Black oil after oil change

[kober]

Yes, The newer engines stock, will produce more soot in the oil than older engine designs. We have the particulate trap (converter) on the 600 series. This is to make the egine emission compliant for 04. We typically do not lug our engines as much as the big trucks so that helps.

Right you are. The Delvac 5W-40 is formulated for that reason. I searched and found the following before I drained the oil:



Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 has the following builder approvals:



Mack EO-M, EO-M Plus, EO-N Premium Plus

Cummins CES 20078/77/76/75

Volvo VDS-3, VDS-2



Heres the link:

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXE2CVLMOMobilDelvac1_5W-40.aspDelvac



Kurt

 

[OHale]

Still wouldn't do it. The Dodge/Cummins owner's manual specifies viscosity versus temperature range for oils. 5-40w is a tad light.



I have 146,000 miles on my 1995 12-valve and the engine runs and starts like the day I bought it. 15-40w in non-winter months, 10-30w in winter above zero Farenheit. I will use the same for my 2004. 5.



The wear factors and lubricity of lighter diesel oils may meet manufacturers specifications, but always follow the viscosity recommendations of Chrysler per your Owner's Manual. I wonder how Chrysler would treat premature engine failure if they find out the owner is using 5w-40 oil?



I recall that in the 1980s it was popular for a while to use 10-40w oil in gas engines. The Owner's Manuals of the Big Three called for 10-30w in the specified temperature range. True, the 10-40w oils met the manufactures specifications for motor oil.



After a few years GM, among others, issued a warning that 10-40w had lead to some engine warranty issues and reminded owners not to use it and the 10-40s quickly fell out of favor. I think we may hear the same about the current fad in light oils in the next few years.



If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I'd get the synthetic out ASAP, and put some dyno back in...



running synthetics too soon CAN cause damage!!!! personally, I'd wait till 20-25k miles unless you're hauling heavy all the time, and then drop it to 10-15k. but certainly not at 3,000!!!!



Forrest

 

[WNowlan]

A lighter viscosity oil (5W) will produce less wear at startup over a heavier viscosity (10W,15W). They both provide the same high temp protection as they act like a straight 40.



The problem you state from the 1980's had to do with non stable Viscosity Index Improvers used by most oil manufactures back then. The oil was shearing out of grade (back to just a 10W).



Base oil and additive technology has come a long way since then.



The recent gravitation to lighter oils has to do with the CAFE or Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards published by the Gov. The lighter oils will provide better fuel economy. They also take heat away faster from the combustion chamber.



Ford and Honda are now requiring 5W-20 oils and some vehicles use 0W-20 for gasoline engines. The diesel engine manufacturers are also looking at lighter viscosity fluids to reduce oil consumption and therefore particulates exhuasted out of the engine.



Oil consumption is reduced by temporary shear loss that occurs in the ring area of the piston. The VI improver shears back to the starting point and this provides for a smaller wave of oil to seal the combustion chamber. Less oil up in this area allows for less to be burned off in this process. The thinner oil then flows away faster and takes the heat with it. The VI improver then expands and the oil acts like a 40 again. This is the same process for gasoline and diesel engines.



Engine tolerances have been reduced so the need to have heavier viscosity fluids has been reduced. Not that long ago HD Diesel Engines ran straight viscosity fluids-30W or 40W.



The bottom line is: Use a top brand name that meets the current specification CI-4 +. The biggest thing to remember is that you have change the oil in order to gain maximum life of the engine. Both base oil types have additives that are used up during use. The only way to replenish these additives is to add fresh oil at a change.





My expirence has been with larger trucks that pull a load. We have always recommend to change over at the first oil change. This is somewhere between 10-30,000 miles depending on the engine manufacuter. I have also had fleets to change with several hunderd thousand miles with no ill effects.

 

[kober]

Ok, I was concerned enough to call Cummins and had a conversation yesterday with a tech rep who told me that there is no problem with going synthetic at the first oil change.



Thinking that that may just be one mans opinion I called back again this morning and spoke with a different tech rep. He explained to me that todays Cummins engines are manufactured to much closer tolerances and that that last bit of break in would happen within the first "couple hundred" miles. He explained to me that Cummins even ships some of their engines with synthetic if they had been running them at the factory. He did not go into any details as to which engines and to whom they shipped this way. He assured me there was absolutely no reason not to go synthetic at the first oil change, ie. in my case at about 3400 miles.



His explanation for waiting a few hundred miles before switching was that with synthetic there just isn't enough abrasion to give the rings that last little honing to set them.



I guess old habits die hard. Back in the old days it may have been wise to wait 20,000 miles and use the more abrasive dino oils.



Thanks to all of you who participated in this thread. I learned a lot and hope to learn more about my new truck and the Cummins 600.



Kurt

 

[6 2 Carl]

why use synthetic at all? seems to me if the syn isn't appropriate for the break-in period, ...

Cold starts during winter



15w40 gets pretty thick at -40



Carl

 

[OHale]

I use Rotella 10-30w dino in winter, per owner's manual recommendation. Works great for me here but we rarely get below -20F.