Well seasoned school bus mechanic tells me when they get somebody new changing oil it's only about 2 weeks till they stop filling up new filter with oil before threading on new filter without prefilling.  Interesting part to me was no failures that he knows of.  I fill mine but wondering if really necessary. Other than manual says so.  

Do you prefill?

I am in Canada. Winter is approaching. We can and do see ambient temps to about -28 celsius (-18.4 F) around my parts. My 98.5 24V has a block heater, however that heats the coolant in the engine water jackets. It's does nothing to heat the oil in the pan or the filter housing. I have chosen to put Caterpillar CK-4 5W40 synthetic oil in my engine this winter. I choose Cat brand because I work at the dealer and get employee pricing! The CK-4 oil has been proven to have a higher level of oxidation wear protection. The PAO  base oil is proven to flow better at colder temps.  So I chose synthetic.

 

My truck is not a daily driver. It is used as needed for dump runs, picking up building supplies etc. This winter it will sit for weeks between starts. The engine will warm up, but local trips are not long. I want to ensure my engine oil is doing the best in my application. I like the temperature range of the 5W40 oil, shown here. That's quite a spread and takes me right down to -30 C.

 

The benefits of synthetic oil, the unique pricing I get, the ambient air temps where I live, it makes sense to me to use it. I don't think I'll pre-fill the oil filter.

 

Edited October 7, 20186 yr by keithb7

On 10/6/2018 at 11:45 AM, dripley said:

Another beer wasted through my nose . Was not a synthetic one either.

Edited October 7, 20186 yr by dave110

11 minutes ago, dave110 said:

Another beer wasted through my nose . Was not a synthetic one either.

Sorry to hear about the beer. 

Just now, dripley said:

Sorry to hear about the beer. 

No problem. I have more 

So Dripley it says 'squeeze me' on synth chicken..... which end does the beer squirt out of then?

1 hour ago, keithb7 said:

I am in Canada. Winter is approaching. We can and do see ambient temps to about -28 celsius (-18.4 F) around my parts. My 98.5 24V has a block heater, however that heats the coolant in the engine water jackets. It's does nothing to heat the oil in the pan or the filter housing.

 

Actually it does...  When the block heater is on, depending on how long in relation to the level of cold, the engine block will reach a max temperature of about 100* F.  That means everything in contact with it will be much much warmer than just sitting in the cold.  If you use your block heater then oil pressure is almost immediate even in the sub level cold.

1 hour ago, JAG1 said:

So Dripley it says 'squeeze me' on synth chicken..... which end does the beer squirt out of then?

Probably depends on how many where consumed?

3 hours ago, JAG1 said:

So Dripley it says 'squeeze me' on synth chicken..... which end does the beer squirt out of then?

Out of its big chicken mouth, you big dummy.

Thanksalot Dipley 

 

I would plug in the block heater because even in my temps where I don't need it much I see quicker oil pressures at start up even in + 28 degrees.

At home I park in the garage which typically stays above freezing barely. Once on the road I could end up leaving the truck parked in subzero. I just cycle the grid heater twice and hit the starter. These are not Ford Powerstrokes that need block heater and battery charger to start in the cold.

Grid heater,  Mine is disconnected

 

Someone was going to make a easy on/off switch disconnect, so you can use  the grid heater to get it started in cold weather, then use a switch to turn it off (or disconnect),

 

What ever happpened to that Idea or has anyone done this? What kind of heavy duty type battery switch is available

Out of curiosity and I really dont know...

Why is diesel harder to start when cold.  Pistons still compressing the same.  

Not talking about diesel that is frozen in line somewhere. 

 

14 minutes ago, GSP7 said:

Grid heater,  Mine is disconnected

 

Someone was going to make a easy on/off switch disconnect, so you can use  the grid heater to get it started in cold weather, then use a switch to turn it off (or disconnect),

 

What ever happpened to that Idea or has anyone done this? What kind of heavy duty type battery switch is available

 

Talk to @IBMobile he's working on a smog friendly grid heater switch.

11 minutes ago, 015point9 said:

Out of curiosity and I really dont know...

Why is diesel harder to start when cold.  Pistons still compressing the same.  

Not talking about diesel that is frozen in line somewhere. 

 

Not enough heat energy to light off the fuel. Grid heater heat the air in the manifold. So when the air is drawn in there is now enough heat energy to light the fuel.

2 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Talk to @IBMobile he's working on a smog friendly grid heater switch.

 

That would be nice to have.  Just curious too but does the switch also override the intake air heater relay circuit so that it doesnt throw a code?

 

2 hours ago, 015point9 said:

Out of curiosity and I really dont know...

Why is diesel harder to start when cold.  Pistons still compressing the same.  

Not talking about diesel that is frozen in line somewhere. 

 

 

Cylinder heat is generated by the higher working compression in a diesel engine.  So if the piston isnt moving fast enough during the compression stroke then the combustion chamber heat wont be adequate enough to ignite the injected fuel.  When your intake temperatures are too cold and the combustion chambers are not warm (cold engine) then the piston can have a hard time building enough heat for optimal combustion.  Combine this with weak batteries or dragging starter and you have a crank that simple cant move the pistons fast enough to build the right amount of heat to start the engine.

 

Gasoline engines dont have this problem because spark plugs ensure combustion.  But high compression gasoline engine can more easily pre-detonate because of the heat.

Haha... been out in the woods for a couple weeks and just catching up. Can't say I expected to see that chicken!!

 

I run synthetic for several reasons, one is the oil change interval. I like being able to go once a year on a change. The other is the better performance cold and hot. I have seen as low as -30°F in the truck, and oil temps as high as 240°F. Those are temps where synthetic does better. 

 

I ran dino Delo for a winter 5 years ago, and the difference in motor sound and oil pressure indications even on above 30°F days was noticeable over the Amsoil AME I run. 

I will be running conventional this oil change for 1 reason. I bought 2 extra gallons while changing oil in someone’s 12 valve so I might as well use it and not return it. I think I will jump right back to synthetic though. Prob will continue running what the P.O. did. Rotella T6

3 hours ago, AH64ID said:

Can't say I expected to see that chicken!!

I was a bit surprised when my neice and siblings gave it to me at a family gathering myself.

On 10/4/2018 at 8:46 AM, JAG1 said:

I saw a guy change to synth one time... after about a hundred thousand there was oil all over the engine from leaks

 

On 10/13/2018 at 10:07 AM, AH64ID said:

I run synthetic for several reasons, one is the oil change interval. I like being able to go once a year on a change. The other is the better performance cold and hot. I have seen as low as -30°F in the truck, and oil temps as high as 240°F. Those are temps where synthetic does better

 

There is alot of misinformation about synthetic oil. Like @JAG1 points out he switched to synthetic and it made it leak all over. Not necessarily the case. Synthetics are designed way differently and they clean sludge off of seals and gasket surfaces or corners of the engine etc.

Basically if you run an engine with conventional for however long and suddenly you decide your engine deserves synthetic oil, dont. Your engine will already have a nice coating of sludge keeping your gaskets and seal from leaking. You change to synthetic and it will clean all that junk out and suddenly your leaking all over the place.

And like @AH64ID says about temperature. Cummins actually suggests using a 5W40 synthetic like the shell T6 (which is what the dealerships use) for weather at or below 0*F and 15W40 if your above that. 

 

Moral of the story- pick one and stick to it. Hopefully you can find out the service history or something so you can make sure you use the same stuff the previous guy used. They say if you have less than 100k you can safely switch from conventional to a blend or synthetic but i disagree personally. Thats 100k miles of sludge and wear. I use conventional Shell Rotella 15W40 which i believe is the T3? but thats because its easy to get since thats what we put in all the diesels here.

1 hour ago, 2000Ram2500 said:

 

 

There is alot of misinformation about synthetic oil. Like @JAG1 points out he switched to synthetic and it made it leak all over. Not necessarily the case. Synthetics are designed way differently and they clean sludge off of seals and gasket surfaces or corners of the engine etc.

Basically if you run an engine with conventional for however long and suddenly you decide your engine deserves synthetic oil, dont. Your engine will already have a nice coating of sludge keeping your gaskets and seal from leaking. You change to synthetic and it will clean all that junk out and suddenly your leaking all over the place.

And like @AH64ID says about temperature. Cummins actually suggests using a 5W40 synthetic like the shell T6 (which is what the dealerships use) for weather at or below 0*F and 15W40 if your above that. 

 

Moral of the story- pick one and stick to it. Hopefully you can find out the service history or something so you can make sure you use the same stuff the previous guy used. They say if you have less than 100k you can safely switch from conventional to a blend or synthetic but i disagree personally. Thats 100k miles of sludge and wear. I use conventional Shell Rotella 15W40 which i believe is the T3? but thats because its easy to get since thats what we put in all the diesels here.

That’s the T6. I’m using the same. I’m changing oil tonight and switching from Napa to Fleetguard filter and from Rotella 15W-40 to Rotella 5W-40 synthetic. I see no reason not to run 5W-40 year round. 

@Marcus2000monster they dont specify that you have to change I think they just mean if your going to be in really cold areas or live in a really cold area to use the 5W40. We used to sell it as an upsell at the dealership i worked at in southern california. No problems caused by that yet and its been years. Only problem I've ever seen caused by oil to a cummins was a tech forgot to put oil back in it and obviously that will cause an issue haha.

 

As far as oil filters I use the mopar filters that we get from chrysler which come from cummins (idk who the manufacturer is) and fuel filters i use factory which is fleetguard. Employee discount is nice for that for sure