wadem

hi guys.....left a thread on the drive train forum about this, but am still looking for more info regarding this. my issue is this, my oil is very black after just 600 miles following my first oil change. i have about 7000 miles on the truck at this time,and changed the oil for the first time at around 6400 miles. i realize that diesels do burn black, but my oil is so black after 600 miles that i cant see any writing on the dipstick. on a side note, when i checked my oil with the original oil at around 5000 miles, it was still very clean. So what could possibly be causing this?
i let the oil drain overnight, so i am quite sure that most of the dirty oil drained away. iam running a high quality oil [ not synthetic] and a fleetguard oil filter. it was suggested that i get an oil analysis done to see if the oil is indeed breaking down. but reading further on this i was left to believe that the truck is to new and if the engine is not broke in, that this will be a waste of time and money.
the only thing that i can think of that might be contributing to this ,is that at the time of the change i also installed a Van Aakens 3.2 duration box. i dont drive the truck that hard and have not towed anything with it yet. on the high setting it does blow black when you really get on it, could this extra fuel burn be getting into the oil and creating extra soot? is it possible that my oil could be shot after just 1000 miles? i plan on changing my oil every 6000
miles. does soot in the oil [if thats the problem] break down oil early? or will the fleetguard
filter take care of dirt and soot? anyone else out there have this problem? is the duration box the culprit here, or am i just paranoid? need advice. dont want to ditch the Van Aakens but cant afford to dump oil every month either......

sawboywv1

My oil stays clean looking with over 5k on it. I change it every 10k

wadem

has anyone else either running a Van aakens box or other box that causes smoke had problems with suspected oil contamination?

Lightman

Wadem I think it's very reasonable to assume that the extra duration of the VA box is causing a less efficient combustion. Therefore you're blowing extra smoke and adding extra soot to the oil. That doesn't necessarily mean the oil is shot though.. Oil analysis will give you a better idea - and peace of mind if nothing else, regardless of the truck's mileage. Sure because it's new you won't get accurate wear metal numbers, however if you had some kind of excessive soot problem etc you'd know... For the $13-15 an oil analysis test kit costs, go for it if you're concerned.

PourinDiesel

wadem,
Its SOP when you start modifying to get black oil.
Mine is black after a trip to town

cquestad

I had a VA duration on for 20k. No issues what so ever. Black oil. Tested fine. Extra power makes blacker oil...no biggie. I change around 7500 miles with dino oil have no issues.

Gypsyman

My oil was black as sin BEFORE I ever made any mods.

Lightman

If you have an 03-04 and your oil is black stock you've got a problem. These engines keep oil amazingly clean.

Pourindiesel - of course your oil is black - you have a 600.

War Nerve

I run the same box and change oil every 10K with Valvoline Premium Blue and filter every 5k. It's an '04 555 w/ 80k on her. No problems yet.

ChuCk

RonsRig

wadem;
Why are people complaining about black oil in their new trucks? That seems to be a popular topic lately. Check this out.

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...d.php?t=124948

Steve-l

Oil blackens for 2 reasons. The oil washs the ash of of the cylinder walls and the water condensation in the oil mixes with residual sulfer creating sulferic acid which oxidizes the oil. The later also creates sludge deposits. The water, acid and sludge problem is usually due to cold engine operation ie short trips and the ash problem is created by overfueling (performance mods). The bottom line is that there is no free lunch. Do not expect to modify the engine and stick to the 7500 mile oil change regimen recommended by the factory. I change my oil every 3500.
Steve

cquestad

Have your "black" oil tested...it will surprise you. You can not eyeball oil quality baised on "blackness" alone. Modded engines will dirty the oil quicker, but may still be able to use 7500 mile intervals or more. Test it.