I've been doing oil analysis. I changed the oil at 4,000ish miles. Then I went 5,000ish miles on the second interval. Then I went 7,000ish miles on the 3rd. Iron and aluminum levels were high each time, indicating that the engine is probably wearing slightly faster than a typical engine. Also alarming is that the oil viscosity was low at the end of each interval, which could potentially signal fuel dillution in the engine oil.

After seeing these results, I am now very adamant that the engine oil in these engines should be changed WELL before 10,000 miles.

Also for the record, I've used cheap off the shelf oils (Valvoline, Pennzoil, etc.) as well as expensive luxury oils (Motul) and I saw absolute ZERO difference in wear or performance. So don't waste your money on expensive oils. I'm going to be using the Quaker State Ultimate Durability Euro 5W40 on my next couple of cycles and will send off samples for testing.

 

[A 2]

Are oil changes for diesels included through Jeep for the first 3 or 4 like the gasser motor?

 

[BEERviper]

Are oil changes for diesels included through Jeep for the first 3 or 4 like the gasser motor?

Yes the first 3 are included with Jeep Wave on the diesel.

 

[Druidirvin]

I did my first oil change at 4800, the second at 10000 and the third one at 15000. I’ll be buying the Amsoil oil for my next oil changes. I plan to keep my jeep for a long lol. I want this engine in top performance.

 

[WXman]

I did my first oil change at 4800, the second at 10000 and the third one at 15000. I’ll be buying the Amsoil oil for my next oil changes. I plan to keep my jeep for a long lol. I want this engine in top performance.

The guys who have been running Amsoil and have posted oil analysis are seeing the exact same wear as people who are not using Amsoil. I wouldn't waste my money. But to each their own.

 

[Druidirvin]

The guys who have been running Amsoil and have posted oil analysis are seeing the exact same wear as people who are not using Amsoil. I wouldn't waste my money. But to each their own.

I read on another post that amsoil was the cleanest one of them all.

 

[WXman]

I read on another post that amsoil was the cleanest one of them all.

Well, if you look at the oil analysis reports you'll notice that the Amsoil fan-boys are seeing high concentrations of iron and aluminum just like the others who don't run Amsoil. These Gen 3 diesels just seem to produce a lot of metals, relative to other engines.

If we were to run oils for 30,000 miles, you may then see the benefits of the "luxury" oils like Amsoil, Motul, etc. But since we're required to do less than 10,000 miles, ANY oil meeting spec will perform exactly the same.

If I come across those Amsoil reports that guys have posted again I'll copy them over to this thread.

 

[WXman]

Here's one that I just saw. Notice that his iron was at 47 ppm. This particular lab doesn't flag that at 47 ppm but Blackstone labs does because my iron levels are exactly the same and they flagged it as being higher than averages. This guy is getting flagged for aluminum and tin content as both of those are high.

This is one example of many you'll see on other forums and social media, particularly on the Ram owner groups with this same engine. But it at least shows us that Amsoil does absolutely nothing that an oil 1/3rd the cost won't do.

Personally I think the true answer would be a proper diesel engine oil rated CJ or greater....but the warranty won't allow that.

 

[Druidirvin]

Here's one that I just saw. Notice that his iron was at 47 ppm. This particular lab doesn't flag that at 47 ppm but Blackstone labs does because my iron levels are exactly the same and they flagged it as being higher than averages. This guy is getting flagged for aluminum and tin content as both of those are high.

This is one example of many you'll see on other forums and social media, particularly on the Ram owner groups with this same engine. But it at least shows us that Amsoil does absolutely nothing that an oil 1/3rd the cost won't do.

Personally I think the true answer would be a proper diesel engine oil rated CJ or greater....but the warranty won't allow that.

I appreciate the info

 

[BEERviper]

It took me a while to come off that old way of thinking of every 3k miles. With the improvements in oil and machining, I've grown to let the milage go on up to that 5 & 6k range. Will take some more time to persuade me to do the 10k oil change.

Yes this is all new to me as well, before my JK I would change every 3k religiously. Then on the JK I went to 5k miles. This is the first diesel I've ever owned so I'm trying to educate myself on the best way to go...

I at nearly 5,000 miles on my current oil and the automatic oil change indicator still shows 62%, this includes some short towing trips with my 3,500 lb camper and a lot of short trips in town.

My other caveat is that I had planned to rotate the tires (5 tire rotate) every 5,000 miles, if I get the oil changed at the dealer then I can have them rotate the tires at the same time. Sure I could rotate them myself but being self employed I have better things to do with a couple hours of my time.

I would monitor the oil life indicator, but would not go more than 6 months or 5000 miles between changes.

What makes you say not to go more than 5,000 miles between changes? I'm at nearly 5,000 miles since my last oil change but the oil change indicator seems to think I can roll quite a few more miles before needing to change the oil.

The indicator system most definitely takes into consideration your driving habits. I was due for an oil change after ~6000 miles that were all towing a 3500lb. camper.

That's good to know that it does actually take into account harder usage of the engine with towing and whatnot!

Anyways, I will be following the oil life indicator anyways, going forward.

I'm still on the fence considering mine is telling me I still have plenty of miles to go after 5,000

I will also mention that I've been doing oil analysis. I changed the oil at 4,000ish miles. Then I went 5,000ish miles on the second interval. Then I went 7,000ish miles on the 3rd. Iron and aluminum levels were high each time, indicating that the engine is probably wearing slightly faster than a typical engine. Also alarming is that the oil viscosity was low at the end of each interval, which could potentially signal fuel dillution in the engine oil.

Good to know, I'm curious the differences between the RAM and Gladiator considering the superior cooling system on the RAM would prevent the more extreme temperatures seen my many Diesel Gladiator owners. Doesn't the RAM also take 10 quarts vs the Gladiator 9 quarts?

After seeing these results, I am now very adamant that the engine oil in these engines should be changed WELL before 10,000 miles.

I would agree with this 100%, but that's what I'm trying to figure out I guess is how far should I push it. What you're doing with changing oils at different intervals and having the oil tested is probably the best way to know.
I know back when I was testing my oil on my modified Infiniti G35 that I only drove about 3,000 miles a year, when I did that once a year oil change the results came back that I could have gone more miles before changing, even after a year in the engine.
I guess the question is will I see less metals with more frequent oil changes.

In the end I feel like I'm just going to continue changing every 5k for the first 3 oil changes (at the dealer under Jeep Wave) and have the oil tested at 10k and 15k miles and see hot it's looking and then determine if I can go longer or not. I will most likely switch to the Quaker State 5W-40 after the 3rd oil change to save some dough!

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

[WXman]

Good to know, I'm curious the differences between the RAM and Gladiator considering the superior cooling system on the RAM would prevent the more extreme temperatures seen my many Diesel Gladiator owners. Doesn't the RAM also take 10 quarts vs the Gladiator 9 quarts?

Nope, both engines require 8.5 quarts of oil. I believe the Jeep manual may say 9 quarts but that's just a minor difference probably there because of different people writing the manuals.

As far as the cooling system, yes I noticed that my Ram would run 10-15 degrees cooler in all conditions. But, to me that's a pretty minor difference considering how small the Jeep engine bay is and the fact that diesels like to be hot anyway.

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