My first oil change

[kc_4_jc]

Up until now, I have taken my 97 BB TC2000 to a heavy truck shop for service. I am very mechanically inclined, I just haven't had the time to tackle this myself yet. Until now. Any words of advice, or other things I should service during my oil change? TIA!

[Hvbuzz]

Make sure you have a big catch container I was expecting mine to be like about 5 gallons, but if I remember right, it was closer to 7. Lucky I had another container not two far away empty, and didn't let the plug fall to the bottom of the catch container.

[wmkbailey]

Looking at the maintenance records for my bus. In March they did an oil change and it took 32 quarts, or 8 gallons. That is a lot of oil.

[roach711]

If your oil filters are anything like mine, they're big honkin' things and quite hot and heavy when full of oil. I first make sure I can turn the filter (sometimes they're almost welded on) then I snug it back up and use an ice pick and hammer to puncture the bottom of the filter. Once all the oil has drained out the filter is much cooler and lighter and ready for the trash.

I put a Fumoto Oil Drain Valve on mine. I put an empty milk jug under the valve, open the valve and fill the jug directly. It's really convenient, especially since mine holds 15 quarts and my drain pans only hold 5.

Since you're under there already, that's a good time to lube up the front end if it's been a while.

Other stuff to look for: Brake, trans and oil leaks; uneven tire wear, rusty oil & trans pans or a raccoon hiding up on the rear axle.

[opus]

Go here: http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ Ask them to send you a sample bottle and send them an oil sample. For $25 you will save your self a lot of wondering what the engine is like.

[bapos]

I would make sure you wear old clothes. Nothing like oil running down your arm on to a shirt that is not a "working on car shirt?" I would also wear either an old pair of gloves or even a set of nitrile gloves? It helps from getting your hands super dirty. If your filter screws in vertically .... you may want to prefill it either half way full or part of the way. It just helps with dry starts. If its horizontally then don't worry about it. Its more of a pain in the azz than its worth. I would also look for leaks... they are not hard to find cause they are black and will be coated with dirt.

Its not hard. As others said MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BIG ENOUGH CONTAINER TO CATCH THE OIL. There is nothing worse than about to run over and nothing else to put it in to.


You can do it. Nothing major.

[bansil]

Listen to the warnings!

It really does suck when your under there smiling at the fruits of you labor...then you realize...crap!! It ain't goning to fit!!
Okay; first panic!

Then cover hole with finger,thumb or hand (do NOT stick you finger IN the hole...you are not tom thumb)

At this point you yelling and hitting things to get someones attention.....alas:

You are alone!

You look around and spy a vessel for the buses life blood!!

Sweet that's cool.....

I can guarantee this:

You can not roll out, retrieve said vessel....(some people call it a taco)
Roll back under and not make a mess....


Make sure you can cantain 20 qts+ of liquid....

Oh!....have fun and get someone other than you to take funny pictures!

Good luck

[ol trunt]

I don't envy you changing the oil--but you're probably better at it than me and won't have a mess. What oil brand/type do you plan to use to refill?

[roach711]

Check out the Fumoto drain valves. No more dropped drain plugs, no need to steal the neighbor's kiddy pool to get enough drain pan capacity and you can drain into gallon milk jugs one gallon at a time. Much cleaner and no oil slopping out of the pan when you pull it out from under the bus. The only negative is that it replaces my stock magnetic drain plug.

http://www.qwikvalve.com/?gclid=CJDC8LX ... MgodyiIAug

[Jarlaxle]

It's a 5.9 Cummins, so it probably uses about 4 gallons of oil. (My buddy's Bird has the same motor & uses 16 quarts.) It should use a standard oil filter...looking up a same-year diesel Ram should get you the right one. Oil will be 15W-40, whatever you can get the cheapest will work.

[superduty_59]

[quote="bapos"]If your filter screws in vertically .... you may want to prefill it either half way full or part of the way. It just helps with dry starts. If its horizontally then don't worry about it. quote]
I know a few people who pre fill their filters but we learned in school to never pre fill filters. You never want to send un filtered oil through your engine.

[bapos]

Not sure how sending brand new oil out of a bottle through a system would be a bad thing? Last time I checked pumping an oil pump dry is not good either? Some oil filters hold a lot of oil. My 366 gasser has a 2 quarts of oil and it vertical so it makes sense to me to prefill it?

[opus]

If its vertical, I would pre-fill it.

[shewhispered]

How often would you recommend changing the oil on a diesel bus engine?

[CaptSquid]

Ask the local dealer for your make of engine.

[chev49]

mileage between changes is determined mostly by the mileage interval. second, some go by testing... for example, i normally go one yr before changing fluids as i dont drove more than 4k miles in that time. On the other hand, my dad always changed all the otr trucks on weekly basis but of course he sold oil so always had 100 bbls of it for sale...

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Jarlaxle

It's a 5.9 Cummins, so it probably uses about 4 gallons of oil. (My buddy's Bird has the same motor & uses 16 quarts.) It should use a standard oil filter...looking up a same-year diesel Ram should get you the right one. Oil will be 15W-40, whatever you can get the cheapest will work.

I would go to Cummins Quickserve and look up how much oil and what filter Cummins recommends. It can vary between light duty and medium duty applications.

As for oil, I would suggest that the "cheapest" is not allways the best. I would suggest looking for the best buy on a name brand oil that meets Cummins spec. I am currently running Rotella in my 5.9. Walmart sells 5 gallon pails for $64.

[cadillackid]

I run rotella T and do 6000 mile drains with a 3000 mile filter change..
Navistar says 6000 miles for both oil and filter on standard oil...

I havent hit a tims constraint as I drive the busses quite a bit.
-Christopher

[Marceps]

Originally Posted by roach711

Check out the Fumoto drain valves.

It took a while, but allow me to be the first to show appreciation for sharing this wonderful-looking product. I wouldn't be able to justify the purchase for smaller vehicles, but for buses with oil pans holding in the upwards of 28 L, being able to drain one gallon at a time will be a godsend.

[shewhispered]

This is SUCH a great community. Thanks for following up!