Dissolving sludge after change to Penz Plat?

[wamcneil]

Hi all,
I recently did the first oil change on a new-to-me 2016 expedition with 3.5 ecoboost with 120k mi.
The Ford dealer I bought it from had changed the oil just prior to my purchasing it and the appearance of the oil changed gradually through the 5K OCI from clear to brown toward the end of OCI just as I would expect with no discernable oil consumption.
I don't know what kind of oil the original owner used or interval.
After filling with Penz Plat 5w-30, the oil went from clear&bright to dark brown and opaque very quickly, less than 1000mi. So I'm assuming there's some sludge or varnish that's being dissolved by the PP.
If that's the case, is a bunch of dissolved sludge a problem? And would it be advisable to go ahead and change the oil again soon?
Thanks,
Walter

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Doubtful. PP seems to change color quickly depending on the level of heat it's exposed to, which is supported by documentation.

Averaging 20k per year, it's unlikely that maintenance was ignored completely. What oil change interval were you planning on following?

#WelcomeToBITOG!

 

[Barkleymut]

If you bought the vehicle from a Ford dealer I am guessing they pulled a carfax or something similar. Why not ask them for the report, it may give you an idea of the maintenance schedule.

 

[kschachn]

And to add to what the others have said, if you didn't have any prior observation of sludge then it's not the first thing to suspect is being cleaned.

 

[CR94]

Pennzoil Platinum darkens remarkably slowly for me---as has every other brand of synthetic I've used (TGMO, QS, and Warren Oil branded as Rural King).
Pennzoil claims it's good an maintaining engine cleanliness, but not that it necessarily dissolves pre-existing varnish.

 

[Brian123]

Hi all,
I recently did the first oil change on a new-to-me 2016 expedition with 3.5 ecoboost with 120k mi.
The Ford dealer I bought it from had changed the oil just prior to my purchasing it and the appearance of the oil changed gradually through the 5K OCI from clear to brown toward the end of OCI just as I would expect with no discernable oil consumption.
I don't know what kind of oil the original owner used or interval.
After filling with Penz Plat 5w-30, the oil went from clear&bright to dark brown and opaque very quickly, less than 1000mi. So I'm assuming there's some sludge or varnish that's being dissolved by the PP.
If that's the case, is a bunch of dissolved sludge a problem? And would it be advisable to go ahead and change the oil again soon?
Thanks,
Walter

Here is my take, we do not know what oil the original owner used, but my gut feeling is that it was not as good as Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30. On your next oil change try Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 or better yet 1 of the oil's from HPL and I bet it will turn even darker than the Pennzoil Platinum.

 

[wamcneil]

Thanks all. I was planning on no more than 10k interval in general. I'll try not to worry about it.
After the immediate darkening it seems to have stabilized.
M1 ESP 5w-30 is pretty dern expensive! That's an interesting idea though. I was actually considering using PP 5w-50 Euro L which considerably cheaper and available at walmart. The main reason being that I've got a mercedes diesel engine that requires MB229.51 and I'd rather not stock two flavors of 5w-30.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Thanks all. I was planning on no more than 10k interval in general. I'll try not to worry about it.
After the immediate darkening it seems to have stabilized.
M1 ESP 5w-30 is pretty dern expensive! That's an interesting idea though. I was actually considering using PP 5w-50 Euro L which considerably cheaper and available at walmart. The main reason being that I've got a mercedes diesel engine that requires MB229.51 and I'd rather not stock two flavors of 5w-30.

Mobil 1 Extended Protection (EP) is readily available at inexpensive prices, and is arguably among the Top 3 best available shelf-stock oils.

And in no ways am I a Mobil 1 fan... but it really is among the best you can get at WM/Big box stores.

 

[wamcneil]

That's a different product. ESP is "Emission System Protection" (low SAPS). Walmart doesn't stock it unfortunately.
I guess M1 ESP isn't all that expensive relative to some of the other choices, but the MB OM642 takes 10 quarts...
Autozone stocks ESP in 5-qt jugs, but they're $36-vs-$26 PP Euro L at walmart.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

That's a different product. ESP is "Emission System Protection" (low SAPS). Walmart doesn't stock it unfortunately.
Autozone stocks ESP in 5-qt jugs, but they're $36-vs-$26 PP Euro L at walmart.

I'm aware EP is different, and that's why I mentioned it. Your EcoBoost doesn't specifically call for a low-SAPS version, and EP would be the correct product, as it is for my '19 EcoBoost. And EP is most certainly a shelf-stock at WM and nearly every other store that carries regular Mobil 1 products.

 

[Titan]

Pennzoil Platinum or Pennzoil Ultra Platinum in 0w20 stays golden for at least up to 7500 miles in my 2018 Toyota engine with 90,000 miles on it.

 

[MParr]

Thanks all. I was planning on no more than 10k interval in general. I'll try not to worry about it.
After the immediate darkening it seems to have stabilized.
M1 ESP 5w-30 is pretty dern expensive! That's an interesting idea though. I was actually considering using PP 5w-50 Euro L which considerably cheaper and available at walmart. The main reason being that I've got a mercedes diesel engine that requires MB229.51 and I'd rather not stock two flavors of 5w-30.

Pennzoil Platinum Euro L 5W30 would be an excellent choice.

 

[Merek]

Oil changing color isn't really a good indication of anything, way too many variables and they are different to begin with when new. It's typically more of an issue if an oil doesn't change during it's run that it's a sign possibly not collecting anything in suspension like oils are designed to do, carry the bad stuff away so the filter then catches it.

 

[PontiacHO]

Just a question… Doesn’t the Ecoboost engines require a long drain period to ensure the turbos are completely drained? Wondering if the last oil changed was a quick “I’m on commission “ oil change that didn’t wait around for all the old oil to drain. Hence your new oil darkened quickly because of the residual oil that was left.

 

[wamcneil]

That could certainly be a factor. I didn't let it sit there and drain for an extended period.

 

[PontiacHO]

Not sure if I’ve got this right so check behind me but Inthink the turbos take a while to drain.

 

[MParr]

Just a question… Doesn’t the Ecoboost engines require a long drain period to ensure the turbos are completely drained? Wondering if the last oil changed was a quick “I’m on commission “ oil change that didn’t wait around for all the old oil to drain. Hence your new oil darkened quickly because of the residual oil that was left.

All of the oil will never drain out of any vehicle. There’s nothing special about draining the oil from a turbocharged vehicle.

 

[Malo83]

Both of my turbo cars drain just as long as the non turbos, after 2 brewskies it's time to fill.

 

[cheesepuffs2]

Pennzoil Platinum darkens remarkably slowly for me-

Me too. I've never had the quick darkening with Platinum, even in an older engine.

 

[buster]

Oil changing color isn't really a good indication of anything, way too many variables and they are different to begin with when new. It's typically more of an issue if an oil doesn't change during it's run that it's a sign possibly not collecting anything in suspension like oils are designed to do, carry the bad stuff away so the filter then catches it.

Right. Different antioxidants used and DI packages. Every car I had the oil got pretty dark fairly quickly. But it also depends on the temperature of the oil. For example, when hot it's often lighter than when I check it cold.