Question for 6.7 CTD owners RE: Adding Oil

Thanks for all the info folks.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I drain my truck overnight to get the max old oil out. I add 11qts and 24oz to be on the full mark. If you look at the pan you will see that 8oz oil can easily be left in the pan plus the fact the bung is not slotted like the 2nd gen trucks were. Most people will have overfull condition if they take their truck to have the oil changed because those places pull the plug and put it right back in without letting all the oil drain.

Pic is of truck a day later sitting overnight on level ground.

That looks like it showing just a tad over the full mark, are you sure you held out your 8oz. :B

LIKE2BUILD wrote:

Ron3rd wrote:
I've got about 5,500 miles on my 2016 and the the oil level is a little below half way down in the "Safe Zone" on the stick.

Should I add a little oil....?

I just changed oil in my '14 a few weeks ago. After a complete drain and adding 3 gallons, using part of it to pre-fill the filter, my dipstick showed right in the middle of the safe zone. If I were you, I wouldn't worry at all.

KJ

The 6.7 Cummins has a 12 quart capacity, manual says 12 quarts , I put in 12 quarts, mine is right at the full mark when changed.

I have read where some even add 11 quarts 24 oz, worried about overfilling. :h Drain it properly , and add 12 quarts ,some of that to the filter before installing.

Don't care where it is at on the dipstick as long as I added 12 quarts, and will maintain accordingly to where it reads on the dipstick.

Ron3rd wrote:
I've got about 5,500 miles on my 2016 and the the oil level is a little below half way down in the "Safe Zone" on the stick.

Should I add a little oil....?

I just changed oil in my '14 a few weeks ago. After a complete drain and adding 3 gallons, using part of it to pre-fill the filter, my dipstick showed right in the middle of the safe zone. If I were you, I wouldn't worry at all.

KJ

I have a 2011 Toyota Tundra in my fleet that I sent to the dealer yesterday for VVT codes and noise. The truck is on a 5000 mile service interval that gets done right here in the shop. The dealer called me and said there is no oil in the engine and it is done. $17,700 for a reman engine installed. The truck has 140,000 miles on it. I haven't had a chance to get the truck back here and look it over for leaks or oil pan damage but the point I'm trying to make is to the poster that said it's now the norm to check the oil now days is right because the guy that drives this truck does not check his oil but even on new vehicles **** can happen.

Grit dog wrote:
IMO, they days of checking your oil regularly are behind us, on newer vehicles.

Highly depends on the engine. Quite a few high performance, high RPM engines use short skirt pistons which often causes significant oil usage for instance.

Here are instructions on checking oil from the diesel supplement for the 2500-5500.

Checking Oil Level
To assure proper lubrication of your vehicle’s engine, the
engine oil must be maintained at the correct level. Check
the oil level at regular intervals. The best time to check
the oil level is before starting the engine after it has been
parked overnight. When checking oil after operating the
engine, first ensure the engine is at full operating temperature,
then wait for 30 minutes after engine shutdown
to check the oil.

Checking the oil while the vehicle is on level ground will
improve the accuracy of the oil level readings. Add oilonly when the level on the dipstick is below the “ADD”
mark. The total capacity from the ADD mark to the Full
mark is 2 qts (1.9L).



CAUTION!
Overfilling or underfilling the crankcase will cause
oil aeration or loss of oil pressure. This could damage
your engine.
Never operate the engine with oil level below the “ADD”
mark or above the upper “SAFE” mark.

How about simplify the 4 pages here.
OP, change the oil, it needs it anyway.
Dump in 3 gallons, put the cap on, drive away.
IMO, they days of checking your oil regularly are behind us, on newer vehicles.

Me Again wrote:
The dip stick is more likely to vary vs the crank case size. Just saying.

On marine engines, you install the required number of quarts and calibrate the dip stick to that level.

Chris

I think we know that cummins knows how to properly set up the dipstick for a ram truck

carringb wrote:
My 6.7 made oil (pre DEF version) so we filled it short, so it could go 4,000 miles before hitting the full mark. Our trucks saw lots of in town use so they were always in regen, causing some mild fuel dilution.

Mine did that early on. I believe all of the TSB's finally corrected the problem. Went thru 3 Turbos and plenty of top end cleanings in the first 2 years of ownership. Have not had a problem since 2010.