Oil not getting dirty

[JoshuaHouck]

Hello, all!
I have recently switched all of my diesel equipment over to Mobil Delvac Extreme 15w40 synthetic.
Now even after several hours of running, the oil looks clean. It isn’t turning black- I can still see through the oil to the dipstick. I do my oil changes quite early based on manufacturer recommendations, but in all of my experiences diesel engines turn oil black almost immediately. Should I be concerned? Any ideas? Thank you!

 

[demarpaint]

You're using a good oil, find something else to worry about. It is going to turn dirty before you know it, especially in a diesel engine.

 

[cptbarkey]

thats good to know, what were you using before?

 

[GON]

I was always taught the black oil meant the oil was doing its job.

 

[JoshuaHouck]

thats good to know, what were you using before?

Delo synthetic 15w40

 

[JavierH19]

Probably means you have better ring seal to where soot isn't passing through easily and you already had a clean interior so it can't darken from deposit cleaning, I wouldn't be concerned I'd be happy. Some will also get a 2 micron bypass filter to filter some but not all of the soot but i guess you don't have that as there's no mention.

 

[Torrid]

I was always taught the black oil meant the oil was doing its job.

There’s truth in that, but some oils use dyes or other ingredients that can darken from heat exposure so it doesn’t just mean it’s cleaning up the engine. Diesel tends to darken oil quicker anyway. I had one car that I don’t think was maintained well and the first two changes the oil got very dark very quickly. After that it was normal. I don’t know that it cleaned up anything for sure, but that’s my theory because I used the same oil all three times, Mobil 1 0w40.

 

[JoshuaHouck]

Probably means you have better ring seal to where soot isn't passing through easily and you already had a clean interior so it can't darken from deposit cleaning, I wouldn't be concerned I'd be happy. Some will also get a 2 micron bypass filter to filter some but not all of the soot but i guess you don't have that as there's no mention.

Thanks for this! The big tractor has only 700 hours, the little one is at about 400. I buy the OEM John Deere filters, I don’t know the specs.

 

[UncleDave]

Hello, all!
I have recently switched all of my diesel equipment over to Mobil Delvac Extreme 15w40 synthetic.
Now even after several hours of running, the oil looks clean. It isn’t turning black- I can still see through the oil to the dipstick. I do my oil changes quite early based on manufacturer recommendations, but in all of my experiences diesel engines turn oil black almost immediately. Should I be concerned? Any ideas? Thank you!

Find something else to worry about and call this one a non problem.

 

[JavierH19]

Thanks for this! The big tractor has only 700 hours, the little one is at about 400. I buy the OEM John Deere filters, I don’t know the specs.

Volvo vds 4.5 rated oils (almost all 15w-40's) technically should be able to last 360 hours without oxidatively thickening too much and without shearing below 3.4 hths to still maintain adequate wear protection but i wouldn't ever go past 300 hours.

The cheap $12-14 jugs have it so Delvac extreme will do even better. Still though I'd change it every 250 hours tops or 2 years. Though changing every 150 hours will leave it cleaner but not by a big amount. The odd thing is that Volvo stated that vds 4.5 oils can now go 1000 hours if you use their "high performance" filter. But filters only clean particles not rejuvenate the base and lower the acidity. Makes me confused. Only way I'd use an oil for a thousand hours is if it had the worlds best formulation.

For the curious

VolvoCE extends Oil-change intervals to 1,000 hours

VolvoCE extends Oil-change intervals to 1,000 hours Advancements in VolvoCE lubricant technology, coupled with new high-performance engine filters, cut engine drain intervals and costs by up to 50%. V

highways.today

 

[Kira]

I had one car that I don’t think was maintained well and the first two changes the oil got very dark very quickly. After that it was normal. I don’t know that it cleaned up anything for sure, but that’s my theory because I used the same oil

^^The same with Sis' '88 Jeep. Jug dino darkened with 5K OCIs. I watched it get progressively cleaner and settled at 6K OCIs for the duration of her ownership.

 

[dlundblad]

I own and take care of several diesel machines.. none of them have instantly turned the oil dark like diesel engines seem to have a reputation of doing.

On the other hand, if the oil was doing its job as people have said, you’d think it would be dark since it’s cleaning?

Are you sure the oil turned dark much faster before?

 

[wpod]

I was always taught the black oil meant the oil was doing its job.

Nope.

 

[JoshuaHouck]

I own and take care of several diesel machines.. none of them have instantly turned the oil dark like diesel engines seem to have a reputation of doing.

On the other hand, if the oil was doing its job as people have said, you’d think it would be dark since it’s cleaning?

Are you sure the oil turned dark much faster before?

I guess I’m not sure. I do oil changes on heavy oilfield machinery, and the oil darkens with just the post pm run-up, within 20 minutes. My personal equipment generally gets the oil changed once a year, so I really can’t remember what it looked like last time.

 

[fantastic]

I knew this Mobil Delvac Extreme 15w-40 5 gallon pail I have sitting in my garage had super duper ability to resist turning black. This is all the proof I need.

On a serious note I've seen all good things about this oil & you can be confident in running it in whatever you put it in.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

FWIW I’m not sure there’s any rhyme or reason to this. I have used Mobil Delvac ESP 5w40 and Super 1300 15w40 since buying my truck with mixed results. I’ve got a fill of Mystik JT8 15w40 in there now and it’s the lightest I’ve seen in my trucks history.

Just my $0.02

 

[Opelman]

You're fine, the newer generation of diesel engines run much cleaner than ever before. We have some 6.7 Cummins in school bus service and it takes quite a while for fresh oil to start darkening.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I haven't a clue about keeping track of hours.
So what does several hours in Joshua's miles driven translate to (approx)?

 

[fantastic]

I haven't a clue about keeping track of hours.
So what does several hours in Joshua's miles driven translate to (approx)?

Standard in what I've seen is 25 Miles = 1 hour. However, I've also seen Over the Road trucks get avg up to 59 MPH = 1 hour.

25 Miles = 1 hour would be "Severe Duty"

 

[leroyd92]

I was given a bottle of shell 1030 gas oil and it darkened at an alarming rate in my 03 Hyundai 2.7 motor, I also noticed the car randomly smoked on start up.

I switched it out with delvac 1300 and it took 50 hours for it to not look "clean " anymore. The shell oil was the same darker color at 5 hours.

Same oil now has 100+ hours on it and it looks light brown but not like dirty oil. Between this experience and the fact delvac 1300 is almost like a 10w30 in extreme cold it's becoming my favorite oil. Almost like a worry free oil for what vehicles I own