My son and I both bought a new 2024 Ram 3500 HO at the same. I did an early oil change as I had done on several others over the years, drained it, new filter and 12 QT of oil. Started, checked for leaks and checked the dipstick. Perfect and it still is after a few hundred miles. No problem. My son has put more miles on his before doing his oil change (before it was due). Being his first Ram, I helped him, so nothing was missed. He too checked the dipstick after a few miles, and it was good. Now, a couple weeks later the engine light shows up. Took it to the dealer and the tech says it was overfilled, blew oil into the CCV filter and possibly damaged the DPF. We have no explanation for this. The tech says you have to let it drain for an hour before refilling. That's news to me. When it goes drip...drip...drip, as far as I am concerned you are done. Anything left would be insignificant. Anyone have any ideas as to what is going on?
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Oil Change Problem
- Thread starter Hexnut
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MegaRed
Well-Known Member
I believe there are also reports of leaky injectors that are adding fuel to the oil. You might ask them to do an oil analysis or do it yourself. Also, does he have excessive regens? I seem to recall that that is a symptom of the fuel in the oil. A search on the site here might find you more info as I am just recalling this and my memory left the chat a few years ago...
Squatch
Well-Known Member
I never let it drain more than when it started dribbling and never had such an issue. No more than a couple of minutes of draining. Ain’t nobody got time for that nonsense.
Thewookie
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I also find it hard to believe that dealers are allowing their lifts to be locked up for an hour draining oil. It’s one thing if there’s other work to be done but if it’s just an oil change they just want the lift for the next paying customers.
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The 6.7 is supposed to be drained for at least 30
minutes for an oil change. There was a TSB for this years ago, but I couldn’t find a copy last time I looked.
As far as checking the oil “When checking oil after operating the engine, first ensure the engine is at full operating temperature, then wait for 30 minutes after engine shutdown to check the oil.”
The 30 minutes for checking oil level is the same reason for letting it drain for 30 minutes, it just takes that long for oil to work thru the block.
That being said, the difference in a short drain and a full drain isn’t enough to do that much damage. Have the oil tested for fuel.
They don’t, and it’s a common reason oil changes at the dealership end up overfilled.
minutes for an oil change. There was a TSB for this years ago, but I couldn’t find a copy last time I looked.
As far as checking the oil “When checking oil after operating the engine, first ensure the engine is at full operating temperature, then wait for 30 minutes after engine shutdown to check the oil.”
The 30 minutes for checking oil level is the same reason for letting it drain for 30 minutes, it just takes that long for oil to work thru the block.
That being said, the difference in a short drain and a full drain isn’t enough to do that much damage. Have the oil tested for fuel.
They don’t, and it’s a common reason oil changes at the dealership end up overfilled.
I’m thinking fuel dilution as well.
@Hexnut pull a sample of your oil and send it off to Polaris labs. Ask them to specifically test for fuel dilution
I too suspect fuel dilution and oil will be sent off to Blackstone Lab to see. I am doing this as well because like I said we have essentially the same truck. The dealer insisted the oil was overfilled. If so, then the owner's manual needs to address exactly how it should be done with so many owners changing the oil themselves. Also, the tech said he puts in 11 quarts (not 12) and adds as necessary to keep the level at the lower end of the safe zone after running it for a few minutes. He said he sees many issues like this when the full 12 quarts are added and the regen interval code shows up after a number of miles and causes $$$ emission problems. Ram/Cummins needs to address this issue in a service bulletin to owners. On a side note, I am not sure if the remote start feature should ever be used on diesels for warm-up on cold mornings. My son used remote start and I never have because I know idling is not good and can add fuel to the oil. He too suspects that may have caused the "overfill". That too is not mentioned in the owner's manual.
If you suspect fuel dilution, Blackstone is about the worst lab to send the sample to. Their testing methodology for fuel dilution is very antiquated and considerably less accurate. I would get a sample kit from Cummins, Fleetguard, or Amsoil. All of these companies use Polaris Laboratories as their independent oil analyst. Polaris is state of the art and fully ISO compliant. They use modern gas chromatography methods to determine fuel dilution, which is FAR more accurate.
The cold weather warm up strategy on these trucks will kick the truck into high idle and apply additional resistance / loading with the VGT. That will provide additional heat for better warm ups and better fuel combustion. Base idling for long periods in cold weather is ill advised, but using the preprogrammed warmup strategy should not cause significant issues with fuel dilution. This is directly from the engineering side at Cummins, not hearsay or speculation.