OK, let me first admit that this past weekend was the very first time I ever changed the oil in my Ram myself. I don't know why, but I was always intimidated by it. I've never been afraid to work on any other veichle before in my life, but for some reason my Ram just intimidated me.

Anyway ... I'm over my fears now and I'm now into tackling my Ram projects myself. I recently did the brakes ( OK, I DID have some supervision ... I'm not TOTALLY cured ... LOL ) and this past weekend I changed my oil.

What a fiasco !!!

First of all, the drain pan that I had was too small. As it was getting to the top, I realized that it wasn't going to hold all 3 gallons. I had to shove the plug back in, find somethng to dump the oil into, and put the pan back under the plug and finish the job. Yeah .... stop laughing.

OK, that job is done, so now it's onto the oil filter. I took the air intake off of my K&N to make getting to the filter easier and it was. The whole time I'm thinking " leftie loosie - righty tighty " LOL !! I get it off, and proceed to spill what looked to me like the entire contents of the Exxon Valdez into the engine compartment trying to get the filter out. I assumed that the filter would have SOME oil in it, but for some reason I just wasn't prepared for it to be full to the top.

I'm learning ....

OK, so I lube the gasket on the new filter, screw it on, and proceed to dump 3 gallons of oil into the valve cover with the help of a new funnel that I bought ( should have bought a bigger drain pan as well )

All is good!! Success !!!

OK, so now that I've done it myself, I'm preparing for the next time already. I've already bought a 15 quart oil pan, and a funnell that will hopefully slip over the oil filter before un-screwing it so that the oil that spills out can be directed into the new drain pan. ( Hopefully )

I'm now looking in my hndy dandy Geno's garage catalog that I gat in the mail ( Thanks Drew ) and I notice some pretty cool new drain plug replacements. I'm VERY interrested in the one with the valve on the side that looks like it works like a ball valve. It even has a nipple on it so that you can slip a hose onto it and direct the oil right into the pan with no mess at all.

Has anyone ever used this valve? Pros / Cons ? Anything better out there that you'd recomend? I'm already a little panicked because I think I may have put 1 quart too many into my engine ( reading the manuel it say's it takes 11 quarts ). It also says to fill the new filter before putting it on. Oops ... Any other oil change tips / techniques would also be appreciated.

Thanks guy's !!






STOP LAUGHING !!!!

 

I did my first change this weekend on my 06 CTD. Man that is a lot of oil!!! Anyway, I used a 5-gallon bucket and it worked very well. I am a 4x4, but still had to take about 2" off the top of the bucket with a sawzall in order to fit under the pan. I am still using the Factory plug, but plan on switching over to a draining plug from Geno's Garage. Then it will really be slick to drain into a 5-gallon bucket. Sorry to see your spill. I did loose a handle on taking off the filter and it fell to the floor causing a hell of a mess, but nothing like your spill. That was an impressive oil slick......

Brent

 

Are you looking at the same plug as I am, or are you considering another? That one with the valve and nipple combo looks really cool !!

 

For the oil filter try using a few of the plastic bags you get at the store, that way it helps to catch the oil that all most always spills out of the filter and it helps to keep your hand clean. As for the new drain plug I to would like to hear if anyone has use it and if it works well.

 

Dude, I JUST read that tip in the Geno's catalog !!

 

Guess I should ask Genos to pay me for using my Idea in there catalog. BTW, I have not seen one so did not know it was in their.

 

Here is the plug that I'm talking about ...



Drain your engine oil with the touch of a finger. No more stripped threads, fractured drain plugs, or leaky gaskets. This engine oil drain valve replaces your old oil drain plug. The valve extends one inch below the bottom of the oil pan and oil drains out of the bottom of the valve. Plugs with nipple are available to allow a hose to be attached to redirect the oil flow (if desired). Plugs with nipple extend 1.5 inches. Never remove it from the pan again. The stainless steel spring prevents any accidental opening. It requires two distinct actions to open it, and its heavy-duty construction will withstand engine vibration.

 

I certianly hope you filled your filter before you screwed it back on. . .not doing this can result in turbo damage on a hot engine. if you did it cold then you should be ok. starving the turbo of oil is bad mojo.

anyhoo, I normaly let my truck sit for an hour then pull the filter. Ive noticed on these 3rd gens some of the oil will actualy be sucked back into the pan. I can tilt the filter a fairly good amount to worm it behind the A/C compressor and no oil comes out. I usualy do the same when filling back up for ease of instalation. and yes I pull it from underneath the truck

anyhoo Ive been realy thinking about one of them drain plugs. there are other styles where you attach a hose and the action of attaching the hose pushes up on the mateing surface and opens the valve.

 

Nope, I didn't know to fill the filter up so I didn't do it. I'm QUITE sure that an hour had passed though since turning my engine off and pulling the filter since it took me a while to figure out what to do about the drain pan situation. By the time I got to the oil filter, the engine was ice cold.

Why do you have to pre-fill the filter anyway? I'm sure THAT'S gonna be a fun job the next time !!

My father has the drain plug that you were thinking about. The one where you screw an attachment into it and it drains. He likes it, however I remember him one time flipping out because he couldn't find the attachment thing. That's why I was looking at the ball valve type. Nothing to loose, and to me it just looks beefier. Do you see and problems with it?

 

This is the one that you are looking into right Drew ??

I enlarged the area that I was talking about that had my dad flipping ....






Customers have certainly had problems with the engine oil drain plug that was introduced in 1994. To summarize, there has been confusion regarding the torque specification (the established specification was higher than the new drain plug’s 40 ft./lb.) Service manual revisions were slow to implement the change (see Issue 15, pages 36 and 82, of the TDR). Also, the new plug could fracture, leaving the owner in a real bind. There have also been changes to the oil plug seal (Issue 17, pages 36 and 82).

What is the solution? The EZ Drain Plug helps in several ways. It permanently replaces the drain plug . . . no more leaking plug seals/washers, and the factory plug is replaced, eliminating the opportunity of fracture. But the real benefit of the plug is the way in which it simplifies oil changes. The patented drain tube screws into the oil plug. As you screw in the drain tube assembly, it pushes up a rubber sealed/spring loaded drain valve. Drain the oil, remove the drain tube (thus resealing the drain valve), reinstall the rubber sealed drain cap, and you’re finished.

'94-'02 22mm EZ Change Drain Plug

NOTE: The plug will not work without the tube; tube sold separately.