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Everyone claims the stuff is great, except for a few pages i found on the internet. They also really have a lot of websites for this stuff. Seems like Mary Kay or Avon for men. Does anyone actually have any proof this stuff works? I would still be worried about running any oil 25k without oil analysis, which adds even more to the cost of the oil. Do you guys think it would be worth it? I am currently running Valvoline Premium Blue @ $12.99 a gallon, so approximately $33 a fill. Amsoil Heavy Duty Diesel is $75.15 for 2.5 gallons.I read an article where a guy ran a 12-valve for 1 million miles and it was still going good but a little worn out on nothing more than off the shelf Shell Rotella, so i imagine these things can run forever on just about anything.

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I am relatively new to the Dodge Cummins, but I used to own a semi and did my own maintenance. I will use Rotella in this Dodge until I see a reason to do otherwise. I know our honorable sponsor, Mopar1973Man, uses Exxon XD-3 15W-40. I haven't priced that product... ... but this Exxon website sez Exxon XD-3 15W-40 has been discontinued, and the recommended replacement is Mobil Delvac MX 15W-40. Hey Mopar1973Man - What's up wit dat?? - djb

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  • Owner

Hmmm... I'm not sure but I'm going to be heading towards my supplier for oil soon I'll find out and post up what I find... But I'm still sitting on a 5 gallon bucket of oil yet...

As for Synthetics I don't doubt that they work as good as they claim but something that is not being said. Things like transmission, transfer case, axle and such that DON'T have filters you must consider you choice wisely. Regardless of what you use petroluem base or synthetics as soon as there is debris/contaminates in the lubricant it MUST be replaced. Like myself I play in water, mud, deep snow, etc I've got water in the diff's a few times now. Not a lot of water but enough to give it a mild milky color.

Like in my transmission I've got a NV4500 5 speed with the factory synthetic in it. The book says it good till 100K miles according to Dodge but i'm lucky to get 60K before its turning black. Yes its a synthetic and yes it does break down over time but it not indestructable... Like the first change on my transmission was nealr black like engine at 65K miles. The new fluid was clear like water.

Engine oil I'm using...

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The transmission I'm using...

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I change Trans. and Diff. every year no matter what I run. And if playing around need to check within a day or two after words. And as far as amsoil they have proven to me they work. If you go to independent studies they have all kinds of studies on oils. And yes some do excell in one and the most I found is two things that amsoil does not but what you will find is the things they are not high in they surpass in everything else which in turn makes up for what they lack. The only thing that comes to mind is shear strenght in rearend gears in off road haul trucks of 50 tons, but it to is only minamul. As far as oil sampels it cost 22.00 one time cost that will tell you whats going on. Hear again I like my equipment and change at sever mileage or hrs.I have 11 motors to change oil on and it cost more in time than a few dollars in oil price diff. I like my days off, I am self employed so I have tons of time on my hands. LOL

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I've got Amsoil in all my "under truck" voids. You know, diffs, tranny, and transfer case. Amsoil has worked well for me there. What irritates me the most about Amsoil; is the internet salesmen on the forums. They're worse than "fuller brush", "amway", "unicef", salesmen etc.!!!!!!!! No disrespect intended!!!I've got almost 60,000 miles on my truck without "an oil change"!!!!! I use "Ralph Woods" theory, that "Oil doesn't wear out, it only get contaminated"!!!! That's the theory behind his "pertetual sump"!!!!!! If you change you filters and add make up oil, you'll never have to "change out" your oil!! I've beem doing that now for almost 60,000 miles!!!!!!! Granted, I do change out my TP at 1500-2000 mile intervals; but I've yet to "change" my oil in almost 3 years!!! My oil analysis come back analytically clean also!!

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Even Redline is expensive and i really am not so sure that I can justify the price just to say i have fancy oil. I am thinking about doing a Frantz Bypass though, I can actually visualize how that may help out unlike the oil. With that said there are off the shelf brands of synthetic also. My local Wal-mart has Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel synthetic oil. If i remember right it was going for $23 a gallon, which is cheaper than Amsoil at $58 a fill.I will say that i have found one super oil out there. It is actually hydrostatic tractor fluid, I used stuff branded by Costal if I remember right but all brands should work equally. I used it in an TH700R4 (Chevy) automatic and i know quite a few people that used it in Ford AOD transmissions with awesome luck. Basically it withstands shearing and temperature a lot better than plain old ATF because its also used as a hydraulic fluid in the tractors and not just a gear lubricant. However your mileage may vary. :thumbsup

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am a believer in Amsoil, although like Mike said in the components that don't have a filter it gets changed at the normal intervals. I mainly use it for increased efficiency and less parasitic loss. I know my highly overfueled cummins makes the oil black almost instantly, however when I put in the amsoil and used one of their filters with it, my oil actually stayed cleaner to the point where it was not completly black anymore. I know color is not a guage of lubricity however that did tell me that there is less crap in my oil than when I was using fleetguard filters.the main thing that sold me on amsoil was about a year ago I changed the oil in my other half's streetbike from castrol 20w-50 synthetic to amsoil 20w-50 without telling her, she came back and asked what I did to her bike and why does it have more power now?

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amsoil is good stuff no doubt. worth the price? questionable. i run it in all my stuff just because i dont skimp on oil. . . .and i drive everything hard. i am in no way an advocate of long interval oil changes. . .way too much soot.

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I am NOT a member of the "Church of Amsoil" however I will say that many of their gear lube oils and the marine heavy duty diesel oil are very good products. I use their differential lube oil and heavy duty marine diesel oil in my ATV's. I used to use it in my cummins but it is just too expensive. Again very good products albeit FAR over priced and OVER hyped.

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  • Owner

I am NOT a member of the "Church of Amsoil" however I will say that many of their gear lube oils and the marine heavy duty diesel oil are very good products. I use their differential lube oil and heavy duty marine diesel oil in my ATV's. I used to use it in my cummins but it is just too expensive. Again very good products albeit FAR over priced and OVER hyped.

Agreed... Like the eye opener I got is Taz (member here) he's got a 92 Dodge Cummins with 600K+ miles on it. That truck life has been solely on Chevron Delo 15W-40. It only got 1 minor leak around the tappet cover. Other than that that truck gives me a run for the money. Still runs strong. So it all reallity Most good manufactures of oil will work just fine. But like Live Oak mention the price of syn's are just too high for some of us. I like at it from a simple stand point.. Petroluem is inexpensive and you can change it more often for the same price as syn's. But I know because of the often oil change I'm removing debris from the oil supply. Where with extended drain internval of syn's you have to test for your debris factor to keep extending. But with my current setup of Exxon 15W-40 and a Frantz Bypass filter (change every 3K) and I'm changing at 9-10K miles. I figure I'm doing quit well.
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  • 2 months later...

I've been running Amsoil since I bought my truck. I got it from a dealer with a fresh oil change and made a note of what the oil/filter looked like when I changed it. Throughout the interval the oil stayed cleaner and the truck turned over easier with the Amsoil. When I did the subsequent changes I compared notes and everything seemed cleaner with the Amsoil. I run it in the wife's minivan as well.-jt

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  • 4 weeks later...

This is primarily a question meant for DuluthDiesel but what is the primary advantage over other oil premium synthetic oils? Typically I do not run a synthetic at all rather just off the shelf Valvoline Premium Blue, Delo, or Rotella. I typically run 15W40 but it seems the recommendation for synthetic oil is 5w40. I would actually prefer an oil with a higher ZDDP content, more so to keep the lifters and cam happy for the long haul (not necessary but I know older cars had a rash of cam/lifter failures as oil manufactures started removing this so it must help.) My truck was never equipped with a catalytic converter so I don't have to worry about poisoning it. The biggest problem I have with Amsoil, Redline (which I am using in normal intervals in my transmission), and most other extended change oils is they cost a fortune and I am not so sure I am willing to go with an extended drain interval. I do a lot of short distance driving and I doubt that the oil gets sufficient heat hence the reason why I always change the oil between 4-5k. Soon within the next year or so I plan on moving farther from the city so I am sure extended drains may come in handy then.

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http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html I'm not an ALiol fan for personal reasons. Al A. lives a few blocks from my parents, he is not very neighborly. Kind of a slime-ball in my opinion. Al was in the air force with my dad. Al screwed over his buddy's and his brother. You see AL learned about synthetic oil from the Air Force, they needed a better oil for their fighters. The air force used their group as ginnepigs to try different oils in their planes. They were going to come back to the states with their new found knowledge and start a business. Well, Al got out first came back to the states and started up the business. Cutting out all of his buddies. Yes, some of their products are top shelf but their way over priced. Why do all the other MFG's spend the $$ for the API certification but Al-oil won't? He is cheep too. JMO.... Dino oil for me
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