Clean engine oil

[SnoKing]

I can't explain this at all. I know it's nothing to worry about, but it is a curiosity that I would love to know the reason. I do find the clean looking oil very reassuring however.

You must have never experienced any of the late 50 Ford engines or 318 Chrysler engines for years that slugged up. I grew up in a Texaco Distributor family and we always talked about Havoline oil having a strong detergent package to keep all the bad things in suspension so they could be filtered and/or dropped out at an oil change. The thought was that a clean looking oil was not doing that.

That's my childhood story and I am sticking with it!

 

[bigblock_doc]

It's an EGR thing. Delete that and by the second oil change should stay clean.
You can't get all the dirty oil out of the pan, also all the oil in the galleys.
Only takes a few seconds and it mixes and looks like you never changed it.

 

[bigblock_doc]

Back in the early seventies they were putting in some kind of wax. Pennzoil was the worst.
Oil companies were changing blends and not telling us. Then in 75 when the cats. came out
the engine temps went up and that caused the coking and blockages. And those people changed
there oil every 3,000 miles. What a mess, pull the valve covers, intake, and the oil pan
to clean all the gook out. It kept me busy. Also thats when the cam lobes started wearing.
Gulf Oil.

 

[KATOOM]

I just ran across this thread which is older but I thought its worth pointing out that the OP is a turbo diesel engine. Turbo engines are designed to run most efficiently at higher specific cylinder pressures which causes the rings to better seal when the engine boost levels are up. This results in less crankcase/cylinder cross contamination. Generally people dont notice that a turbo diesel runs cleaner when they're worked but they do. That said, diesel engines take considerably longer to properly break in the rings and cylinder walls too and as people daily drive them around the oil gets dirtier faster. Diesels trucks that are subject to towing more generally have cleaner looking oil longer than those which are not. Its not the Lucas additive.....

 

[RustyJC]

Either the engine isn't producing soot, or the oil is incapable of suspending it like it should.

Agreed. I would expect to see soot in suspension, especially with the heavy use of EGR on this model year truck.

Rusty

 

[JR]

http://www.pqiamerica.com/May 2013/lucas.htm

 

[KATOOM]

http://www.pqiamerica.com/May 2013/lucas.htm

Good source of info..... As where we'd also all see that the Walmart "universal" diesel oil is nothing to complain about either.

 

[JR]

Yes, they do bring to spotlight the "generic" oils that are OK to use and the ones that aren't. Like the brand Americana I believe it is that is sold in places like the dollar store and many national chain gas stations. It is blended by Warren Oil company which is a major oil blender. It is a fraction of the price of name brand oils yet carries the same certifications and is blended in the same facility.

 

[SnoKing]

http://www.pqiamerica.com/May 2013/lucas.htm

So it says it is mislabeled and is a 10w-40, not a 15w-40??? SNOKING

 

[JR]

Correct. Doesn't seem like such a big deal on the surface as it is still a 40 weight oil but if they can't blend the correct viscosity what other surprises might be in those jugs....

 

[Tuesdak]

The oil blacking soot has to make it to the engine oil somehow. The only way to do that is by getting past the rings.

Dropped a set of Total Seal gapless rings in the known dirty 6.2 GM IDI. 15K later I can still see the dipstick marks through the oil with 3000 miles on the oil. UOA no longer resisters soot in the oil when it could be up to 4 before the gapless rings. Normally you add oil and it's black on a 6.2 - no engine start required... I didn't exactly do anything to clean up the running of the non-EGR engine aside of making it dirtier by throwing more soot generating fuel at it.

One could get the same results in a 5.9 - less blowby = less soot in the oil.

Better ring seal could account for the results above as well as load. More load and fuel burned = more soot in oil.