why is my oil so dirty?
 

Just changed it maybe 500 miles ago, doing my injectors now and the oil looks pretty darn brown. I usually change the oil and oil/fuel filters at 10k miles, is that too much?

thanks
Shem

Yes that is way to long.
Every 10k is ok for the fuel filters.
You should be changing your oil and filter every 5k or 200 hours. Whichever comes first.

If I took ownership of a truck that has been getting oil changes every 10k miles I would change it every 2k miles for probably the first 4 or 5 times.

Have you tested your oil to warrant a 10k oil change? Where did you come up with the interval you are currently using?

Unless you have tested your oil at 5k to prove it is still good, 10k is a risky guess. 5k is the rule of thumb for a reason, and cheaping out wont be cheap for long

When I change my oil when drain plug is out I start it and let it run till it dies or coughs once

It gets another 1.5--2 qts out

That might scare some folks but it's only running for 10-15 seconds that way

Google oil cleaning centrifuge
The link is on my computer so I don't have it now but it found one that was small and could be mounted in the engine compartment and would clean the oil while you drove

As long as the pics were not bogus they took black oil and was cleaning it to the point it started turning brown again looked like it worked great it was around 500 for it

Royal Purple and K&Ns
 

This is not a Royal Purple or K&N sales pitch. What I'm about to say is based on my own 20 year experiences with RP products and 3 year experiences with K&N.

I have used RP synthetic SAE 20W-50 motor oil for 10 years. I have a late build '03 6.0L in an '04 X. Have 128K on the clock and have never had any stiction, turbo or injector problems or replacements. I change my oil in my X every 10K miles and for the last two years have been using a K&N re-useable stainless steel oil filter with internal magnets that I can pull and check for metal debris and clean whenever I feel the need to. I also use RP SAE 0W-40 and a K&N re-useable oil filter in my '08 Dodge Super Bee and RP HPS 5W-30 and re-useable K&N in my '10 ZR1 Corvette. I change the oil in each of them at 10K miles. There is nothing wrong with running synthetic oil 10K miles between oil changes. If you don't, you are wasting a lot of oil and spending a lot of money, needlessly. Just my humble opinion.

I also have RP synthetic ATF in my X and Super Bee tranny. Changed over in the X at 60K miles. Tranny shifts as good as the day I got it ten years ago. RP recommends changing at 100K miles.

As for K&N re-useable oil filters, I don't even remove them off my Super Bee or ZR1 until ever third oil change. I wash them in gasoline and check the magnets for any metallic particles. I also check the oil filter canister for any debris in the bottom. Have not found any yet.

Ed

Unless you have a UOA to back that up, that's pure supposition. It's not just about removing solids, shearing of the viscosity and fuel dilution are two things you can't control with a filter, and impact the service life of the oil.

There is a lot wrong with running any oil 10k miles in a HEUI diesel without supporting data.

5,000 miles or 200 hours, whichever comes first.

oooh yeaaaa
 

I change my oil every 5K, maximum. I like how it works out with these intervals, cause I get play with my trucks oil hole more often, and I like using my fingers}>.... And by the way, like I have said before, my trucks a girl!!:D

I still change my oil at 5K give or take a few miles mostly take.

That being said I would like to see proof of the viscosity shearing
at 5k, 7.5K and 10K. I don't recall any of the reports listing the viscosity
index of the oil they are checking.

That only leaves fuel dilution. That should show in the viscosity index value.


Sean https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...455b8d603e.gif

6.0L Tech Folder :oval

5,000 miles or 6 months. Acids do build up in the oil and the only way of getting rid of the acids is to drain and refill.

It's not.

Diesel engine oil always has exhaust combustion products suspended in the oil from blowby. It happens in brand new engines.

All "diesel" type oils have additives that will keep soot suspended in the oil so it can be drained when changed. That soot is microscopic and will pass right through a filter (except a "bypass" filter) unimpeded.


Soot will 'turn' oil "black" (dark) almost immediately since you don't remove all of the oil during a change. If you could remove all the oil and flush all the remaining residual soot out, the oil would be "clean" for only a very short period of time.

As long as you change the oil when the manufacturer suggests, you'll NEVER get the soot levels up to the point where the dispersant additives cannot keep them in suspension.

If you want to run your oil longer, you MUST take samples and have them tested for soot and other contaminants. (big trucking companies and others do this to extend oil drain intervals)

For most of us, it's just not worth the hassle and additional expense.

It's just easier to change the oil and filter.

Cheers,



Rick

Bismic has pretty good documentation on his truck. 6.0's are known to be extremely hard on oil. That's why even with a bypass filter it's recommended to change the oil at 5K intervals.

And to the OP: If you're oil isn't getting black it's not doing it's job.

Rick: Very well said.

Go to BITOG where there are a bunch of threads there with scanned UOAs. We have some:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ts-secret.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...lackstone.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...il-1-5w40.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-and-uoas.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/2...osity-oil.html

I'm not going to sweat a $100 oil change when I spend 10x that on fuel for that 5k interval already already. I've seen enough of other peoples' UOAs showing shear is a real thing, and I don't want to mess with a UOA every interval to get an extra 1-3k on the oil when I can drop it and replace in half an hour. Cost/benefit with the time isn't there for me.

Yep, even with full synthetics. I still personally don't go past 5,000 miles in my 6.0 though a few guys who buy it from me swear by 10k or more intervals. I don't use synthetics with the goal of extending my oci I use them with the intent of using the best I can get. JMO