The 2500 5.7 engine does not have MDS. It is rated at 383HP vs the 395HP on the 1500 trucks, so there are differences.

 

My service mgr @ the dealership where I bought my Ram from-->Is a very close friend of 26 years. He instructed me since I always do my own service work to switch from the 5W-20 to either 0W-30 or 5W-30 @ my first OCI. I switched at the 1K mile mark!

I will say within my service manual it clearly states I can run a 5W-30 if the 20Wt oil is unavailable.

My 5.7L sees very little city/stop & go driving. Most is Interstate/Turnpike/Highway driving mostly @ 70-85 mph. Also a decent amount of civilized towing during the summer months.

At the 14K mile mark-->My service mgr {Steve} and I talked about adding the SRT 0W-40 for the extra Moly. He assured me the MDS system would function properly. I was a bit skeptical at first so I added only 3qts along with 4qts of 5W-30. My 5.7L has never been quieter and very responsive. Idle is smooth as silk. MPG has not suffered one bit.

Steve owns a supercharged SRT-10 Truck as well as a proud owner of a new 2015 Hellcat and is the biggest gear head I know and knows his Hemi engines. So I trust his advice and knowledge. He has been the Service mgr at the same dealership for over 31 years and they compensate him well.

Anyway-->my 5.7L is running on 4Qts PUP 5W-30 & 3Qts PUP SRT 0W-40 with a Fram Ultra Filter for my summer oil change. I can't be happier with this combo! Smooth/Quiet/Very Responsive! This OCI will be sent in to Blackstone for a UOA.

I was asked to post my experience so there it is! I do follow the OLM. It has averaged so far with my driving style and driving habits to drop below the 5% mark around 8500 miles.

With that said: I will never and never have preached or gave advice for other members to use a thicker viscosity oil within their 5.7L... I for one don't have the time nor care what others use! So don't pull the Dr Phil or Oprah card and begin ridiculing my Oil & Viscosity choice. Why should it matter to you what oil I use? I understand when humans don't understand their first reaction is to hate/slander/ridicule!

 

Glad it's worked out for you, but don't understand why you had to do this rant at the end of your post, didn't see any negative being sent your way.

 

Ram 1500s with the 5.7L engines began using MDS in 2006

My 2009 Ram 5.7L with MDS will show a message of "visit the dealer" if 5W-20 is not in the crank case
They had accidentally poured 5W-30 into my crankcase & the message came up before i had driven 7 miles to my home

When they checked it out, they found that the cause was Incorrect Viscosity

If you don't get that message, your good to go

I sure hope that the Fram oil filter that you use is not the cheapest one, they can blow out
Fram makes Premium oil filters & they seem to last longer

My '09 came from the factory with a Mopar oil filter that cross referenced to a WIX oil filter, it also had Mobil motor oil
Mobile had the lubricant contract back then

Now Shell has the contract

 

I wanted to start a new thread on the 5W-20 and 5W-30 oil question(s), but specifically for the 5.7 Hemi.
This was prompted by the following in my 2015 RAM owners manual, pages 767-768This is the same truck and engine, but used in heavy operating conditions.

I change my oil every 6 months or 6,000 miles and feel comfortable with the 5W-20 when changed that often. But this note in the manual makes me comfortable with using 5W-30 if somebody wants to for their use. And I may use the 5W-30 in my next oil change since I tow 8,000# often, even though that is a combined weight of only 13,000#

What do you think? Any other info on this specific use with the 5.7 Hemi?

I used 5/30 in my 2007 Hemi and it developed a metallic tapping sound from one of the lifters so I changed back to 5/20 and now it’s fine.

 

I wanted to start a new thread on the 5W-20 and 5W-30 oil question(s), but specifically for the 5.7 Hemi.
This was prompted by the following in my 2015 RAM owners manual, pages 767-768This is the same truck and engine, but used in heavy operating conditions.

I change my oil every 6 months or 6,000 miles and feel comfortable with the 5W-20 when changed that often. But this note in the manual makes me comfortable with using 5W-30 if somebody wants to for their use. And I may use the 5W-30 in my next oil change since I tow 8,000# often, even though that is a combined weight of only 13,000#

What do you think? Any other info on this specific use with the 5.7 Hemi?

Mine is a 2013 5.7 liter Hemi and I've been using 5W-30 since I got it at 12000 miles. It now has 180,000 miles and never a problem. I'm not about to switch to 5W-20 at this point especially since I've never had any problem. It still doesn't use a drop of oil between oil changes. This truck is used for light duty hauling and personal use and runs like new.

 

I have a 2014 Ram 1500 with the Hemi. Bought it brand new and have been running 10-30 with first oil change. still runs great with no problems. I do live in Florida, so cold is not an issue!!