I need help...
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Joined: Oct 2004
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I need help...
I have a 1999 SuperDuty 4x4 diesel 7.3L. I ahve neve changed the oil in it because I just bought it and this is my first experience with diesel motors. What type of oil and how much shoud I use? Is there a difference in gas engine oil and diesel engine oil? Any advice on this would be appreciated.
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Dustin
Thanks
Dustin
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Joined: Oct 2004
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From: FL
yea 15w-40 should be good to about 0 degrees F.... after that u might want to run something thinner.... as for oil type... like mech said rotella is good.... i've hade excelent experecne with amsoil... thats a little precey... and good old pensoil is not too bad if your on a budget.... make sure you prefill the filter 2... always a good idea!
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From: IOWA
One trick I like to do is to punch a hole in the bottom of the oil filter before I take it off. I'll loosen it a little bit to let it breath, and then take a punch and puncture a hole to let all the oil in the filter drain out, instead of trying to twist it off with oil spilling over and getting slippery and then dumping it all over yourself, sadly I speak from experience about that. 
And with that big of filter that is a lot of oil! I know other guys do this, I've done it a couple times, take an old plastic sack or ziplock bag and use that when removing the filter, so if some does spill, it'll get caught by the bag, and it helps to keep your hands a little cleaner as well. 15 qts should put you right at the full line on the dipstick, that is if you don't prefill your oil filter. I don't prefill my filter, but when I start it up, I make sure there's oil pressure, usually takes a couple seconds and then the needle finally jumps up.
Good luck!
And with that big of filter that is a lot of oil! I know other guys do this, I've done it a couple times, take an old plastic sack or ziplock bag and use that when removing the filter, so if some does spill, it'll get caught by the bag, and it helps to keep your hands a little cleaner as well. 15 qts should put you right at the full line on the dipstick, that is if you don't prefill your oil filter. I don't prefill my filter, but when I start it up, I make sure there's oil pressure, usually takes a couple seconds and then the needle finally jumps up.Good luck!
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Palm Bay fl
THat big old filter gets heavy when its got 2 or 3 quarts of oil in it so it a good idea to punch a hole I use a 10 penny nail and let fall in the drain pan. I live Florida and use 15w40 year round amd I just dump all four gallons init u will need the extra quart and a pan as big as these are one more quart isn't going to cause any problem. An International tech said he dose it to all the trucks he works on
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Utah County, UT
I use a 5 gallon buck to catch everything, then put the lid on it once all the oil is out as not to spill it sliding it back out of underneath the truck. I too punch a hole in the filter, a #1 screw driver works well too. I drain the pan first, then slide the bucket over to the filter, punch the filter then let it drain the filter for about 25 minutes or so. Word of advice if you are doing this outside, the wind will blow the oil that is draining from the filter all over the place, that really sucks.
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From: Western NC
You can get a FL-1995 oil filter at Wal-Mart for about $10. You can get the Rotella 15w-40 oil there too, or you can get the oil in cases of 6 1-gallon jugs at Sam's Club pretty cheap. Sam's Club even has that same oil in a 55-gallon drum, if you wanted to go that route. You can buy oil/fuel/air filters online at shopdiesel.com at a good price. There are several oil brands in the regular dino oil, and several more synthetic oils that you might consider. Do some research before you decide. There is enough info posted on these forums to read to last you until Christmas year-after-next. If I were you, I would be curious as to what kind of oil was used in the truck before you became the owner. If it was good stuff, you might want to keep using the same thing. Also, you didn't mention anything about those other filters, but don't forget to service the fuelfilter and the air filter at the recommended intervals.........
Last edited by RedTaurus94; Nov 7, 2004 at 01:41 PM.
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From: Washington, Kansas
I buy ithe rotella t at sam's in the 55 gallon drum because I've got 3 other trucks that run that oil but I've since switched my powerstroke over to the synthetic rotella t 5-40 and I think that I will run it year round. The synthetic is a bit more pricey though at $13.00 a gallon so it what ever you prefer.
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From: Cincinnati, Ohio
The three most used brands of regular oil are Chevron Delo400, Mobil Delvac 1300 and Shell Rotella T. All are available in 15W-40. There probably is not a penny's difference between them as far as quality goes, I have slightly better luck with the Delo400 but the company I supervise for (in the maintenance shop) uses the Mobil Delvac 1300 in our fleet of 1000+ company owned tractors. The Chevron Delo400 and, I believe, the Shell Rotella are available at Wal-Mart. I have no problem with any of these. I change the oil regularly and do not see a need for synthetic in the crankcase in my situation.
Punching a hole in the filter to drain before removal is a very good idea. Do not forget to full the new filter to about an inch from the top (it will take a few times to do it, you will see what I mean) before you put it on the engine. This will keep the oil pump from having to fill the filter before it lubricates your engine.
I use a five gallon drain pan to catch mine and dispose of the oil at my local Advance Auto Parts (they take it for free).
Dave / Believer45
Punching a hole in the filter to drain before removal is a very good idea. Do not forget to full the new filter to about an inch from the top (it will take a few times to do it, you will see what I mean) before you put it on the engine. This will keep the oil pump from having to fill the filter before it lubricates your engine.
I use a five gallon drain pan to catch mine and dispose of the oil at my local Advance Auto Parts (they take it for free).
Dave / Believer45
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Joined: Apr 2001
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From: Northern Tip of VA
I like the Rotella 5w40 Synthetic. It will cost you more, but I offset the cost by running my oil 10,000 miles with a filter change at 5,000. I sent the 10,000 mile oil off for a oil analysis and the report came back fine (Within the universal averages and the total base number was still good also). The main reason that I tried the synthetic, was to see if it helped my cold weather starting, and it did. There are some good tips already posted here for you that I use also. My '02 takes 15 qts. including the two in the filter. Good Luck with your 'Stroker. 
Last edited by slpj; Nov 7, 2004 at 03:20 PM.