oil change how often?

[cadillackid]

I got my bus 2 and a half months ago and ive driven it 3600 miles.. (yes I got it to drive...).

my oil was freash on purchase and ive noticed it is getting darker blackish on the stick now.. should I change it?

it is standard 15W40 Rotella T oil... im not running synthetic..

how often do you guys change the oil? my driving has been 30% in town and 70% on the highway,... or maybe 80/20 highway / city..

I dont have an hour meter so I dont keep track of its hours in use.. I have let it idle a little when ive stopped.. maybe 30-40 minutes a couple times..

-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Just make sure its topped off, the factory recommended interval is 6000 miles, iirc.
Can't tell much by color. If you're really concerned you can send in a sample to a lab.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Just make sure its topped off, the factory recommended interval is 6000 miles, iirc.
Can't tell much by color. If you're really concerned you can send in a sample to a lab.

I check it pretty much every fuel stop... sometimes after SHORT trips i have a few drops on the ground.. never really bothered to find where it comes from.. rear and front seals it looks like,, doesnt go down much.. old bus uses less oil than my brand new Jeep wrangler did.... ive added 2 quarts since I got it and its at or slightly above the full line..

I should send a sample to blackstone just to get an idea where I stand with the engine internally when it comes to metal parts wearing off...

to me every diesel engine sounds loud rattely and ready to fly apart in a zillion pieces.. .. then again its likely my background in hydraulic drivetrains that I was meticulous about making run perfectly quiet..

I suppose wit hsolid diesel lifters I should be pulling the valve cover and adjusting the tappets or at least putting a feeler gauge under each one to check??

-Christopher

[cadillackid]

so i changed the oil and filters yesterday just because.. well i did..

yeah thats something I think I'll never do again.. I thought it would be super easy on a school bus... I mean yes its nice that i could fit a 5 gallon bucket under the pan but the filters .. righjt abopve the exhaust pipe.. and I swear must have drained 3 quarts into my secondary pan by way of the exhaust pipe running all over asnd down and around...

I filled up the 2 filters with oil and then the bus but then had an oil pan and a 5 gallon bucket full of oil i had to transport to the recycling center..

but alas at least the bus has nice fresh oil in it... ready for the next road trip..

-CHristopher

[gbstewart]

I change my oil and filter, as well as my fuel filter and grease, every spring time, regardless of mileage , if by some chance a I go over 8000kms during the year, I will change it again, cost me around $100. a pop, but I think its worth it, my t444e is easy to change,
gbstewart

[cadillackid]

it cost me about $100 also... I have no idea what a truck shop would charge to change the oil... I had the chassis lubed when I got the bus in may... ive run about 3700 miles on it... I changed it because the oil looked black as yuck... but I guess diesels blacken the oil quicker than gassers so i may not have needed to change it...

the biggest issue I had was the the filters are directly above the exhaust pipe so it got really messy getting the filters out.. a tleast they are easily accessible as far as a filter wrench so it was easy to loosen them and they had been installed correctly so werent over-tight...

just messy..

-Christopher

[gbstewart]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

it cost me about $100 also... I have no idea what a truck shop would charge to change the oil... I had the chassis lubed when I got the bus in may... ive run about 3700 miles on it... I changed it because the oil looked black as yuck... but I guess diesels blacken the oil quicker than gassers so i may not have needed to change it...

the biggest issue I had was the the filters are directly above the exhaust pipe so it got really messy getting the filters out.. a tleast they are easily accessible as far as a filter wrench so it was easy to loosen them and they had been installed correctly so werent over-tight...

just messy..

-Christopher

if you can punch a hole in the filter to drain off some oil, it would help with the mess, my filter is easy to get at, but because it holds so much oil, and is heavy, I knock a hole in the bottom to drain it, much cleaner.
gbstewart

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by gbstewart

if you can punch a hole in the filter to drain off some oil, it would help with the mess, my filter is easy to get at, but because it holds so much oil, and is heavy, I knock a hole in the bottom to drain it, much cleaner.
gbstewart

on the first filter i did that... of course it still all ran onto the exhaust pipe where it travels and drips all alont the way..

if I do this again I'll hold a funnel up to the filter when I knock a hole into it so I can direct the oil away from the pipe and into the bucket..

I guess the good thing is it takes me a few months to run 6000 miles in my bus so im good for awhile... lol at least till late fall when I'll change it before winter..

-Christopher

[family wagon]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I changed it because the oil looked black as yuck... but I guess diesels blacken the oil quicker than gassers so i may not have needed to change it...

I had always assumed this is just the way it is.. when I bought a pickup years ago with a 24 V Cummins in it, I soon discovered that the oil didn't stay amber after an oil change for more than a few hundred miles. Maybe.

[Carytowncat]

I adore that Rotella oil. Has Zinc for diesel motors and i think it seals rings and gaskets because the GMC truck is slowly leaking less and less oil since i started using it. Use it in my motorcycles, truck, bus, oil chains with it, put it on rice cakes as snacks, fry scones in it, etc.

[plfking]

Originally Posted by Carytowncat

...oil chains with it, put it on rice cakes as snacks, fry scones in it, etc.

Nice.

[superdave]

all engines are different, send your oil in to be tested. they will tell you how much life your oil has in it if any witch will tell you how often you should change it. and they tell ya if there are any problems with the motor.
Blackstone Labs

[rjnye79]

Those of you with the International t444e...

What type of oil/filter is preferred?

Changing requires 18 quarts of oil, correct?



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[cadillackid]

I use the NAPA filters on my 444E and Rotella T standard 15W40 oil...

mine uses just about 20 quarts. that includes the oil going into the filters..
I believe the recommended interval is 350 engine hours or 8000 miles whichever comes first.. I go 6000 (i'll never come close to the hours as I run the busses up and down the highway lots)..

always pre-fill your oil filters so you dont risk running the HPOP dry and stalling the engine when changing oil in a 444E.


-Christopher

[rjnye79]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I use the NAPA filters on my 444E and Rotella T standard 15W40 oil...

mine uses just about 20 quarts. that includes the oil going into the filters..
I believe the recommended interval is 350 engine hours or 8000 miles whichever comes first.. I go 6000 (i'll never come close to the hours as I run the busses up and down the highway lots)..

always pre-fill your oil filters so you dont risk running the HPOP dry and stalling the engine when changing oil in a 444E.


-Christopher

Thanks, that's helpful. I've heard that synthetic oil is preferred? Maybe that's just for stop/go drivers...

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[Booyah45828]

Synthetic is a better oil. It's necessity depends on vehicle usage more then anything. I use conventional rotella because I don't drive the bus enough to warrant using synthetic.

Sending your oil in to be tested is good advise as well.

I don't prefill filters, and unless you do it correctly, I don't recommend it. Especially concerning fuel filters. A lot of oems actually recommend against it.

I've never had an hpop run dry because of changing oil filters. As a matter of fact, the oil filter on the 6.0 ford can't be prefilled.

[rjnye79]

Does anyone know the size of that drainage bolt in the oil pan? I'm having trouble with Google searches.

[MambaJack]

Originally Posted by gbstewart

I change my oil and filter, as well as my fuel filter and grease, every spring time, regardless of mileage , if by some chance a I go over 8000kms during the year, I will change it again, cost me around $100. a pop, but I think its worth it, my t444e is easy to change,
gbstewart

Need to change the filters and oil on my DT466e, where is a good spot to order filters? No napa close to me.
Thanks,
dave

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by MambaJack

Need to change the filters and oil on my DT466e, where is a good spot to order filters? No napa close to me.
Thanks,
dave

I have better luck at Oreilly's. Our local Napa are just hateful and rude.

[MambaJack]

Thanks
What's the best way to find the part numbers I need for a 97. Last time I was there. They didnt have my bus in their options and couldn't look it up.