Stupid Girl Questions: 4500 Truck Edition

[piaffepony]

A spin off from my other truck thread. After spending $700 on 2 new tires and $200 on an alignment...my "change your oil" message pops up. Ugh..... I knew I was going to have to do the regular maintenance stuff fairly soon but after doing all the pain in the azz 1000 hour change every possible fluid, filter, hose, belt crap... (another $500 later) I was hoping to put it off a lil bit longer.

I asked the shop soon my alignment how much for an oil change and filters.. $250. Obviously that doesn't even include all the other "or 60 months" maintenance crap that needs to be done. Looks like I'll be doing it myself once again.

I get my manual out, jot down all the fluid/filter types and start googling to see how much it's going to cost me now. I'm just now realizing that this isn't like ordering stuff for the tractor or skid steer where you have an exact part number and tada! Click. Buy. Done. With trucks there's a whole lot more options available and I KNOW NOTHING about the pro's and con's and applications of these "options".

I live in north Texas and put 5,000 miles on my truck a year. 1/2 of those are what I would consider loaded or pulling something heavy. Do I really need to spend twice as much on the synthetic oil?

Also, manual says stuff like "Mopar engine oil filter or equivalent". I type that stuff in and it comes back with all sorts of different sized filters in various price ranges. When I try to use their make/model finder tools, most of them don't recognize anything over a 4500 even if they carry it.

I'm lost!! (Stop laughing.) Can someone point me in the right direction? Recommend brands? What to invest more on and what I can save on? Is there an app for this? My other diesels have 2 fuel filters... the truck only has one right? Am I reading correctly that it has a self cleaning type air filter? Or do I need to buy one of those too like in my skid? Any other tips, tricks or helpful information you'd like to share for a first timer? Again, I've managed to do the maintenance on my skid, tractor, gator with very minimal help from the men folk so I'm not completely inept.

Thanks guys!

 

[Deere Dude]

Probably not much help here, but I would go t NAPA and get the filters and Rotella T 15w40 for diesels. They are usually pretty knowledgeable. That has been around a lonnng time and I still use that on all my diesels. Check the owners manual for sure.

Fuel filters are important to change possibly at every other engine oil change.

Don't forget to grease steering joints and things if called for.

That's what I would do.

 

[flyerdan]

Lots of factors involved in the synth. vs. dino debate, if you change oil on a time base as well as miles, synth is probably an unnecessary expense. If you go by oil condition, and aren't routinely operating in dust storms it might be worth it, if it doesn't eat much between changes.
As for finding components, if you can find a part number on a filter, it can be searched by that rather than by application. A quick search on Rock Auto only shows Dodge 4500 to 2010, if it has the 6.7 L6 diesel engine it should be useful for getting you valid filter info to cross to other brands. The air filter may be different as they frequently change the housings to make things fit for model year changes. Service places love to max out "the book recommends..."procedures as that's the icing on the cake.

 

[Redlands Okie]

NAPA or similar type store and try to get a feel on the desk clerk that seems to know their stuff. Might call or ask around at a few mechanics or such on who their go to guy is at the store of your choice. Model and year, engine size, tranny type, motor type, 2 or 4 wheel and cap size etc and if needed perhaps a VIN number and your good to go. Fleet guard, nappa gold filters etc are usually in the buy a good brand name and your ok deal.

P.S. I recently learned that standard fuel filters often let 10 micron and smaller particles thru on the diesel. My injectors on 2006 Cummings are about 4 microns. So swapped to a better filter after changing out the injectors. Or so i am told..........
Some oil filters have a bypass safety feature in case they clog up.



Once you get thru this maintence stuff a couple of times the stress should ease off and hopefully you will consider it as just another chore.

One would hope to assume that all this maintence hassle on the truck is way less of a problem than the maintence hassle on the ex.............

 

[piaffepony]

NAPA or similar type store and try to get a feel on the desk clerk that seems to know their stuff. Might call or ask around at a few mechanics or such on who their go to guy is at the store of your choice. Model and year, engine size, tranny type, motor type, 2 or 4 wheel and cap size etc and if needed perhaps a VIN number and your good to go. Fleet guard, nappa gold filters etc are usually in the buy a good brand name and your ok deal.

P.S. I recently learned that standard fuel filters often let 10 micron and smaller particles thru on the diesel. My injectors on 2006 Cummings are about 4 microns. So swapped to a better filter after changing out the injectors. Or so i am told..........
Some oil filters have a bypass safety feature in case they clog up.



Once you get thru this maintence stuff a couple of times the stress should ease off and hopefully you will consider it as just another chore.

One would hope to assume that all this maintence hassle on the truck is way less of a problem than the maintence hassle on the ex.............

I guess I'm just leery of sales people... especially in an industry where men are notorious for taking advantage of women that don't know a whole lot. Typically before I get the answers I'm looking for, I get the whole "what's a girl like you need a truck that big for?" "Why don't you take it to blah blah to get it done?" "Why doesnt your husband do it for you?" ... "Oh your divorced? Would you like some help? I can come out there and take a look at it for you if you'll let me take you out to dinner". It gets old after a while.

I also hate to get the wrong part and have to make 8 trips when the nearest auto supply is 20 min away.

 

[ericm979]

If it's still under warranty then the factory filters are a good idea. I use factory filters for everything now even when out of warranty. I've heard of too many aftermarket filters that collapse inside or have bad threads. The factory stuff is not much more expensive than the aftermarket. Sometimes it's cheaper, especially if you buy on line.

For oil grades most manufacturers state both the weight (i.e. 15w-40) and grade (i.e. API CJ-4) required. The API value says how "good" the oil is, for a whole pile of different criteria. Generally a higher grade oil works satisfies requirements for the lower grades. If the manufacturer doesn't show the API grade in the owner's manual I look up the oil they recommend and find its API grade, then buy a good brand name oil that meets it.

My wife knows a good amount about cars and used to work on motorcycles and runs into the same problems you do. She does ok at shops that we know and trust (some of whom don't know we're married as we use different last names).

 

[dstig1]

So what's a girl like you need a truck that big for anyways? :laughing: Just kidding...

When dealing with a new vehicle in my fleet, I typically do a search on the model and add the word Forum to it. That will most often find you the top forums for a given vehicle make or model. Those are the best sources for info. Given that this is a large truck, it will probably be part of a more general one - I would assume there is a "dodge truck" forum similar to the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forum. They should have a sub-section for the larger trucks. Plus a lot of times the engines are the same in the more common 3/4-1-ton trucks anyways, so what works on them is likely the same. First time around, double check what you got visually vs the part on the truck before tearing it apart to make sure they look the same, just to be safe.

 

[kf4uda]

Take a look at RockAuto . You dont have to deal with sales people, just navigate through a fairly simple menu and pick out your own parts. I order from them some and have always been satisfied with their website and prompt shipping. Just FYI, the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask

2012 RAM 4500 6.7L L6 DIESEL Turbocharged Oil Filter | RockAuto


Another tip, you can find a "how to" video for almost anything you want to do on youtube.

 

[WM75Guy]

I use OEM parts on my 2 GMCs. When comparison shopping for things like air filters I have found the dealer price to sometimes be cheaper than any of the auto part stores in town or Amazon. They also pull up my vehicle by VIN so I always get the right part. They will also price match on some things like tires. They also do my service.

I even buy AC Delco batteries for my tractors from them. Better warranty and not much more than a New Holland battery plus I don't have to drive 100 miles round trip to the New Holland dealer.

 

[Stimw]

As stated, Shell Rotella 15-40 is very good oil for diesels. Just check the trash cans at most truck stops for the empty's!
And priced great at Walmart.
Worked on, drove semi's for over 30 years and never used synthetic oil.
NAPA is also a good suggestion and if you have a business then set up a business account for better discounts. Ask for them too.