My truck is in need of an oil change again. It's as black as tar. After I drained the old oil and added the new fresh golden colored oil. I checked the dipstick and there is black oil on the dipstick. I wiped that crap off and stuck it back in several times and every time I pulled it I only get more black oil. Does my engine have that much soot in it? That can't be good for it right? The engine only has 106,000 miles on it. It runs smooth. It does puff white smoke when it starts but has soon as it fires on all cylinders that clears up and it turns black, then that goes away. I know I need to turn the pump down a flat or two. Could the piston rings be that worn to let blow by past? Is there something I can add to the oil to clean out this soot?

 

When I change my oil, it is mostly clean on the stick with some black streaks.
Unless you drain the engine oil when it is hot and let it sit for a day, there is always a chance that the old oil won't completely drain out.

Many big diesel truck engines will turn black immmediately after an oil change.

If you have excessive white smoke on start up, you might have a couple of bad glow plugs.

Jason

 

mine is black right away. i drain it warm, usually still dripping a little bit by the time i just put the plug back in and fill er up. guy next door puts in a 1/2 gallon of diesel in his oil, runs it for about an hour then drains it. i know a lot of guys that do that to their big rigs. they use a full gallon and run it all day, then drain it when they get home. oils clean after that. i dont think id do it. you can use a motor flush, as long as its non turbo. that will get all that excessive suit out of the engine.

 

Don't worry bout it, its the nature of the beast. Mine is black in less than 30 min of driving. If you are serious about cleaning all of the carbon, then drain your oil put your plug back in and refill with 3 gallons of diesel or so and let it sit all night pull your plug the next morning and leave it off for a few hours. Finish your oil change out and run it for a few days then you'll need to change your oil again just to make sure all of the diesel is out and it will be beautiful inside.

I've never done this on an IDI but I've done this on a 283 and a 300 that I run in demo derby cars. Both motors had been sitting for years and were gummy which is bad in a derby because when the temp gauge starts finding the 300 plus range all that crap comes loose and can ruin your motor, so I did the stated cleaning procedure and both of those motors run great still, I do bet I am one of the few people who proudly claims I've seen a 300 I6 at 400 degrees that was still running.

 

black.black.black oil.perfectly normal.it is frighting looking after running gas jobbies lol.
black as tar is a good description.say goodbye to having golden oil with your diesel.

 

unless you invest in a amsoil bypass oil filter. your looking at about $450 for the kit including the oil. thats what i got for my truck. guess i wont be using it now. not until i get miles on my new engine. synthetic oil doesnt do well with new engines.

 

well,the way i look at is like this;
flush it all you want,after 100 miles its going to be black again regardless.
spend money for extra filtration system for an engine that has countless reports of mileage with 300-400k miles? why?
black oil is normal in a diesel.

 

for me, its extended oil changed. have the oil tested every 3k miles. see how it does.

 

oils only good for 3 months though too.you cant keep it forever.dont be alarmed by the color.this doesn't mean its lost its lubricity or anything.
imho,if you want to extend your oil life expectancy,you should consider synthetic oil over conventional.

 

ya, its synthetic oil. i was planning on using it on my 7.3 but not now. gotta wait for the new engine to get some miles on it. and its not color im worried about, its the amount of contaminates in it. the amsoil bypass filter is 2 micron.

 

The idea behind amsoil is you can leave it in there for years at a time. Oil change intervals can be well over 30k miles even in diesels. Supposedly the type of synthetic oil in there breaks down at an extremly low rate and the filter can keep things clean for much longer. The only reason to change the oil is if a sample test comes back telling you that you have a problem with condamination, metals or lubrication break down. I don't know what the testing costs though.

We have a few guys over on OBN that are arunning it and swear by it. I have no personal experience.

 

ya, ive got the complete amsoil setup, and 4 gallons of synthetic awaiting my engine to be ready. they suggest 20-25k per oil change. you change the main filter at 10-12.5k depending on what your taking it to. then both filters at 20-25. i get tests done for free, so im not worried about it. perks of being friends with a oil salesmen.