Hi, new to the site.

I got my dad's old '86 Ram D250 recently when he passed away. It has a 318 in it and I'm not sure on the amount of oil it's suppose to hold. The owners manual says 6 quarts with a filter change. I've put 6 in, but it's only half way between the add/fill marks on the dip stick. Does anyone have any other info on this?

Thanks,
Tom[/align]

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My 88 Ram 100 has a 318, and 5 quarts fills it up perfectly. But yours is a 250, so there's probably something different there. I would trust the owners manual at 6 quarts, but as you stated, something's not right. Do you have it parked on a hill? If so, the elevation might have something to do with it. It messes with my truck's oil reading by about 1/2 a quart unless I check it a few minutes after I get home from driving somewhere. Have you driven it a few miles or so after you put the oil in? I think when you drive it around a little, that lets the engine cycle the oil through, or whatever, and that might give you a better reading. Are you sure it's not leaking or anything? Nice truck, sorry about your loss though.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I've checked it on level ground, and checked it10-15 minutesafter filling it and then after about 400 miles of driving, and it's at half the level. It doesn't leave any oil drips on the driveway, so I'm pretty sure it's not leaking. It runs great for a 20 year old truck andonly has 90,900 miles on it. I'd like to add enough to fill it to the full mark on the dipstick, butI don't want to over fill it. I thought maybe it had an oversize oil pan since it was a s50, but the owners manual or original window sticker make no mention of it.

It's a special truckto me because I was 17 and with dad when he bought it new and have always enjoyed driving it. It was the first "brand new" vehicle I ever got to drive.

 

My only suggestion is that your dipstick might be inaccurate. Perhaps the dipstick isn't seating all the way in the tube, or the dipstick was replaced at some point. I had a problem with mine a while ago where the handle was slightly bent and it preventedthe rubber seal from going into the dipstick tube.Mine is a 360 and it takes 6 quarts. Odd thing is that my Dakota has a 360 as well and only takes 5 quarts.

 

Realy a very very nice truck...Keep it up. Nice pictures where did you take the pictures?

 

Thanks.

The pics were taken at Summersville Lake, in Summersville WV, where i'm originally from.

 

My 87 D100 with the 318 takes 6 quarts. I use the big filter from earlier dodges and it doesn't come quite to the full line so I just add a little.

 

I have an '86 D-250 w/ a 318, and it holds 6 quarts w/ a new filter, regardless of stupid dipstick lol.
Evidently it's a problem with this truck, because that fact was written with black marker on one of the fenders under the hood... So the folks who owned it before me must've went through this as well.

After the vehicle is parked on level ground, the engine should be left off for several minutes (5-10, 20 is good also) to allow all the oil to drain into the pan.

Just in case, make sure you tightened the pan bolt and that the oil filter is on good (cauz I've made this mistake once or twice lol).

Beyond that...
Unfortunately, dipsticks are not real accurate because even thou it may look like the truck is on level ground, all it takes is a slight incline that you can't even see, and off is the reading... I've experienced this over, and over.

Peace
p.s.: Always change the filter when changing the oil.
p.s.s.: It is a great truck.