Ram Truck 500K-Mile Engine Teardown Showcases AMSOIL Protection

“I’d always known AMSOIL was good, but this proved it. AMSOIL is the best.”

Adam Kane Trucking is a hot-shot trucking company with a two-car carrier.

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AMSOIL Synthetic Diesel Oil

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Signature Series Max-Duty Synthetic Diesel Oil

by Jamie Gibson

March 26, 2024

Backwoods Diesel & Repair Performance in Fort Littleton, Pa. recently had their customer Adam Kane bring in his 2018 Dodge Ram 6.7 for service. The truck had nearly 500K on the engine and was due for a teardown.

The team at Backwoods Diesel in Fort Littleton, Pa.

Kane purchased the truck new to pull a two-car trailer for his hot-shot trucking business, Adam Kane Transport LLC. The heavy-duty pickup truck is worked hard, hauling a typical load weight of 23-27,000 lbs daily through the mountains and highways of Pennsylvania.

Aerial view of Backwoods Diesel in Fort Littleton, Pa.

Aerial view of Backwoods Diesel in beautiful Fort Littleton, Pa.

At the truck’s first oil change, Kane installed AMSOIL Signature Series 15W-40 100% Synthetic Max-Duty Diesel Oil to help the engine handle the abuse he knew it would endure (they recently switched Signature Series 5W-40 100% Synthetic Max-Duty Diesel Oil). He changed the oil every 13-17,000 miles and performed an oil analysis at each interval. His business relied on maintaining his truck, so he didn’t take any chances.

AMSOIL Signature Series 5W-40 100% Synthetic Max-Duty Diesel Oil is poured into a vehicle at Backwoods Diesel in Pennsylvania.

AMSOIL Signature Series 5W-40 100% Synthetic Max-Duty Diesel Oil is poured into a rebuilt engine at Backwoods Diesel in South Central Pennsylvania.

The Ram performed dependably for many years under severe service in all weather conditions, with a near-constant trailer-haul of thousands of miles per week.

At 494,000 miles the Dodge was finally in need of a major repair. The half-million miles of extreme use wore out a piston and an engine teardown was needed to replace it.

Diesel engine from RAM heavy-duty pickup truck with 500,000 miles sits on engine mount during a rebuild.

Kane brought his truck to Backwoods Diesel & Repair Performance, one of the leading diesel repair facilities and performance product dealers in the South-Central Pennsylvania region. Shop owner Ron Brown got to work tearing the engine down. Once he got into the engine and saw the components, Brown was stunned by what he saw.

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“I’d always known AMSOIL was good, but this proved it,” said Brown. “AMSOIL is the best. The inside of the motor, bearings and push rods, crank shaft and every component was still in spec.”

The cam shaft from a heavy-duty pickup truck with 500,000 miles looks like new after using AMSOIL Signature Series 100% Synthetic Diesel Oil.

The cam shaft and other major components on Kane’s heavy-duty pickup truck were still in spec after 500,000 miles of hard use.

Brown was impressed given the number of miles on the truck and harsh operating conditions it operated in every day. He and his team rebuilt the engine and reinstalled fresh AMSOIL lubricants to get the truck back on the road and on the job. Kane is also a believer.

The piston chamber from a heavy-duty pickup truck with 500,000 miles looks like new after using AMSOIL Signature Series 100% Synthetic Diesel Oil.

“I’m happy with how the inside of this engine looks and I will continue to use AMSOIL,” said Kane. “This truck is my work truck. It’s how I make a living.”

This was not the first time Brown had seen the benefits of using AMSOIL. He purchased his mother a 2005 Ford F250 out of Florida that had never seen harsh winters. But back in Pennsylvania they soon faced cold-weather starting issues. After installing AMSOIL it fired right up. He’s also seen many Powerstrokes in his shop with injector issues and found that installing AMSOIL helped alleviate them.