2015 Ram with Cummins oil change interval

jus2shy wrote:
In all honesty, I've changed my oil about 4 times already on my truck. I decided to adopt the "Take of the intake" method. You're supposed to inspect the air filter element anyways. First time was a bear, took roughly 1.5 hours. I only remove the mid-section of the intake and leave the air filter clamped in the air box. 2 8mm bolts and a hose clamp and it's free. I typically perform the following:
1 - start draining oil
2 - remove intake
3 - remove old oil filter (never spill a drop going through the top, no need for a garbage bag or ziploc). Oil filter never seems too hot, I can handle it fine with no gloves, but it does get uncomfortable so I wear some thing mechanics gloves
4 - install fresh oil filter pre-filled with a quart of oil
5 - inspect backside of air filter to ensure no bunching or dust getting through. Also wipe the little bit of oil residue from the CCV filter on the turbo. It isn't much but I like things as clean as possible
6 - re-install intake assembly
7 - re-install oil pan bolt
8 - re-fill engine oil and fire it up

not that big of a deal. The extra time spent un-doing the intake is long enough to get a great drain out of the oil. If I rushed, I can do it in less than 20 minutes. However, taking my time, it takes 40 minutes to an hour to change the oil and perform other inspections (I tend to check my magnetic diff plug as well, the shavings have decreased significantly so I figure it's broken in pretty well now).

Note - I don't like the wheel-well method because of a few things I take issue with. First Off, the clearances or ridiculously tight to work a filter through with an automatic equipped truck. Second, there's a good bit of dirt buildup in the wheel-well and you already have tight clearances to work with. Not an issue when removing the old filter, but possibly an issue should the glad seal tear, or even if you're putting an empty filter through that tiny hole, it can get some bits of dirt in there. Lastly, you don't have a good way to reach in and clean off the oil filter head to ensure the old oil filter o-ring is not there and that it's wiped clean of debris. From the top, you get a good vantage point to wipe that area down and ensure that things are clean before installing your new filter. You also get more leverage to line things up and spin the new filter on. Some RAM guys don't see these as issues, but for me personally I see them as possible issues.