rodsram

First sevice @ 1,200mls
every 7500 after that, the truck is 5 mnths old, 32,000mls on the clock.
rear end 20,000mls
Tranny, 30,000mls
I do not haul that much, but when I do it is over a long trip, 400 - 500mls.
Fuel filter every 10,000mls
Air as it needs +- 15,000mls

If I had the means to do the oil myself I would - considering the ramps at Wally world to get the truck high enough.
ave mileage unloaded, hwy 5mls above posted speed limit - 23mls/gal
Towing - 16 - 18mpg

Hounddog

I lose mine many times a day.Lots worse as you get older.

Buffalo

I just changed my '03's oil this past week & did a used oil analysis. The oil (Chevron Delo-400, 15X40, CI-4+) had 9626 mikes on it. The oil analysis came back stating that the oil "still looks good". All the numbers looked good,also. This was the furthest I've ever gone on an oil change interval & was curious as to how the oil would hold up.

The previous two oil changes were with 7900 miles, on the Chev. oil, & 8300 miles. Both samples came back in good shape, also.

I live in Phoenix, AZ. (desert climate with a lot of dusty conditions) & do some towing (mountains). Most of the driving is around town, short trip, stop & go. I had just a few days under one year on the last oil change.

Years ago, in the TDR magazine, a guy wrote an article about his '94 (I believe) Dodge, which, he towed trailers for a living (delivering RV's). He had 1,153,000 miles on the engine. Never had it rebuilt & it was still being used as a back-up truck for his two new Dodges. The neat thing was that he documented ALL the service that had ever been done on the truck.

Basically, he changed oil every 5000 miles (Rotella 15X40) & Fleetguard filters. Remember, todays oils & filters are of superior quality to those of yester-year.

I would suggest that if you wanted to extend oil drain intervals, spend a bit extra money on used oil analysis & start extending the oil change intervals to a point that you are comfortable with.

Frankly, I expected to find that I had gone a bit too far at 9626 miles & was quite surprised to find the oil still in good shape.

Since I change my own oil, it's nice to know that I don't have to do it every 3000/5000 miles. It's kind of a pain to crawl under the truck, all the time. Besides, oil & filters are not getting any cheaper.

Joe F.(Buffalo)

dodgezilla04

with as much abuse as I give it when I drive it, i figure it is the least I could do to show my appreciation to it.

Vinceg99

OK I have never done a UOA before how does one go about doing it?? Where do you buy or get the kit and it comes with everything needed and where to ship it? How long does it take normally? TIA!

CD in NM

Hey Vinceg99.

I buy my oil testing kits and stratapore filters from Genos Garage. The lab has a couple addresses you can send your sample to, I use the one in Texas. They have an internet site, your sample will come with an ID#. I give it 4-5 days and then check the # on the site, usually is done, print out the report. They also send a copy in the mail.

The one thing I do differently than most people is how I ship it. I don't just toss the sample in the mail in their container with a label on it. The Post Office treats oil samples as hazardous materials when you just mail the bottle. I put the bottle in a small box to mail it. I put their label on the bottle, just in case it gets opened and inspected, I make a separate label for the box. The USPS has special containers for haz mat shipments, they don't ship them until the container is full, that increases your shipping time. My postmaster told me to ship it that way. My neighbor/friend just puts the bottle in the mail, sometimes his reports take a month or more to get done/back the results.

CD

mule3010

Blackstone labs is a good place for IOA. @ 10,000 mine was still OK. I change between 10,000 and 14,000. If the company that builds it says it's OK and the engineers that design it say it's OK and independent oil analysis confims it's OK, it's probably OK. I don't want to give The Iranians or the big oil companies any more of my $ than I have to. So I go with the manufactuers reccomondation backed up by independent oil analysis

Vinceg99

Thanks for the info.

Now also one more question about obtaining the oil now do you just collect some as its draining or?

I would guess it wouldnt be as accurate to drain it into a pan then take from there since I use the same pan for my cars as well.

mule3010

I just collect some mid point in the drain in the container they provide.
Joe

Spooler

Most important to just make sure you change it with a good quality oil and filter. The rest is all gravy. Do what you fill comfortable with.