Oil change 2018 Ram CTD

[Steven@147]

I guess I get lazy when naming the fuel filter, water filter separator.
For my 2017:
The front fuel filter MO-291 in the engine compartment is the finer micron fuel filter, Mopar 68157291AA
The rear above the axle MO-867 is a water filter separator, Mopar 68197867AA.

As for DIY, only use Mopar filters and not some cheap knockoffs.
I pick the ones sold by Dodge dealers like Athens, they're $103.xx for the set right now.
Just saw a post where a person used the ebay ones and afterwards couldn't start his engine. b/c of the front fuel filter.

I'm with you Gene. The naming convention and then on some web sites they get the names and display information all twisted around. On the Amazon web site they call the front filter the water separator and show a picture of it. Water filter separator / water in fuel sensor, calling a fuel filter a water separator and so forth. In the end its two filters, one at the front and one at the back. I checked the Amazon filters, they have the Mopar logo and Ram OEM numbers on them. In fact the oil filter is exactly the same one my old 2002 5.9L CTD uses.

These engines are way to expensive to begin with and sloppy repair and or using cheap parts is just not a good idea. Some people have good luck with that kind of stuff. For me i'm not going to take the chance. The filter prices are coming down from where they started. I hear the 2019 Rams use different style filters or at least some of them are different..

[mbarry1834]

Dodge Ram 6.7 Liter Diesel Fuel Filter Water Separator Set Mopar OEM

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[PAShooter]

You did not say how many miles you have at your first oil change. However, it seems strange to me that the fuel filter is being changed at this time. It should last longer than the first oil change unless you got into a batch of bad fuel. My 2015 Chevy Duramax fuel filter is at 45% and I plan to change it soon, 29,000 miles on the truck with good fuel and additives used. Manuel says to change at 22,500 miles. I wonder if the dash % gauge is accurate, but I have had no loss of power.

[Brewhedd]

Glad we have a GMC diesel. We got our oil changed at the dealer in Bradenton FL, for $80's. That was with full synthetic.

Sorry to derail but that seems like a lot to go through to change fuel filters. I'm not necessarily hooked on a brand of truck but I just changed my fuel filter @ 18000 miles with oem replacement in about 10 minutes for $25. Great price for an oil change.

[Steven@147]

Trucks are trucks i guess. Wish mine would only take 10 minutes. Changing the fuel filters on the new (2018 ish) Ram Cummins takes a little patience unless you want to spill diesel fuel all over the place. For an oil/filter and both fuel filter change probably takes about 45 minutes. For my new Ram I usually keep an eye on the useful life and when it gets to 30% or below thats when I buy the change stuff, when I actually change everything is the first good opportunity i have. I change everything at the same time, its just more convenient that way. The fuel filter useful life and oil useful life follow each other at about the same percentage. I don't know how Ram calculates or determines useful life of the oil and fuel filters, I suspect it is by some method of engine hours run time since it keeps track of that separate from just mileage.
Doesn't matter to me though, 15,000 miles or max 20,000 depending on harsh conditions (towing heavy loads or dirty dusty environments) between filter and oil changes on the new Rams is a far cry from what they used to be. I used to run my old Ram up to 5500-6000 miles between changes and that was running mobile 1 oil and it would be pretty dark. Diesel engines hate dirt, the cleaner you keep the engine running the more trouble free miles you'll get out of them. The injector pump in my old Dodge Ram (2002 5.9L) is still the original at 85,000 miles (still a babe) that sucker is $1000 for the pump and circulating diesel fuel is what helps keep the pump cool and prolongs its life.

[BreakfastinAmerica]

Both RAM dealers charged me 86 and 105 to change the oil and included tire rotation. Good deal for dealing with 3 gallons of oil. At 15k change I asked about fuel filters, he said $150 each. I went home and got both for $100 at rock auto and changed in my driveway in 30 minutes.

[Mrhavasu]

Ram trucks prior to 2018 have a 15k miles or 6 month oil change requirement, which ever comes first. Not sure why 2018 was changed.
Also use the factory fuel filters as a lot of the after market ones do not meet the factory micron specs and you will have your fuel system warranty voided.

[gsfitzsr]

I own a 2018 and always change my own oil and fuel filters. I never fill an oil filter before installing because your putting oil in the clean side of the filter which goes directly into the engine. There is plenty of residual oil in the engine bearings and other passages to safely start the engine with an empty filter.

Fuel filters are not fun to change and it can get messy. Buy the Mopar filters because you don't want any warranty hassles with FCA down the road. You don't need any special tools for the rear separator filter as long as it's not screwed on too tight. Disconnect the sensor wiring and drain the filter best you can before unscrewing. Be prepared to get you hands wet with diesel fuel.

The front filter mounted on the engine below the master cylinder requires a 1-1/8" socket to unscrew the cover. It may be tight so get ready to use some extensions with your ratchet to get it loose. Mopar put a short drain hose on the bottom of the filter already but it dumps on top of the front axle, so I just stick a short section of hose over this one to get down to my drain pan. There is a drain valve you must open 1/4 turn on the filter to drain it, and it's yellow in color. Drain before unscrewing the filter top! Make sure you change the O-ring on the filter housing when replacing the filter. It comes with the new Mopar filter.

Since the filters are empty, you must cycle the tank fuel pump before attempting to start your truck. As others have said, you must cycle the ignition on and off to prime the filters. So you must turn the key to ON wait about 10 seconds then back off again. Do this about 5 times and your filters should be filled and ready to go. My engine always stumbles a bit when I first start it, but that quickly goes away. If the engine seems to crank more than say 5 seconds without starting, turn the ignition OFF and do the priming a few more times. It should crank normally after that.

Changing these filters is not difficult. You will save yourself $$$ by not letting the dealership do this.

[BeerBrewer]

I too own a 2018 RAM 2500 CTD, in fact it is my first diesel engine so I'm a newbee! I am also a do it my self-er so I was planning to take over my oil and fuel filter changes after I get the my first "free" one from the dealer (which will be soon). So I've been following this thread with earnest. After reading and rereading the string, I went out and looked over my engine compartment and noted the filter locations. Frankly, I can't see why anyone would need to mess with the Air Conditioning on the truck to change out either the fuel or oil filters. I was planning to pull my filter out thru the wheel well, so I picked up a special cap. Even if its taken from the top, you need to remove things, but not the AC.

So my first question is who did the oil and fuel filter change? Was it a local shop or was it a RAM dealer? I'd be willing to bet that they didn't really disconnect the AC at all and they were just making the job sound more difficult just so they could pad the bill. Now if they did in fact unnecessarily disconnect the AC line, I'd be real upset. Its been my experience that once an AC unit in a vehicle has been opened up and worked on (due to accident or compressor failure) that it never seems to hold a charge after that and I'm left refilling the Freon every year. In my humble opinion, the mechanic who "claims" to have done this work is either dishonest or is incompetent. In either case I would not go back.

[Copperhead]

Are you sure it wasn't the water separator that is part of many AC systems? The fuel filters are water separators in and of themselves for the fuel system. A dedicated water separator that requires AC line disconnect sure sounds like the AC water separator. I have only seen and dealt with them on my heavy commercial trucks. I change them annually. Hadn't given any thought about AC water separators on lighter vehicles.