Toyota/Lexus 3UZ-FE V8 new oil turned black Immediately after starting engine once.

[350Rocket]

Now, mechanics will tell you to change the oil sooner, but people tell me not to listen to them because they’re just out to do more oil changes.

In my experience mechanics don't want to do oil changes any more than a detective wants to give out speeding tickets. They don't mind money by doing oil changes, they make money doing repairs (at least in a typical flat rate shop).

 

[doublebase]

In my experience mechanics don't want to do oil changes any more than a detective wants to give out speeding tickets. They don't mind money by doing oil changes, they make money doing repairs (at least in a typical flat rate shop).

I tend to agree.

 

[Alex38]

I’d stick with the Mobil 1 5w30, and shorten your internals to 10k miles at most. Maybe drop it to 7500 miles for a few changes to flush out any potential deposits. Who knows what the dealer was actually putting in your engine.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

First off I'm interested did you change the filter?

 

[JeffKeryk]

I think that is a later variant of the V8 in our trusty Tundra. The oil never gets dirty.
I service it once a year.

 

[skrypj]

I think that is a later variant of the V8 in our trusty Tundra. The oil never gets dirty.
I service it once a year.

Same with the 1UR in my GX. Oil is still gold after 6k with some towing near max.

 

[1uz_4me]

Like others suggested, just change the oil a little sooner. 345k mi on my 1uz that gets the oil changed when I'm bored. Some intervals are 5k mi, some 7.5k mi.

 

[Artem]

Hello my friends,

I have an oil question..

Is it time for a flush?


What should I do? Whats the best for my engine with the fewest risk.

Are you able to take a peak inside the filler hole to see if the inside of the valve cover is varnished or not???

A flush won’t hurt a thing and will only help to clean things up in preparation for the next 10k miles.

My only recommendation is to pick a name brand flush and dump the current oil in 1,000 miles after using the flush as directed.

the short drain will help clean things up and the flush will help dissolve some varnish as well. No harm at all. Only benefits.

 

[Thomas Campbell]

Hello my friends,

I have an oil question.

My 2004 Lexus/Toyota 3UZ-FE V8 VVT-I engine has driven 130.000km/81.000 miles.
It is dealer maintained and it had its oil changed every 20.000km / 12.500 miles.
The car has driven mostly long distances.

Yesterday I did an oil change with "Mobil 5w30" (ESP Formula) and I added a bit too much so I decided to take some oil out of the engine. I first started the engine to make sure that my level was correct. After draining the oil, I found out that my fresh oil was quite black. When I hold the bottle against the light of my garage I coudn't even see through anymore.

This made me think. Is it time for a flush? I have never flushed an engine before. It scares me. It's not recommended with the manufacturer and there are no real problems. The car is running perfectly fine. Only thing is that the fuel use is just a bit higher compared with others.

I am also asking this because a friend of mine who has the very same car, had the chance to change his oil more frequently (about every 15.000km / 9.000 miles). He claims that his old oil isn't even black. It looks almost just like the new oil when he is changing it.

What should I do? Whats the best for my engine with the fewest risk.

Sounds like the new oil is doing it's job. I'd just shorten the OCI.

 

[Gebo]

If you want to keep the car long term, I'd shorten the OCI to 5000km 3 times and then end up with a steady 7500km OCI.
Oil is cheap. Engines are expensive.

As an aside, there are a few YouTubes that address Toyota engine wear issues that are attributable to following the extended
OCI's recommended by Toyota/Lexus. You may want to check them out. On most of my cars, I do 5000km (3000 mile) OCI's.
On the 2 that drive 30 minute one way drives to work, I stretch out my OCI to 8000km (5000 mile) intervals. How you drive your
car makes a big difference in your OCI.

 

[adams355]

Flush it or wait 3 years to get enough short OCI's into it Liqui Moly make a good one