wadem

hi guys, did my first oil change at the 10.000 km mark the other day,which is about 2000 ahead of schedule. i just checked my oil the other day and wa shocked at how black it was. It only has 700km since the change. i used a high quality oil, although not synthetic. i mean its not just a little black, its dark as coal. when i checked the oil at around the 9000k mark,1000
before the change, it was not even that black. also, when i did the change, i let the oil drain from the pan overnight, so iam pretty sure i got all the old stuff out. is this typical? or could something else be at work here........one last thing, i did install a Van Aakens duration box,the 3.2, at about the same time i changed the oil, could this extra fuel be contaminating my oil at an incredible rate? it does smoke a fair bit when you really get on it. but for the most part i drive it fairly tame. if this is the case how often should i change the oil? or once again is this black oil so soon typical?

phox_mulder

Would this be your first Diesel?

Yes, normal for the oil to be black, quite soon after an oil change even.

Lost of suspended soot in a Diesel, perfectly normal.

This is why you need to make sure you use a Diesel rated oil, better soot suspension qualities.


phox

wadem

yes it is in fact my first diesel.....and i realize that oil in diesels gets black faster,but you missed the point to my question......why did the first go around with the oil, ie the oil that the truck came with, seem to not turn black until around the 8000km mark,yet 700 km into the first oil change the new oil is already black? iam not that concerned, as iam running a high quality oil,just more curious than anything else.

RonsRig

Mine was black when I drove it off the dealers lot with 8 miles (13 km) on the clock. Changed it at 3500 miles (5600 km) and 50 miles later it was black again. Changed it at 7500 miles (12000 km)and 50 miles later it was black again. I read on one of the forums that after 18000 to 20000 miles the oil doesn't turn black right away after an oil change.

Chubby

There is too much traped black oil left in the motor, this is what causes the oil to change colors In a short time after changing.. Joel

Lightman

No, no, no! Folks notice he has a 305/555, not an older cummins or a 04.5+. The 305's are known to be extremely clean burning, even after 10k miles on the oil it is still see through on the dipstick and not black. The older trucks didn't have the HPCR for such clean combustion, and the 600 series engines blacken the oil due to their emissions changes.. So something is definitely up that caused the black oil. I would suspect the VA. Maybe you could change again and run for a while without the VA and see if the oil still blackens? I'd highly suggest doing an oil analysis once you decide how you want to run your truck, to determine the proper interval. It's possible by overfueling you're sooting your oil a lot more. Of course be sure to be using a CI-4 rated diesel oil.

Gunpowder

I agree with Lightman. Mine now has 26K on it, and at oil change time (every 5k), I can still see the dipstick through the oil. 305/555 04.

wadem

thanks for the info guys, sounds like it might be the va box i will have to keep an eye on it,
any one else out there have any oil issues running a box.