Oil is Always Black
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (7)
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 739
Likes: 0
From: St Joseph, MO
Oil is Always Black My LT1 has 94k miles. I bought it with 78k miles last fall. Ive always used Castrol Syntec or Royal purple since I bought it and once used Mobil 1. Every 3k miles when I change my oil it is black. I seafoamed the engine a few weeks ago and changed the oil with Royal Purple 5-w30 and 1000 miles later it is black again. Is it bad that it gets black so fast? What's the deal here?
Also last weekend when I took off my valve covers it was blacker than black in there and there was all kinds of black chunks (carbon?) everywhere...Im talking big *** crusty chunks stuck to the inside of the valve cover.
Also last weekend when I took off my valve covers it was blacker than black in there and there was all kinds of black chunks (carbon?) everywhere...Im talking big *** crusty chunks stuck to the inside of the valve cover.
My oil is always black at 3k miles.
You need to seafoam it again. Make sure to add seafoam into the oil. Change the oil after 150 miles of the seafoam being in there.
Also seafoam throw the PCV to clean out the top of the engine.
You need to seafoam it again. Make sure to add seafoam into the oil. Change the oil after 150 miles of the seafoam being in there.
Also seafoam throw the PCV to clean out the top of the engine.
do you have anything done to your fuel system?? If your oil is getting diluted with fuel it will turn black very quick.. i see this a lot at work on the direct injection bmw's..they have a problem with fuel dilution in the oil and the oil will turn black as hell within a few thousand miles..But, that being said, its also not necessarily a bad thing that your oil is turning black..oil is suppost to hold contaminants in suspension so they can be removed from the engine when you drain the oil..if your oil stayed completely clean than those contaminants would just stay in the motor. My oil in my car isnt completely black by 3K miles, but it has gotten quite a bit darker by that point. If it was me, i would use a cheaper oil and change it every 1500 miles or so and see if it starts to get a little bit cleaner everytime you drain it.
Every time Ive changed my oil, on every car. Its always been black at the time I change it. Are you sure you arent being overly worrysome? Its oil, its whole purpose in life is to lubricate and absorb heat and friction. In the process, it breaks down and discolors
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (7)
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 739
Likes: 0
From: St Joseph, MO
I'm not all paranoid or anything, I just figured if I had a healthy engine then the oil shouldn't be black after 1k miles ya know... so I guess its just the synthetic doing its cleaning?
TECH Addict
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,379
Likes: 2
I usually leave mine in for 6k miles and it turns well black... I've changed it within 2-3k miles and have had it still get fairly dirty, not "black" but fairly contaminated. Then again I drive my car HARD, WOT runs on a regular basis, downshifting when I feel like it, redlining etc.
If you are really worried, do a used oil analysis to see what's up.
If you are really worried, do a used oil analysis to see what's up.
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
I know what you're talking about. I've changed a lot of oil on a lot of cars over the years and there is a difference been it getting dirty normally and turning BLACK in 1000 miles.
I bought my son a V6 Firebird with 85k. It had had a fresh oil change. Oil was black when I checked it at 1k. This is abnormal.
I had a BG oil system clean and flush done. It improved the situation but the oil is still getting dirty faster than normal. I'm going to have him use one of the "high mileage" oil brands. That will continue to clean it till it gets to normal.
I bought my son a V6 Firebird with 85k. It had had a fresh oil change. Oil was black when I checked it at 1k. This is abnormal.
I had a BG oil system clean and flush done. It improved the situation but the oil is still getting dirty faster than normal. I'm going to have him use one of the "high mileage" oil brands. That will continue to clean it till it gets to normal.
TECH Addict
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,379
Likes: 2
If it gets "black" within 1k miles, you may have a significant amount of blowby going through the rings. That is what really gets into the oil to contaminate it. Hence why I mentioned the hard driving I do. Even than my oil isn't really black black, it's just a really nasty brown in color, if it's leaning more for the black side, it has a heavy amount of carbon in it and will usually reek of combustion gases almost smelling burnt. Also i that was occurring as I think it is, you may find that x quarts go in, but y quarts comes out. It works both ways, oil will slip by too just as much as gases press in.
I'd do a compression and leakdown test to gauge the condition of the engine.
I'd do a compression and leakdown test to gauge the condition of the engine.
I recently got a neglected 81,000 mile LS1 and it's oil gets dirty quick, it's got flaking brown crap in the valve covers.
You have to remember that stuff is stuck to every internal part if the engine that doesn't move and thats causing the oil to get black.
What I might do some day is take the valve covers off, manually clean them, take a can of seafoam deep creep or something and spray the tops of the heads, rockers, etc. Let it run through the pan and drain out.
Then when it comes out clean maybe put the plug in and pour a can of seafoam in and let it sit in the pan to dissolve any chunks and clean the oil pick up screen, drain it, maybe repeat until it comes out clean. Then put new oil in and idle it for a short time, drain it, put new oil in and be done.
The only other option is to take the pan off, or just run it and don't worry.
Google is your friend. Here's a write-up on why oil color changes and what it might mean. http://www.noria.com/learning_center...up=OilAnalysis
Teching In
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
From: Upland, CA
The purple dye they use will immediatley lose color and the oil will turn black once its been ran through the system. It's normal. I change mine every 3000 miles and its usually black with a hint of purple.
