Engine Oil Color Observation - Normal?

[blackdiamond]

I pulled the dipstick on my Mazdaspeed 3 this morning after sitting over night and it seemed to be very dark, even black, after about 3,000 miles on Mobil 1 5w-30. I'm positive that it is the result of fuel dilution. It looked bad enough I almost found a place to have it changed.

This afternoon my wife and I went to dinner and drove the car about 150 miles. I pulled the dipstick again when I arrived home, at operating temperature, and it was still dark, but not nearly as black.

I'm assuming that it is normal for the oil sitting in the pan to look worse than when it has been circulating?

I am planning to go ahead with the 5,000 mile OCI and am 90% sure I will get a UOA done to find out how things are doing. Where is the cheapest place to get a quality UOA kit and analysis?

I don't mind taking it to the dealer every 5,000 miles, but if it needs more than that I will have to explore the underside of the car more and figure out how to access the cartrige and plug.

 

[LouDawg]

Beware of basing oil condition on how light or dark the oil is. Why do you assume fuel dilution?

Cheapest place I think is Blackstone. They are a site sponsor...just click on their link here or google Blackstone Labs.

 

[Merkava_4]

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I'm assuming that it is normal for the oil sitting in the pan to look worse than when it has been circulating?

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Yes! Because all the foreign dirt particles have settled to the bottom of the pan after sitting for awhile. As far as whether you should change it. . . that depends on how long you plan on keeping the car. If you're going to trade it in next year, then just let it stay black. Even black dirt saturated oil should keep the engine from seizing up until trade in time.

 

[blackdiamond]

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Beware of basing oil condition on how light or dark the oil is. Why do you assume fuel dilution?

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I know color isn't a true indicator, but it is darker after 3,000 miles than I have ever seen on a new car, or any car for that matter.

Fuel dilution seems to be an issue with the Mazda 2.3L turbo DISI engines that are in the Mazdaspeed 3, Mazdaspeed 6 and CX-7.

 

[blackdiamond]

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I'm assuming that it is normal for the oil sitting in the pan to look worse than when it has been circulating?

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Yes! Because all the foreign dirt particles have settled to the bottom of the pan after sitting for awhile. As far as whether you should change it. . . that depends on how long you plan on keeping the car. If you're going to trade it in next year, then just let it stay black. Even black dirt saturated oil should keep the engine from seizing up until trade in time.

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I plan to keep the car a very long time, I have a 100,000 mile warranty so I'm ready for the long haul. The car is great other than how hard they seem to be on oil.

 

[Merkava_4]

Is this the first OCI on Mobil 1? If so, then maybe it's cleaned all the build up out of the engine and you're ready for a change.

 

[blackdiamond]

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Is this the first OCI on Mobil 1? If so, then maybe it's cleaned all the build up out of the engine and you're ready for a change.

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It is certainly possible, I had the factory fill changed about 700 miles with dealer provided conventional (Quaker State I think) and then had it changed again about 5,000 miles. The dealer noted that it was really dark and suggested that if it looked that dark at 10,000 miles they would recommend a shorter OCI. I guess it's possible that the conventional just couldn't handle the job, but I suspect fuel dilution is causing the problems.

 

[Turbodriven]

Most turbo motors turn the oil dark fairly quickly, it does not mean its reduced the oils ability to work properly. Since you are planning to keep the car long term, I would suggest one oil change in between the normal service changes.

 

[oilyriser]

cold oil = thick layer on dipstick = darker

 

[BrianWC]

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Most turbo motors turn the oil dark fairly quickly, it does not mean its reduced the oils ability to work properly.

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I second that. Any oil I've ever put in a SAAB, sludger or not, has turned black very quickly. As for halfing the service interval, that depends on what the service interval is.

 

[Big Dave]

Regarding this oil color issue. My '02 PT Cruiser (2.4L 4cyl.) with 80K miles and OCI's of 10K miles but sometimes sooner at 5-6K miles using M1 5W-30 and a M1 M1-102 oil filter hardly darkens its oil. At least what it looks like on the dipstick. Even at 8-9K miles the oil is a light amber on the stick you can clearly see through it.

Now most every other car I've ever had and for sure my turbo '06 VW GTI with the 2.0T FSI engine darken their oil after just several hundred miles.

Just my observation,

David

 

[blackdiamond]

Warranty Required OCI is 5,000 miles. I can't see going much less than that without a horrible UOA result.

 

[ericthepig]

From all the data above, I bet your car is fine, I bet your oil is fine. A blackstone $20 UOA at your next OCI will put it to rest (one way or another). A well spent $20 (actually $22.50) when your concerned about a multi-thousand $$ investment.

 

[Gilitar]

You should be fine with a 5,000 mile OCI, but only when using synthetic. Don't ever let them put a conventional oil in there. Turbos get hot and can cook a conventional oil rather quickly.

 

[Dad2leia]

Unless it's a diesel, at which point I use the least expensive quality petroleum based oil I can find (read a boutique petroleum) because of the soot and turbo, I'll drain it a 3-4K anyway regardless of what type of oil it is.

 

[blackdiamond]

I'm hopeful that the synthetic (Mobil 1) is actually suspending the left overs from the conventional OCI, but only time will tell.

More than anything I am just not used to seeing an oil get this dark this quickly.

 

[blackdiamond]

I'm again considering switching to Redline for the Group V base stocks, but would have to tackle the possibly warranty issues with using a non-API certified oil. I wonder if the service manager would give me a letter backing up the verbal that Mazda would warranty its use.

 

[harry j]

Mobil 1 5W-30 blackened rapidly in my Civic, Switched to Amsoil 0W-30 at 118,000 miles, the oil stayed much cleaner, even more so now when I switched to the Eao filter. Civic now has 221,000 miles, no oil leaks or burn.

Harry

 

[Max_Wander]

It looked dark before because the film thickness on the dipstick is thicker when the engine is cold which given the particulate, absorbs more light than a thin coating of oil on a diptstick pulled from a hot engine of the same oil.

 

[blackdiamond]

Last night I did a poor mans blotter test on a piece of copy paper and noted the following:

The Castrol Syntec Blend 5w-30 in my 1989 4Runner 22RE with less than 2,000 miles on the rebuild showed some dark color on the paper but once it dried it left only a very small area of discoloration. The oil currently has under 1000 miles on it with Mobil 1 filter.

The Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30 in my sister-in-laws 1998 Pontiac Sunfire with about 205,000 miles (about 3,000 miles on the oil with a Mobil 1 filter) looked absolutely perfect. It seems to be the little engine that could, leaks and burns zero.

The Mobil 1 5w-30 in my 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 with about 7,500 miles on it (about 3,000 miles on the oil with a factory filter) started out looking fairly dark but looked a lot less significant when it dried.

I'm beginning to think that a UOA by Terry will be overkill, but it will make me feel better which is the goal. I think I'm just learning too much about oil and it is causing me to worry about things I wouldn't have even considered in the past.