Think of the factory maintenance schedule like this ... The stated interval time is just before all hell breaks loose ( an exageration ). If you lube your joints 4 times to the one time that the book states, who wins, you &your Ram, or the dealer?

Lets take the number 30K. If you were to change your oil every 7500 like the book states, you'll have 4 oil changes under your belt ( including the one the truck came with ). I would have 6 oil changes because I change mine every 5K. Lets stick to round numbers and say that an oil change costs you 40 bucks. I would have spent 80 more dollars than you, but remember, we're talking about 30K here. I would have spent 80 dollars more over probably2 years.

Here's the kicker though ...

When I do an oil change, I also lube my joints,clean my air filter, and visually inspect my truck more througly than I normally would.When I'm changing my oil, I'm actually doing more than just that. I'm maintaining my truck, and I'm doing it myself which isactually saving me money in the long run, especially if you are relying on a dealer to change your fluids.

 

Nicely put Mayfair.

Minex-

If you really want to know, save a sample of that 12K oil and get an analysis done, see what condition that oil is in. Given that your driving habits don't vary too much, use it to help you figure out how often to change your oil.

 

I agree with CUJO. Get an analysis done, my guess is the oil has a bunch of differant things(Metals,fuel, Sea Monkeys, etc)in it from engine break in butits your truck, not mine. That oil has been in there since it was built.

 

And I'll add a little more to it.
So what if the manual says 7500 or 15k ? I will guarrantee that I will get more miles out of my 7500 engine than the 15k engine. I also think the % of chance that something goes wrong with your motor goes up also.
I would rather take extra steps to maintain my engine better than the next guy then to be sitting for a week while the dealer installs my FREE Warranted rebiult engine that died from excesive wear.

 

...and its your money, not mine. Consider me hard headed I guess. When I want to know how much my truck can tow, I turn to the manual. When I want to know what parts to lube and when, I turn to the manual. When I want to know when to rotate the tires, I turn to the manual. I don't understand why oil changes are any different. The manual states 7,500 to 15,000, so thats what I am doing. I have another 3000 miles before I am changing the oil and oil filter. However, I'll get an oil analysis done and will post the results on here when that happens.

I'm not refuting the 7500 numbers since thats in the manual. As I stated to Mayfair, some people are doing this more often than the 7500 mile number and thats what I'm questioning. Likewise, if someone had a 30,000 mile oil change interval, I'd question that.

 

Minex, I hope you don't think that anyone is bashing the manual because that isn't the case at ALL. The manual is a great reference tool and is extremely good guide. I just use the manual as a guide though. I don't treat it as the holy grail. You mentioned earlier that inyour other cars manual it states that the oil should be changed every 3500 miles. I would changeoil every 3000 though, not because I'm heard headed, but because it's easier to remember round numbers, and rather than extend the interval by 500 miles, I would opt to doit a little earlier. No biggie.

I think that people change their oil a little earlier than required not because they don'ttrust the manual, but because it's just better for the engine, that's all, and like you said earlier, you'd / they'd/ I'd do anything for my baby.

 

Not a problem Mayfair. I'm not taking any offense to this. Anyway, I just called two dealerships and they both said that they don't agree with the 7500-15000 number either. One recommended 3500-5000 while the other recommended 5000 mile oil change intervals. Granted, this would be like asking Marlboro how many cigerettes I should smoke a day. Anyway, the cost of an oil change is only $70, so I've scheduled to bring my truck in towards the beginning of next week. I'd still like to get an oil analysis because I'm curious.

 

Do yourself a favor and get one of those Geno's drain plugs before taking it in and have them install it. That way you can easily change the oil yourself next time for 1/2 the cost.

Do you think they're gonna lube that driveshaft joint for ya?

 

7,500 to 15,000 has alot of "grey area" to it. Thats like mesaying "Yeah I live on the westside of Chicago yet its a 4 hour drive there" It costs me $32 for an oil change and 30 minutes of my time.

 

Does your maintenance book also state that if the day or night temps are below 32 degrees, driving 50% or more of your driving is at sustained high speeds (Freeway driving) with day time temps of 90 degrees higher or stop and go driving? If you do any of these and or what you listed above in your post then you must used Schedule B as listed on the front of my 2006-maintenance book.

If you want to go to longer oil change intervals then you need to get an oil by pass system installed and use high quality synthetic oil like Redline, Royal Purple or Amsoil like I use and take oil samples to be tested.

Oh and one reason I said to drop the oil is when I bought my truck what I didn’t know was that the oil was already 9 months old even though it only had 50 miles on it after the test drive. I did not find out how oil the oil was until 1100 miles later. So as you can see you can’t always go by miles on the factory oil you also have to look and see how old the oil it is. Some people like my self like dropping the factory oil out between 2-3K to get the break in metals out of the engine. Then a few more short 3-5K oil changes to get rid of the rest as the rings seat and other parts break in. BTW, a diesel engine can take up to 25,000 miles to get broke in if its not worked hard where as a gas engine can get broke-in, in less miles.

JMHO