PP EURO 0W40 Cleaning Too Well?

[BlueOvalFitter]

I have read all of the promos about how well PP/PUP cleans up to 40% better than M1. Does this include the PP EURO 0W40? I ask this because the current OCI on my 07 F150's engine is just over 1K miles. Each time I gas up I always check the oil. I have only had to fill up about 3 times. The 1st time I checked it with the PP 0W40 oil it was dark on the dipstick. Second time, even darker. This weekend when I gassed up, I checked it again. The oil on my dipstick is so dark it has me wondering now; Was my internal engine THAT DIRTY? Most of you here know that I change my trucks engine oil at 3K-5K miles religiously. I have done this since I bought it new with only 6 miles on it. With oil changes that frequent, I don't see HOW the internal parts of my engine are that dirty.
What gives? Can someone please explain this to me like I were a 6 year old? (Quote by DENZEL WASHINGTON in the movie PHILADELPHIA) Can the PP 0W40 be cleaning my engine that much?

 

[Charlie2015]

Maybe it is something in the oil turning dark the longer it gets exposed to heat?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
Can the PP 0W40 be cleaning my engine that much?
You say it like it's a bad thing. Why would you not want your engine clean?

 

[Trav]

I see a lot of engines that have had 3-5K OCI and were really dirty inside so yes it could be doing a lot of cleaning.
From engines I have had apart the new oils not just Pennzoil but Mobil 1 really get cleaning in the piston area, it depends on the engine and the previous oil used.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
Can the PP 0W40 be cleaning my engine that much?
You say it like it's a bad thing. Why would you not want your engine clean?

No, not at all! I just can't believe how well it's cleaning my engine. And, secondary, was my engine that dirty to begin with? I WANT my engine clean. My next OCI is with Castrol 0W40. I hope it does as good of a job as the PP.

 

[Trav]

It cleans well as does Mobil 1 0w40.

 

[bbhero]

It's really good that we have people on here like Trav who have taken motors apart and assessed what they looked like. I would take his statement here and say that makes a whole lot of sense here.

 

[JC1]

BOF,

I've seen Mobil 1 get dark quickly and with PP it take longer to get dark.

Have you ever removed the valve cover tonse how clean it is inside?

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: JC1
BOF,

I've seen Mobil 1 get dark quickly and with PP it take longer to get dark.

Have you ever removed the valve cover tonse how clean it is inside?

No Sir, I have not. But, my friend has a bore scope. Next time I'm at his house I will ask him to look inside of my vc.

 

[CT8]

What is in the oil that makes it clean better than other oils?

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
Originally Posted By: JC1
BOF,

I've seen Mobil 1 get dark quickly and with PP it take longer to get dark.

Have you ever removed the valve cover tonse how clean it is inside?

No Sir, I have not. But, my friend has a bore scope. Next time I'm at his house I will ask him to look inside of my vc.

This is the answer. You really have no idea if it is "cleaning" or not, nor do you know if your engine was ever "dirty" to begin with. My old BMW turns the oil dark very quickly but under the valve covers it is spotless. On the other hand my Sienna is not spotless under the covers but the oil stays clean looking a lot longer.

Call me skeptical that any oil really cleans anything that well. I just haven't seen it.

 

[krismoriah72]

Here are some 15 year old opinions.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=21678

 

[FCD]

I am running HDEO in my Escort i bought in January, while the car was, and is in excellent condition the engine had not been taken care of, in the last 10 years, only 3 oil changes, one in 2009, in 2012 and 2015.
The oil has been in the engine for 3 months now and it has turned dark quickly, i suppose that means it's cleaning the engine, i intend on changing it again in October or November, using the same HDEO, which i will probably run in it for as long as it's available, because of the high Zddp too.

Anyway, i would say don't worry at all.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Maybe Not exercising the motor enough. Tons of varnish up the pistons.

That said, I'm running QSUD 10w30 and it got dark quickly, bt I ran the last OCi too long. Only 4 1/2 months but it was a nasty winter. And it wasn't a "premium " Synthetic, just Magnatec 5w30.

 

[SZR48207]

I thought piston blowby is what darkens oil? Which in this case is not a good sign.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Here are some 15 year old opinions.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=21678

Thanks for that older post link. From what the elder members stated, I have nothing to worry about. The PP oil is doing its job and I am glad to know this.
When BITOG member MolaKule speaks, you should listen to his advice very well. He's like the Moses of motor oil, coming from the mountains with his guidelines about motor oil on his tablets.

 

[1JZ_E46]

Our Mini Cooper turns oil black very quickly, yet there isn’t a spot of deposit or varnish anywhere in the engine. It’s all from blowby. My X5 with the V8 is easy on oil (no turbo, has an oil cooler, and there’s 10+ quarts of it). Usually a reddish-brown color when it comes time to change it.

 

[jayg]

Different oils darken at different rates.

It doesn't mean one cleans better than the other. Darker can just be additives reacting to the same amount of heat differently and doesn't equate to cleaning.

But since feelings trump science 90% of the time on this board, believe what ever makes you feel good.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: 1JZ_E46
Our Mini Cooper turns oil black very quickly, yet there isn’t a spot of deposit or varnish anywhere in the engine. It’s all from blowby. My X5 with the V8 is easy on oil (no turbo, has an oil cooler, and there’s 10+ quarts of it). Usually a reddish-brown color when it comes time to change it.


I will post this picture once again and explain what it represents. This engine has a spotless valve train and many would say the rest of the engine would also be spotless but the bottom of the pistons say otherwise. This cannot be seen with a boroscope, look at the piston upper middle.
It still has plenty or crud and varnish, the reason for this is it is partially blocked from splash by the pickup tube.
Look at the lower right which is totally exposed as are the other 4, see the difference? IIRC this was with Mobil 1 0w40, notice the red tint to the oil.

 

[CR94]

Possibly related to BOF's question ...

When I removed the Toyota filter after one change of TGMO plus a second oil-change interval of Rural King (Warren) 0W-20, the filter looked remarkably like new. I could see a few very tiny particles it captured, but it wasn't very dark overall. Then I changed to Pennzoil Platinum 5W-20 with a Purolator filter. When that filter came out, its the media was much darker, nearly black. Why? Because the Pennzoil cleaned leftover carbon off the pistons, or because the Purolator filter had a higher efficiency or ___ ? The oil itself did not look darker.