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Diesel Oil Change DIY - A Few Lessons Learned

33K views 45 replies 24 participants last post by  saxdogg 
#1 ·
I just wanted to pass on a few lessons learned on my first oil change for the diesel. I'm not detailing a step by step oil change, just those "gotchas" specific to the diesel.

I purchased the Pennzoil Ultra Euro L 5w-30 as detailed in the manual. You can get a 6 pack of it on Amazon for $7.93 per quart. For the first change you'll have to buy two unless you want to pay the $11.92 per quart for the individual. Once you have the extras you will only need to buy one case for the next change.
I bought the filter on ebay for $39.95 shipped. This was the cheapest I could find it. That puts the DIY oil change at $103. I think this is about as cheap as you can do it give or take a few bucks.

I was able to crawl under the Jeep with the suspension in the Off-Road 2 setting. It isn't a ton of room, but enough. I also placed some jack stands under the front for safety. It isn't supposed to drop, but if you want to trust your skull to a Jeep computer go ahead.
The drain plug underneath is easy to access as there is a cut-out in the under-tray. Use a 13mm socket to loosen and drain the oil.
Be sure to clean the gasket on the drain plug, mine had some gunk on it:



Once under the hood you'll need to remove some engine parts to get to the filter.
Remove the engine cover by pulling straight up on it:



Then loosen the hose clamp on the intake by the cowl area and unclip the airbox clamps. You can then swing the airbox up and out of the way. I left it attached since the MAF wire has a troublesome little plastic clip on it.



There is a vacuum hose also running directly over the top of the oil filter. You can unclip it by squeezing the connector top and bottom and disconnect it. Then swing it up and out of the way. Connection is at the tip of my screwdriver below:



Use an oil filter socket (or a 1-1/16in socket fit fine) to remove the oil filter canister cap. You will tilt it to the side just a bit and hear the vacuum pressure release. Have a plastic bag handy to drop it into so oil doesn't drip everywhere.



Now here is the biggest lesson I wanted to pass on. There will be a few ounces of oil left in the filter canister. If you drop the new filter and cap back on it is going to overflow as it pushes down. This would have been a huge mess. I used a 60cc syringe to remove the remaining oil.



You will have to pull on the actual filter pretty hard to get it out of the cap. The base of it snaps in. When you put the new one in, be sure it clicks into place. Make sure your new filter comes with a new o-ring (this could be an issue once aftermarket companies start producing them. The Mopar comes with one). Remove the old one from the cap, lubricate the new one with oil and replace. Lubricate the small o-ring on the end of the filter as well.

The new filter and o-ring as it comes out of the box:


Do not over tighten the filter cap since it is plastic. It only takes 25nm.

When I refill an engine with oil I always put in one less unit than the capacity. In this case the capacity is 8 quarts, so I put in 7. I then run the engine at idle for a few minutes to circulate the oil. I shut down and allow the oil to flow down. After a few minutes I will slowly add the last quart of oil checking the dipstick after every 1/4 quart (you'll have to wait a few minutes for the oil to flow down). This is important so you don't overfill, and it was evident with this engine since I only added 7.5 quarts of new oil. Had I just dumped in the whole 8 I would be over capacity. It only takes a few extra minutes to do correctly.

Good Luck.
 
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#8 ·
I have the Diesel in my 14' JGC, and took it in for an oil change about a week ago at the local dealer in the Northern burbs of Atlanta. I didn't pay anything for it (the first few are free), but the price sheet for oil changes said $115.00 for oil change and 21 point inspection for Grand Cherokee Diesels. I saw them headed from the parts dept to my Jeep with a box of the correct oil (they didn't use bulk oil). They forgot to reset the oil change indicator, but everything else was ok.
If you have someone else other than the dealer do the oil change, Fiat Chrysler is VERY specific about the oil to be used in the 3.0L V6. It's either the Pennzoil Ultra Euro L 5W30 or Mobil 1 5W30 (a specific one but I don't recall it off the top of my head). If you use the wrong one, you're f'd.
 
#9 ·
That doesn't look fun. How often are these changes? I also don't agree with the 2nd guessing on the "amount" to put in. If the manual states 8 qts, use 8 qts. Your filling procedure is way too tedious, and there's no point. I've owned >25 vehicles, have always followed the manual, and have never had issues of over/under filling.
 
#15 ·
#18 ·
Great info......

My jeep dealer offers free oil changes on every gas engine (not Diesels). They charge me for the oil filters on the other 2 jeeps i have (about $12) so I am happy to have them do it for $12 as I cant buy the oil/filter for that. I went in to have the Diesel changed and I brought him the Oil and the filter I bought on Amazon. They did the entire change for free!!!!

he told me no big deal, you have the extended service plan and have 2 others...we'll do it for you at no charge...just bring in the oil and filter.

Bottom line....Its all negotiable. Its just good customer service.

N
 
#19 ·
If I can help it, no dealer is going to touch my vehicle again.
I learned my lesson on my previous vehicle (VW Golf TDI.) The dealers totally messed that car up.

I am a bit OCD, so I know if I do it, the job will get done correctly. (Fluid levels, bolts torqued correctly, etc.) I was lured in by VW's promise of "free maintenance." Never again!
 
#20 ·
I just got off the phone with a Jeep Dealer in Plattsburgh NY, and they are charging $99.95 for the oil change on the ECO DIESEL... Is this for real? Have any of you ever gotten such a price? Especially when I see that DIY cost is close to $105....it got me wondering... I used to drive down there to get my GC HEMi's oïl changed for $29.95 which my local Canadian dealer was asking $79.99 for the same job...Now with the Diesel at $99.95, just seriously doubting it...:confused:
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the feedback, I just got off the phone with 3 local dealers here in Canada, they charge from $245 to $260 !!! So, since I live 10mins away from the US boarder, I guess I shall be going back to Plattsburgh for my oiler as well... Shows how we are taxed on gas and oïl up here... :thumbsup:
 
#24 ·
Ultimate Eco-Diesel Oil and Filter Thread

The eco-diesel has been a nightmare when it comes to oil changes. I have spent a good amount of time trying to find the correct oil and filter to avoid the outrageous dealer costs. This has not been easy since it's a European Fiat engine and parts stores (both brick and mortar and online) often don't show that engine in their system or don't show parts as compatible when other sources say it should be. This thread applies to the Dodge RAM Eco-Diesel as well.

After seeing a couple of online references to a change that apparently occurred in July 2016 allowing additional oils to be used besides those that specifically "meet the Chrysler Materials Standard MS-11106 and that are approved to the ACEA C3 standard." as it says in my owners manual, I went looking for proof of this change. So I logged into my account at mopar.com and downloaded the most recent diesel supplement. Sure enough, it now says: "We recommend you use 5w-40 synthetic engine oil such as MOPAR or Shell Rotella that meets FCA Material Standard MS-10902 and the API CJ-4 or ACEA E9/E7 or ACEA A3/B4 engine oil category is required."

Therefore, the following full syn oils are approved for use in the Eco-Diesel:

Pentosin Performance II 5w40
Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme 5w40
Shell Rotella T6 5w40
Penzoil Platinum Euro L 5w30
Mobil 1 5w-30 ESP

Oil Filters:
Mopar 68229402AA $64
WIX WL10060 $23
EcoGard X10232 $11
FRAM CH11794 $7.50 (Appears discontinued)

The best current deal I have found so far: 8 Quarts of Shell Rotella T6 (Walmart) and a WIX filter (Amazon) can be found online for around $55.



Original manual vs. updated diesel supplement.


I would love for someone to explain the difference beween this:


And this:


Good video on how to do the oilchange:
 
#26 ·
The difference in those two Rotella is the second bluer bottle is the new replacement spec. The old one will be phased out and replaced soon. Look up the second on Amazon and you'll see it's "available soon." Either would work for us. Stock up or wait, either way.
 
#30 ·
I prefer to buy the oil change package and not worry about it for another 40k miles. They charge about $410 and it includes four complete oil changes no hassle and it gets me a good price on average. I use several dealers in North Florida.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#31 ·
I prefer to buy the oil change package and not worry about it for another 40k miles. They charge about $410 and it includes four complete oil changes no hassle and it gets me a good price on average. I use several dealers in North Florida.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I did the same thing. When I asked them to rotate the tires on the second oil change they charged me $25.
 
#32 ·
Just changed the oil in my 2016 GC EcoDiesel. The OLM went 9k miles before it said to "change engine oil". I decided to use Schaeffer Supreme 9000 oil and an AFE filter which are made by Donaldson. I figured they have to be better than the Chinese made Mopar filters. Total cost for the oil change... $79
 
#33 ·
My dealer told me that I should replace my fuel filter at 22,000 miles on my 2016 Diesel. He is quoting $230. I can't find that recommendation in any books. I did search the forum for fuel filter but all the articles were from early 2000 models.

Has anyone else heard this recommendation? Is this something that should be done?
 
#35 ·
My dealer told me that I should replace my fuel filter at 22,000 miles on my 2016 Diesel. He is quoting $230. I can't find that recommendation in any books. I did search the forum for fuel filter but all the articles were from early 2000 models.

Has anyone else heard this recommendation? Is this something that should be done?
I have 117k miles on my 2014 and nobody has ever said a word to me about the fuel filter never changed it and I'm running good as new I used to change my oil every 7500 miles but now I change it every 10k always at the dealer. Maybe I could benefit from changing the fuel filter though.
 
#36 ·
I have seen fuel filter change recommendations somewhere, perhaps the diesel supplement. Dunno what new filters cost (there are two), but its about a 15 minute job once its on the rack.

Edit, here's a discussion:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f309/changing-diesel-fuel-filters-complete-unit-4129105/

Looks like filters are suppose to be changed every 30,000 miles, the water drained out every 10,000... water in the diesel fuel at that point is not a good thing.
 
#37 ·
How about re-setting the oil change needed reminder? Apparently, we need to do something manually as my screen continues to say " Oil Change Needed" even after it's all done, so it does not trigger from oil quality obviously, but must be simply a timer on mileage or something.. Have not yet found where to re-set this on the control panel. Anyone?
 
#38 ·
What year? For the 2011 in your sig, you use the three gas pedal push trick. Turn to the run position but don't start slowly push and release the gas pedal three times, turn off. Should reset.

Owners manual has these words about page 268:

To reset the oil change indicator system (after performing the scheduled maintenance) refer to the following procedure.
1. Turn the ignition switch to the ON position (Do not start the engine).
2. Fully depress the accelerator pedal, slowly, three times within 10 seconds.
3. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF/LOCK position.
NOTE: If the indicator message illuminates when you start the vehicle, the oil change indicator system did not reset. If necessary, repeat this procedure.


The oil change indicator is driven by mileage, engine run time, idle time, a couple other things. It does not use calendar time, so you have to keep track of the 12 month requirement manually.
 
#39 ·
I just ran over this and was curious, how the 241hp-engine and the 250hp-engine are different?
Because I did the oil change on my 241hp-engine (2012 model) myself twice now, and never removed anything in the engine compartment to get to the filter?!
I was quite sure, that these are the same engines, with just some minor modifications?
 
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