What your dipstick looks like?

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I always wondered how the oil will look on the dipstick after an extended oci! My Gdi engine turns the oil almost black after 3000miles. I will post photos from mine tomorrow! How does your looks for those who run extended oil change intervals?
 
Oil in my FXT is dark brown on the dipstick after 6-7.5k miles. I've only got 57k miles on the ODO, so it's still just a baby.
 
Originally Posted By: Costas00
I always wondered how the oil will look on the dipstick after an extended oci! My Gdi engine turns the oil almost black after 3000miles. I will post photos from mine tomorrow! How does your looks for those who run extended oil change intervals?


Really depends on many factors. Going by an Engine Oil "Color" does not mean it is not doing its job, quite the contrary in my belief. If your oil is black, then the oil is doing its job and cleaning your engine.

If your concerned, take an oil sample and send it out. I am sure you will see that the color is not a major factor in how well the oil is performing.


Jeff
 
while I don't think color is meaningless, it is still a very poor indicator of the oil's health, especially if the engine runs well and there aren't any other problems. If your engine is well-maintained and you start having issues with the engine AND the oil becomes darker quicker, that color change then has meaning. I've seen poor-running, worn-out engines turn new oil as black as oil in an old diesel! That's not to say that that made my grandpa wanna maintain his old Blazer any better, but, in this case, the oil's color did mean something (e.g., more blow-by that was likely caused by poor maintenance, which started a vicious cycle.)
 
Originally Posted By: Jeffs2006EvoIX
... If your oil is black, then the oil is doing its job and cleaning your engine. ...
My dipstick looks very pretty! All three brands of synthetic oil used in this car so far start so clear I can't find it on the dipstick, then darken much more slowly than oil in all previous engines I've known. Does that mean it's not "doing its job"?
 
Depends on how cold it is out.

Oh wait, I should have read the OP..... wrong forum and dipstick.
whistle.gif
 
*zips pants back up*

My Liberty and LR3 go from light honey to a dark honey pretty linearly. Cherokee and old Cherokee go pretty dark pretty quick.
 
Depends how long its been standing.

In the past, after a long stand, it has had a layer of fine metallic slurry settle out on its upper surface.

I THINK this is unusual, and not good.
 
I drive a lot of highway miles, sometimes 500 miles a week.
I can run the oil in my 4.6 ‘08 F150 for 10,000 miles & oil still is not black yet.
 
I’ve ran 30K with M1 EP in my Tacoma, roughly 7K change intervals. 2K now on Amsoil SS 0W30. Its a lot darker now compared to EP at the same interval. No worries here.
 
In my 1988 Escort, which i bought 2 1/2 months ago, the previous owner neglected the oil changes, so i'm running a HDEO in the hope of cleaning things up a bit.
After about 600 miles and 2 motnhs on the oil it's already starting to turn a dark brown, which is what i wanted, it means i was right and that it's cleaning up things in there.
 
Originally Posted By: CR94
Originally Posted By: Jeffs2006EvoIX
... If your oil is black, then the oil is doing its job and cleaning your engine. ...
My dipstick looks very pretty! All three brands of synthetic oil used in this car so far start so clear I can't find it on the dipstick, then darken much more slowly than oil in all previous engines I've known. Does that mean it's not "doing its job"?


Depends. Your cars listed are not GDI engines like the Hyundai's the OP has. GDI's are known for carbon build up so in HIS case it is doing its job. In cars less prone to carbon build up the oil color will vary.

Example, my Nissan Titan oil looks cleaner after 7500 miles vs my Sonata with GDI after 3000 miles. I have ran UOA's on the latter nothing unusual.

Lots of variables here, try not to take so much to heart or out of context.


Jeff
 
Originally Posted By: Jeffs2006EvoIX


Depends. Your cars listed are not GDI engines like the Hyundai's the OP has. GDI's are known for carbon build up so in HIS case it is doing its job. In cars less prone to carbon build up the oil color will vary.



My understanding (no experience with them and don't much want any) was that the "carbon build up" with GDI engines was in the intake tract, because it doesn't see any fuel.

How would that carbon get into the oil more than with a non GDI car where it goes through the cylinders?

Its seems possible that turbo'd or supercharged engines tend to darken the oil faster than NA's because they get more blowby
 
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
I think on DI engines it turns blacker quicker


Can't see why that would be down to DI specifically. Perhaps they just run hotter.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
I drive a lot of highway miles, sometimes 500 miles a week.
I can run the oil in my 4.6 ‘08 F150 for 10,000 miles & oil still is not black yet.


That can matter … our coal black corn dog dipstick in just 4K was not an engine hard on oil … 2013 Pentastar … but it was many trips 4 miles each way to work and back … just a 1/2 mile to 70 mph freeway …
5w20 that looked like 60w … dealer found nothing wrong …
 
ASSUMING no mechanical issues such as leaking coolant or fuel dilution, the color of the oil means nothing other than the color of the oil. I'm not going to waste my time posting pictures and UOA, but I have pictures and UOA on oil with 8K on it and up to 37K on it; you can't physically tell the difference in photos. The 37K oil still has respectable TBN and particle count (per Blackstone).
 
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