Nickaru

I have a friend with a 2003 Duramax and he changes his oil religiously. With 25,000 miles, his dipstick oil is golden brown and never turns dark or black. Mine looks like your typical diesel, black and gets changed every 3000 miles. He asked me, if I change my oil several times in the next , say 1000 miles, will I get the gold back? Kinda like flushing the engine. I have heard from users of the Frantz oil filter, that it keeps it gold for a long time. Any comments? Thanks

Geico266

Changing your oil several times in the next 1,000 miles would not help keep the oil from becoming black, it would just waste good oil. The black is soot from combusion left overs. It won't hurt anything as long as you change it regularly.

What kind of oil are you using? I use Shell Rotella 15w-40 and it seems to suspend soot better than the brand X I was using before. I change the oil every 4-5K miles.

upersleder

think of it this way.... if the oil is not getting dirty, what good is it? detergent is one of the additives in oil.

Nickaru

I'm using Chevron Delo 400 and change it about every 3000 miles. I know the black is normal for diesels, but what's wrong with my friends Duramax? His is gold and he changes it about the same interval. I think he's using Castrol for diesels.

Haulin_in_Dixie

Not my business, but you must like to spend money. I change mine at 7000, it starts getting black at 4000 to 5000. Bigger injectors means blacker oil. Cummins also feels that this is a good change sequence.

RowJ

I believe the higher the mileage..the quicker the oil turns black. Also, trucks that sit for long periods of time seem to turn oil blacker in fewer miles. Both points just makes common sense to me!. I agree with almost all said here...but do believe if you "flush" your engine with several oil changes you will "get the gold back"...for a few more miles. The question is why bother?

Your set up will turn oil blacker than a stock truck in the same # of miles.

You don't mention your total engine mileage, but I suspect it is much higher than your friends D-Max. IMO, from testing I have done, the Delo 400 is as good as any non-synthetic oil out there today....better than most. Changing your Delo 400 @ 3,000 miles is excellent Preventative Mx... close to overkill. If memory serves...Delo also uses a darker base oil and is not amber from the get go...may be wrong on this point?

RJ