"EASY" Cummins 6.7 2013+ oil change!
After reading about all the horror stories about how hard and messy changing the oil on a 13 and newer 6.7 Cummins was I used all the info I gleaned from everyone and changed oil today for the first t...
Forum Discussion
Ok, confession time, I guess, because I guess it's kind of funny now...
I've been doing my own maintenance work on my vehicles since I was quite young, working along side my dad on construction and farm equipment growing up - from oil changes to engine changes and most everything in between.
I got a new to me 07' Dodge 2500 5.9 Cummins recently, replacing a 97 Dodge 2500 Cummins 5.9. So, first oil change this weekend and decided to overthink it and over-engineer it. I got this new oil drain pan last year
and decided to use it instead of just the 5 gallon bucket, for some reason (seemed like a good idea at the time). But, since the 5.9 CTD holds 12 quarts, and I knew the drain pan only holds 9, I needed more capacity. I like draining the oil hot, and uninterrupted flow to get rid of as much stuff as possible, so draining part of the oil, stopping and switching drain pans is not something I wanted to do.
So, I put the drain pan on top of a 5 gallon bucket (I park on a sloped driveway and roll down onto ramps which levels the truck and gives me a LOT of room under the front end of the truck, so the drain pan on top of the bucket still gave me 12" of room to work). Then, knowing I had more oil coming out than the pan would hold, I took the pan cap off, and positioned another 5 gallon bucket under that. Rube Goldberg would be proud! :)
So, surprise #1 - On my '97, the drain plug had a couple of slots in the stem of the plug, so it would drain well with the plug still partially threaded into the pan. On the '07, nope - nothing drained until the plug was completely removed ... and then, oh BOY did it drain!
Surprise #2 - This new oil drain pan has 2 holes in the sump, letting oil drain down into the container. The flow from the oil pan overwhelmed the holes in the drain pan, so hot oil overflowed the front of the drain pan ... all over (and I do mean ALL OVER) the driveway... and me. Right about here I'm reminded of the old joke about the cost of DIY oil change ... as I turned a 30 minute job into a 2 hour clean up.
On the positive side, the oil filter is easy to get to from below, using this oil filter wrench.
and lowers straight down and out, without any need to tip, wiggle, maneuver or spill, and the new one goes right back in the same way, full of oil, without a spill.
The fuel filter is similar but much easier on the '07 than the '97, with the filter staying attached to the canister lid, rather than having to drop the lower part of the canister and maneuver it out around a bunch of obstacles.
So, even after speedy dry, degreaser and power washer on the driveway, I have a stain to remind me - Keep It Simple, Stupid! and will be going back to just the bucket under the drain.
I've vacillated on the Fumoto drain plug
but still just cannot bring myself to install something that hangs down below the oil pan, just begging to get knocked off while off-roading, in spite of a couple of friends running them without issue.
I've been doing my own maintenance work on my vehicles since I was quite young, working along side my dad on construction and farm equipment growing up - from oil changes to engine changes and most everything in between.
I got a new to me 07' Dodge 2500 5.9 Cummins recently, replacing a 97 Dodge 2500 Cummins 5.9. So, first oil change this weekend and decided to overthink it and over-engineer it. I got this new oil drain pan last year
and decided to use it instead of just the 5 gallon bucket, for some reason (seemed like a good idea at the time). But, since the 5.9 CTD holds 12 quarts, and I knew the drain pan only holds 9, I needed more capacity. I like draining the oil hot, and uninterrupted flow to get rid of as much stuff as possible, so draining part of the oil, stopping and switching drain pans is not something I wanted to do.
So, I put the drain pan on top of a 5 gallon bucket (I park on a sloped driveway and roll down onto ramps which levels the truck and gives me a LOT of room under the front end of the truck, so the drain pan on top of the bucket still gave me 12" of room to work). Then, knowing I had more oil coming out than the pan would hold, I took the pan cap off, and positioned another 5 gallon bucket under that. Rube Goldberg would be proud! :)
So, surprise #1 - On my '97, the drain plug had a couple of slots in the stem of the plug, so it would drain well with the plug still partially threaded into the pan. On the '07, nope - nothing drained until the plug was completely removed ... and then, oh BOY did it drain!
Surprise #2 - This new oil drain pan has 2 holes in the sump, letting oil drain down into the container. The flow from the oil pan overwhelmed the holes in the drain pan, so hot oil overflowed the front of the drain pan ... all over (and I do mean ALL OVER) the driveway... and me. Right about here I'm reminded of the old joke about the cost of DIY oil change ... as I turned a 30 minute job into a 2 hour clean up.
On the positive side, the oil filter is easy to get to from below, using this oil filter wrench.
and lowers straight down and out, without any need to tip, wiggle, maneuver or spill, and the new one goes right back in the same way, full of oil, without a spill.
The fuel filter is similar but much easier on the '07 than the '97, with the filter staying attached to the canister lid, rather than having to drop the lower part of the canister and maneuver it out around a bunch of obstacles.
So, even after speedy dry, degreaser and power washer on the driveway, I have a stain to remind me - Keep It Simple, Stupid! and will be going back to just the bucket under the drain.
I've vacillated on the Fumoto drain plug
but still just cannot bring myself to install something that hangs down below the oil pan, just begging to get knocked off while off-roading, in spite of a couple of friends running them without issue.
