Since I have now purchased my first diesel truck, (2005 Dodge Cummins) I have been trying to increase my knowledge on them. I have been reading about the Amsoil bypass filter and although I don't dis-believe the numbers I am not sure I buy it. Has anyone had any experience they can pass on to me in this regard? Please enlighten me.

No experience with this but I say, leave it stock. I've never had a problem with the last 5 diesels and they were stock. Rotella 15-40w every 5000 miles and change the fuel filters frequently (twice a year). No chips, no programmers = no problems; Fords or Dodges (never owned a Chevy diesel).

I too am a Cummins owner and I have done a bit of reading on the Cummins forum about the bypass kits.
There are guys doing oil analysis at certain intervals and seem to be going 10k to 15k miles between oil changes. Even some of those are just changing the filters and going even longer between a complete oil change. So depending on your driving habits and type of oil you are using it definetly would pay off.

I have 3 places I go on the internet. Here,ATVUtah and dieseltruckresource.com. There area a few good Dodge/Cummins sites but I prefure the one above. The other good one is TurboDieselRegister.com but they charge a fee to join.

I am on my 3rd Cummins and love them so far.

http://dieseltruckresource.com/

IMO, don't waste your money on a bypass system unless you do a lot of over-the-road driving. I had the FS2500 system on my 02 Ram & it seemed like more trouble than it was worth to have to change the filters so often. If you are dead set on getting a system, the Amsoil system & its filters are much cheaper & probably do just as good.

Forgot to mention, I'm also running the Amsoil & filters through the entire truck. It runs almost quieter than it was new w/ the Amsoil in it. I started w/ the Rotella Synthetic, then the Mobil Synthetic, & overall am most impressed w/ the Amsoil. I use it in the differentials also & it doesn't seem to turn dark near as fast as whatever Dodge puts in there.

IMHO, like said unless you run beaucoo miles don't fret. My old cummins, every 5k change oil and filter, right now am setting at 344k.

Not to discourage hop-up, modifications and improvement . . . I've followed the, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" credo with my '01 D2500 HD 6-speed . . . with a swivel-arm filter wrench, and an over-the-counter filter every now and then, it just keeps on keepin' on . . . independent garage where I trade has maintenance contracts with fleets of busses with the same engine; mechanics say it's a long service-life engine, if you change the oil . . . said oil being Rotella-T, for me, most usually.

Techniques may vary, but . . . I fill up the new filter with oil before I screw it in, eliminating or at least minimizing any engine operation without pressurized lubrication . . .

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=192720

Just wondering; anyone ever performed an economic analysis; e.g., the cost of petroleum oil chages and filters over 100,000 miles, vs. the cost of the trick filter system, any special oils and filters, oil analyses, etc.?

Just a fundamental question; what does an oil analysis cost?

How widespread are bypass filter systems in the transportation industry? Racing?

Any comparison with stock-filtered and bypass-filtered oil, at the same mileage and service?

Would these systems work as well on gasoline engines as on Diesels?

Not knocking nor nay-saying; just . . . inquiring minds want to know!

I am about to pull the trigger on an Amsoil system. Just waiting for quotes. It looks to me like in the long run it will be cheaper even with changing more expensive filters and doing a regular, documented oil analysis. I realize some of the internet stuff I have read may be just hype, but the percentages of believers is way up there that say they it works. Also, if you can again believe the internet hype, lots of big rigs are using this type of filtration.

I don't think I would try it on dino oil - I will only use synthetic.

Maybe this info's on the web, but . . . what does an oil analysis cost?

Is the main advantage of the bypass filter lower overall costs (compared to petroleum-based oil and over-the-counter filter changes), or longer engine life, or "other?" (Seems like the engine service life's pretty long anyhow.)

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HEY!!!!!!!! Where's an Amsoil distributor, when you NEED one!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tree Farmer,

I see some oil analysis on the net for as low as $22.50. Wear in an engine comes from contamination, and a bypass filter will filter down to 1 or 2 microns as opposed to a normal filter being around 7 microns. As I see it, costs are lower, engine life is longer and less oil is ultimately recycled saving the environment. (One commercial driver is bragging over a million miles on his big rig.)

Not entirely sure about the "costs are lower" claim, without comparative data; or how many miles you'll have to drive to break even (i.e., cost of setup, filters, analyses and special oil, vs. plain ol' oil and filters), but--a good deal's a state of mind; the bypass filter may offer this notion.

Don't see where any harm's possible, and the satisfaction in pride of ownership and accomplishment seems at hand.

Best wishes on your bypass filter, deolman!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tree Farmer,

Ive thought abought them but the simple fact of the matter is thatfor me it would never pay out. These Cummins will and have run 3-4-500,000 miles on regular dino oil and normal filters so doing it to extend engine life is not a valid reason. The only justification for it is if you are gona put hundreds of thousands of miles on it while you own it. Even then at 22.50 for an oil analisis that is 2/3 of what a oil change costs me. IF ya are dead set on it, go for it but that Cummins will never even think of giving you fits because of using regualr oil in it durring your life time.

I agree. I know a guy here who got over 800,000 miles out of his Cummins. If you want to spend some money to get more durability out of your engine, fix the Killer Dowel Pin, if it pertains to your truck. Mine was about 1/8 of the way out (when it falls out it can fall on the cam gear, and do a LOT of damage) at 70,000 miles.

True-one must do what is right for them. My Cummins is closing in on 350k, has been an outstanding machine. I owned a 94 6.5 Chevy that was a absolute piece of trash. It cost me much diniro. Two sons has a Duramax, one has a Cummins, the ranch owns a Powerstroke, seems like the Cummins are the most troublefree, engine wise anyway. If hauling lots of stuff, and enjoying not filling up all the time, the diesel will get you down the road a lot farther at the end of the day.

quote:

Originally posted by Deolman:
Since I have now purchased my first diesel truck, (2005 Dodge Cummins) I have been trying to increase my knowledge on them. I have been reading about the Amsoil bypass filter and although I don't dis-believe the numbers I am not sure I buy it. Has anyone had any experience they can pass on to me in this regard? Please enlighten me.

Doesn't Cummins recomend 7500 severe use oil changes and 15,000 light use? Just a waste of oil to change less than 10,000 or so. Several test show the cheapest oil can easily go over 10k.
Amsoil has 25,000 oil and filter changes or once a year. If you drive 25k or more do the Amsoil if less than that just do the dino at 10k-15k.
I know a couple trucks with the bypass set-up and they run 10k and change the filter and add 1 qt. they have over 50k on the oil and still tests great.
Yes you can save some time/$$$ in the long run.

Amsoil for 50k is 2 x $125 = $250 100k = $500 200k = $1000
Dino for 50k 5 x $50 = $250 100k = $500 200k = $1000
Bypass for 50k = $400 100k = $550 200k = $700 if you never have to do a complete change

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RickCJ7,

I have always tested my oil with Blackstone Labs. On my 05 F250 with the six leaker engine. It is known to shear oil down. It starts to idle or run funny. Blackstone has shown my oil starts degrading significantly around 6500-7K miles. I am running synthetic Rotella for the first time now and will check the wear and viscosity at 6K and every K after that.

Thanks to

quote:

RickCJ7

for doing the math.

I have the Amsoil dual bypass filter setup on my 1999 Dodge Ram (see details in the hyperlink in my signature). The most I have run so far was over 50K miles on one oil change. It was so black, I put fresh oil in and sent in the dirty stuff for analysis anyhow. The report came back: high soot level, change the filters, oil is good for continued use. LOL

I cleaned the IAT sensor and it quit making so much soot. I *probably could* be still using the same oil.

Sure, a lot of diesels (and gassers) have lasted a LONG time with dino oil and short oil change intervals; but even a 3000 mile oil change isn't going to scream at you if you have a leaky injector or internal coolant leak (aka blown headgasket or cracked head). Oil analysis DOES check for fuel, antifreeze and other contaminants in the oil.

I don't mind sliding under the truck once-a-year to change 2 filters and pull an oil sample.

Regardless of the fact that over the long run, the synthetic saves a little $ compared to frequent oil & filter changes with dino oil - I like that fact that the combination of synthetic oil, bypass filter and long intervals is environmentally friendly (less waste oil to dispose of), I spend less time doing oil changes, and the best part: Amsoil is MADE IN AMERICA. That alone is good enough for me!



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P.S.: Amsoil has a program where you can sign up as a "Preferred Customer" and buy their products at dealer-cost.