I've just changed my oil less then 300miles ago and when I went to check the oil level at fill up like I do every time, the dip stick was dipped in black oil. I changed the oil under 3000miles. I've never had this issue so soon after an oil change. The oil is always clean light brown after this soon of a change. I know that after you put fresh oil in after draining old oil it can mix with left over oil that couldn't drain but normally it isn't this black so soon. Any ideas as to why it's so dark? Car runs and feels normal. I used 4 1/4 quart of Royal purple 5w30 just as I have my last 6 changes with a Napa Gold filter. Normally I use the K/N but Napa doesn't carry it in stock.

 

Dont use Royal purple. Use castrol syntech its been proven to be the best for the VQ30de

 

Maybe the dye?

 

um, you never completely drain the oil out of the car, so some old oil will be in there and mixed...just a thought..pics?

 

It has? Link?

 

hmmmm so when you pick up the oil with a finger its black? Not brown? It always looks black but if you actually put it on your finger then its the normal brown color. Do the next change sooner and let it drain for longer maybe

 

this and depending on how long you let the oil drain out will be a factor, as well as if your engine was warm when you did the oil change.

 

I hate Castrol. Its not even grade 5 synthetic. They can only call it synthetic because of a legal loop hole. Mobil 1 FTW.

 

^gota agree, i dont like castrol either, my vehicles always seemed to smoke w/ castrol

 

i think its just the purple mixing with the old oil and making it look black.

when i first got my car i would put nothing but quaker state, then after a while i started just putting in castol GTX high milage. i try to stick to the GTX high milage, no specific reason why i stick with it.

 

+1

+1

 

You should NEVER change your oil based solely on the color of the oil. The oil turns black because the detergents in the oil are doing their job correctly. The ONLY real way to determine if the oil needs to be changed is to have a used oil analysis done. You're just blindly guessing and making poor assumptions otherwise.

 

I second that! Ill change right now if it has... But I typically use purple or mobile... My purple typically comes back out purple at or around 3k... mobile is just a darker brown.

have you perhaps done any additives? fuel injector cleaner, seafoam, lucas? If you did something meant to break up carbon you could be pulling a layer off and its just extra dirty this time. Cleansers will do that, including your gas... <-- or at least thats what the gas' claim!

 

Are you burning overly rich?

 

Mobil 1 falls into that category as well. Just sayin'....

 

I did more research online and looks like the oils below are recommended by many VQ35DE owners... posting here for refernce.

- German Castrol 0W-30
- Mobil 1 0W-40
- Mobil 1 EP 5W/10W-30
- Pennzoil Platinum 10W-30

 

I do not recommend that for the VQ30DE

I've owned 3, and they all burned the EP.

 

Castrol GTX 5w-30 treats my VQ30 nicely. No complains at all. It seems to be holding the seal pretty good to. My Vq doesn't burn it off. I check it every week and I don't need to refill.
Castrol GTX 10w-40 has treated my dad's 92 Corolla for 10yrs + nicely to and no complains.

 

Same here. Castrol GTX (or your favorite dino oil) is all you need for a maxima.

IMO, synthetic oil is a ridiculous waste of money unless you are doing regular UOAs to monitor your wear characteristics. If you are doing UOAs and running synthetic for say, 10k miles, then sure...go for it. Otherwise, why make it so complicated? You guys and your snake oil superstitions make me laugh.

 

as of today IIRC the only major oil companies starting with a pure grade 5 syn oil are mobil 1 and AMS

 

I did use some Seafoam but that was 3 oil changes ago. The last oil change wasn't near this dark. I'll just keep my eye on it. It isn't burning excessive oil and runs like normal.

 

I missed this post, come to think of it. I am running rich. I have an exhaust leak running down stream so it's causing my o2 to read lean. Not only is it killing my gas mileage but it's also probably causing this problem as well... Time to order the test pipe and get this fixed.

 

It seems that synthetic oil leaks thru our upper, lower oil pan and timing covers since no gaskets are present just sealant! Just had 2 Maxima(s) that were leaking oil and once the oil was changed back to regular mineral oil the leaks stopped! I'm running Royal Purple in my 5.5Gen and I'm seriously thinking about using mineral oil again! My 86.5 HB D21 p'up has made it to 356K using mineral oil so I'm sure it'll work on the 5.5Gen as well!

 

I think thats due to them not being sealed properly. Ive used synthetic, as well as many other I know for years and havent had leaks due to using it.

 

All talk about this oil is better, but seems nobody looks at the hard facts.
There is a fluids and lubricants section on this forum. In that forum section is a sticky with actual oil analsys information taken from Maxima owners.

Here's the spread sheet with the results.
http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...13325246982511

Mobil 1 and Castrol GTX are clear winners in overall performance.

 

thats some good oil info. Thanks

 

And you should also know that the lubricant manufacturers regularly change their formulations and ingredients, both to reduce their costs (like both Castrol 'synthetic' and Mobil 1 using primarily group III) and to keep up with evolving specifications and standards. So, what might have been one of the best engine oils for the VQ30DE a few years ago may not be so anymore.