blacker than black engine oil

[Cummins Cowboy]

my truck is an '06 it always has the nastiest looking oil, granted I went about 10k on the last oil, but with 3 gallons of fresh delo, I pulled the stick after running the truck for a few mins, good lord it looks like nothing happened, the oil is still just as black, my other 2 dodges would have pretty dark oil but at least they would look somewhat clean for the first 1k after a change. I suspect this is because of the emissions crap the truck deals with 3rd injection event etc, this can't be good for the wear of the engine, anyone noticed this or seen reduced engine life on these newer engines.

 

[ata]

What happened to your new oil was. You went to long on your last oil change and got a lot of Carbon build up in the engine. Then when you put the new oil in it washed the Carbon off everything in side the engine and turned the new oil black. I would run it for a 1000 miles and change it again. Then not go over 5000 mile between changes. Yes the newer trucks do get the oil black faster then the old trucks. You might put a Bi-Pass filter kit on it that will really help on keeping the oil clean.

 

[sid325]

Fact of life with the 3rd gens. I run an Oil Guard by-pass and the oil is still black as night after 2-300 miles on a new oil change.

 

[Kday]

It's normal the oil in my 05 always looks black.

 

[CKelley1]

on the 04. 5 up they used a in cylinder egr scheme to reduce emissions. by removing it you can reduce carbon in the oil by 75% get 40% better fuel mileage and drop egt by 350* you have to change the cam out the pdr is a very good choice. the nozzles need to be changed to 50hp and a smarty jr. leave the smarty on economy setting or you may have clutch problems as this has a huge increase in low end torque

 

[AMink]

This is a common malady of the newer trucks. There has been a lot discussed on here. Mine is the same way. Others have had their oil tested and it is fine, just really black.

 

[Regcabguy]

If the '03-'04 trucks lack the internal egr why don't they get 40% better fuel economy? I'd love this pdr cam,but with emissions coming up we're not going to be able to do squat here. My '98. 5 got the same mileage as my new one.

 

[amsoilman]

my truck is an '06 it always has the nastiest looking oil, granted I went about 10k on the last oil, but with 3 gallons of fresh delo, I pulled the stick after running the truck for a few mins, good lord it looks like nothing happened, the oil is still just as black, my other 2 dodges would have pretty dark oil but at least they would look somewhat clean for the first 1k after a change. I suspect this is because of the emissions crap the truck deals with 3rd injection event etc, this can't be good for the wear of the engine, anyone noticed this or seen reduced engine life on these newer engines.

I've said this many times before, but I will say it again. "You can not tell the condition of oil by its color". The ONLY way to tell the condition of oil is to have it analyzed. The oil in my truck has 79,000 miles on it, and the SOOT level is only 0. 4% and it is very black in color.

 

[CKelley1]

you are correct amsoilman. you have a 03 that does not have in cylinder egr. oil test on a 04. 5 using amsoil 15-40 was at maximum soot level at 7,600 miles after the mod he now has 20,000 miles and the test shows that it can go to 25,000

 

[JBonpua]

Welcome to the club. I run Amsoil oil and bypass and before I start it it turns black already. :-laf Sent a sample to Blackstone Labs after 12K miles on the oil and they said my oil is still good and I could still go for another 5K and do analysis again.

 

[HBarlow]

My '01, '06, and current '08 all turn fresh engine oil black pretty quickly. I've accepted it as normal and never give it a second thought.

 

[CDonaldson]

Black oil seems to be the standard for the 2006 and up trucks, mine is always pretty black too.



I installed the Amsoil BMK-11 Oil Bypass, it filters out the soot particles down to a livable level of black. Soot does increase wear, so better to deal with it as much as you can and help to have good engine longevity.



CD

 

[ABarry]

really black on my 06.

 

[DogramTD]

Welcome to the world of diesels! This is one of those times when you can say "Its a diesel thing, you wouldnt understand!"

 

[Skydiver]

I know I'm in the 03-07 forum. My 96 oil turns dark around 3500 4500 miles.



It's a smog "EGR" thing that I still don't understand.

Bought a new 1981 VW Rabbit diesel(sold). Black oil at all times.

1981 Mercedes 300d (sold). I remember it had an EGR. Black oil all the time.

My 1987 ford 2810 tractor oil will remain clear for the first 150 hours running.

2007 Kubota zd326 diesel ztr. almost clear oil and only 0. 7 gallons per hour.

I could go on.

 

[Tinman]

I have the PDR cam on my 06 and after about 15K miles and three oil changes the oil still turns black in no time. My old GM 6. 2 would do the same. The 01 will keep the oil clean for a few thousand miles.

 

[DZink24]

it must be an early 3 gen thing. my '04 (no extra injection event or cat) stays clean for quite some time. i've got about 9400 miles on this oil (CI-4), and it is still clear enough to read the score marks on the dipstick. it will be intersting at the next change, to see if the new CJ-4 oil is any different in this regard to the old CI-4.

 

[blacksheepdiesel]

My '04. 5 has been on the road for a week now. I noticed the oil being very black and it is not time to be changed yet. The oil in my '01 stays clean enough to read the marks at 13,000 mile. Very curious to know if changing the camshaft in the '04. 5 would help keep the oil clean? Not the only reason for changing it, of course. Would like to get better fuel mileage also.

Godspeed,
Trent