I have a '96 B2500 with the 5.2 318 reading at 128,000 miles. I'm looking at changing the oil soon using the Mobil 1 synthetic high mileage but not sure which kind of filter would be best. Also, has anyone used this oil without any problems and or even recommend it? What kind of oil and filters does everyone use? I've always had others change my oil, so I'm not even sure what was used before. I'll be doing my own changes from now on so I'm looking for advice on recommended products for this engine with the miles it has.. Thank you!

 

Hi, I have a 97 B3500 with the 318 also., My neighbour is a professional mechanic, and when I asked him about switching to synthetic oil, he suggested that I don't do it, just stick to a good quality regular oil, with a good filter, and change the oil frequently. he told me he has seen more problems from people switching over to the synthetic on these older vehicles, something about the seals and gaskets on the older well used motors, that tend to leak prematurely. I just use 5W30 with a good quality filter, so far it has been very good to me, no leaks, and no major repairs or breakdowns, with almost 200,000 miles on her, she still runs great,,, hope this helps,,,, just my 2 cents,,,

 

Not a professional opinion here but just saying... I switched over to mobil high mileage 10/30 at about 250k miles on my 99 3500 5.9 ( from Castrol 20/50 since day one, now has 299k miles) with no ill effects, leaks or whatnot by the changeover... I've owned this van since new and still runs pretty strong
Mine does have the plenum problem and need to add a quart every 1000 -1200 miles but the blue puff of smoke on startup is near non existent now since changing over to the mobil synthetic.
Also when I do add oil between changes, I have been using the M-15/50 and find the oil level drops less quickly with the heavier oil added than with adding 10/30

I've tried a few and never really had filter issues, but reading through the threads on here and other sites it seems many recommend the wix brand filter or Mopar, mobil makes one as well as others that should do the trick. I'd think so long as you check and change both regularly you oughta be safe.

 

I have an 02 1500 with the 5.2 also. Been using Valvoline oil. Just starting using the Valvoline Maxlife last oil change. I have been using the oversize filter on mine. Fram cross reference is a PH8A. Standard filter was a Fram PH16. Mobil oil is pretty good also. Some have had good luck with Shell Rotella oil.

 

Thank you guys! I'm still up in the air with what oil to use.. With 128,000 miles I'm now skeptical if I should even use a synthetic oil. Some seem to have no problems, and the last thing I need is oil seeping through the seals. If you think about it, I don't have a lot miles compared to others that change over. Thanks again for everyone's time and advice.

 

Synthetic oil has a smaller molecule than conventional oil, So if your engine has an issue with leaking on conventional oil it will be worse with synthetic. If you have no leaks and doesn't burn oil then you should be fine. Definitely use the larger filters!

 

I go back and forth between full synthetic and high-mileage oil depending on what is on sale. I believe the high-mileage oil is a blend with synthetic rather than full synthetic. The synthetic seems to darken quicker as it cleans out the internals of the engine. I haven't had any problems with leaks to date and my van is 27 years old. One thing I will caution against is using engine flushes at this stage. I have used a couple in an attempt to stop the darkening of the synthetic and that has not panned out well. I now have to pull the oil pan and remove debris...my last oil change came out chunky.
Steve

 

Jasper rebuilt engine installed at 360,000 kms. Since break-in have gone to full synthetic of various brands. In summer (Canada) we use 10W-30 and winter use 5W-30. If there's 1 particular oil that stands out, I found the Penzoil Pure Plus Platinum made from natural gas gave me the best gas mileage and longtivity. For all oil filters, i'm sold on the Fram Ultra-Guard for synthetic. Aftermarket plenum gasket was put in during the time we had the Jasper engine put in so no oil issues.

 

I'm glad the fram suites your taste---most don't like fram

 

nibroc: i've noticed that the UltraGuard seem to be a different breed to their lower cheaper ToughGuard line of filters. Perhaps maybe they're made for synthetic oil, i'm not sure? But i've tried many different brands and use to think all filters were at least OEM quality ; especially during the times you change oil every 3000 miles. Nowadays the full synthetic oil is that much better and longer lasting that oil intervals can be extended and better oil filters exist. I would not be surprised if the UltraGuard filters are comparable to the high end K&N or Amsol filters.