Engine Oil Change
2008 Dodge Ram 1500
This is about as friendly as engine maintenance gets on a 2008 Ram 1500: a 13 mm drain plug, a spin-on filter, and 20 to 45 minutes if nothing fights you. It's offered with a 3.7L V6, a 4.7L V8, or the 5.7L HEMI, and the drain hardware and torque spec are the same across cab configurations. What decides how smooth it goes is whether the old filter gasket lets go cleanly. Specs and steps are below.
How Rough Is This Going to Be? Know what you're getting into.
You're under the truck on stands or ramps, pulling the 13 mm drain plug and letting the pan empty, then swapping the spin-on filter. The time estimate assumes nothing surprises you: no seized plug, no stuck filter gasket, no wrestling a skid plate that may or may not be there — that part wasn't confirmed for this truck, so check before you assume clear access. Inspect the drain plug's rubber seal while it's out; a hardened or flattened one means a new plug, not a reused one. Oil capacity, filter location, and the exact fill/dipstick routine also weren't nailed down here, so work off what you can see on the engine in front of you rather than a number from memory.
Save Another Trip to the Parts Store Clips, seals, fluids, and the little stuff people forget.
New filter, obviously, and Mopar lists two spin-on part numbers so check which one matches your engine before you buy. Have a replacement drain plug on hand in case the integrated seal is shot — the part number's on the page. The filler cap O-ring is cheap insurance if yours looks tired. And grab enough rags; this is a medium-mess job even when it goes right, and a stuck filter gasket turns it messier fast.
Here's Where It Gets Greasy The procedure, pain points, and common ways this job fights back.
Cranking the drain plug down past the torque spec, or using a 12-point socket on it, rounds the head or strips the pan threads — a 13 mm and a light touch is all it needs. Leaving the old filter's rubber seal stuck to the block and installing a new filter over it causes a real oil blowout on startup, not a slow leak. And running anything other than the correct oil weight in a 5.7L HEMI can mess with the cylinder-deactivation system and throw codes — this page doesn't have the exact grade for your engine, so don't guess it, look it up.
Gotchas
- The rubber seal from the old spin-on oil filter can stick to the engine block filter adapter mounting surface. Installing a new filter over the stuck gasket causes catastrophic oil blowout upon engine start. (source not machine-verified)
- The Multi-Displacement System (MDS) on 5.7L HEMI engines relies on precise oil viscosity to actuate hydraulic lifter deactivation solenoids. Using oil weights other than SAE 5W-20 (such as 10W-30 or 10W-40) can trigger diagnostic trouble codes (e.g. P3400/P3497) and disable cylinder deactivation. (source not machine-verified)
- Over-tightening the steel M14 drain plug into the oil pan or using an improper 12-point socket will strip threads or round off the fastener head.
It's a Good Idea To... Greasy tips and useful while-you're-in-there advice.
Before you thread the new filter on, run a finger around the filter adapter surface on the block. If the old rubber gasket stayed stuck up there instead of coming off with the filter, you now have two gaskets stacked — and that's how people get an oil geyser the second the engine starts. Pull it off first, every time.
You Already Have a Screw Loose. Your Car Shouldn't. Final checks before you call it done.
Once it's back together, start it, let it idle a minute, and check under the truck for drips at the plug and the filter before you call it done. There's no confirmed reset procedure for a maintenance reminder on this model, so don't go hunting for one that may not exist. Top off, check the level, and you're back on the road.