I bought an 99 Infiniti I30 last month. When I did the first oil change last month, xpress lube guys added some detergent and I can see the oil coming out is almost black, very dirty.
I checked engine oil today, the color became dark brown(like coffee), looks dirty. Is this normal? Is it because the engine has been kind worn out?
I used to have a Ford taurus, every time I change engine oil, the color doesn't seem changed a lot.

any input is appreciated!

 

idk mann never had that problem on my 98 but i get my oil changed every 1500 miles...just incase...

 

oil will turn black when it is working properly... maybe the detergents are cleaning all the sludge that is inside the motor....


Also did they change the filter?

 

the previous owner claimed that he changed oil every 3k. But when I did the first oil change last month, I could hardly believe. It shouldn't be that dirty if he did regular oil change. I never seen that dirty oil.

 

I think they changed the oil filter. xpress lube is kinda trustful store.

the detergent was added and flushed out before they put in new oil. I guess there shouldn't be any detergent left in the circulation.

 

You cant really determine much by the color of the oil. I mean if it comes out like molasses, then you've got issues, but normally, oil will lose it's golden color within a few hundred miles. This just means that the detergents in the oil are working. If you're really concerned, get a used oil analysis. It's not that expensive and it will tell you a lot about the condition of your engine.

 

I thought the detergent was already flushed out in the last oil change. They first put in some detergent and run the engine for a few minutes. Then they flushed out all the old oil and put in new engine oil.

used oil analysis? where can I do it? I'm really concerned about the engine condition after I saw the black oil coming out last time. If engine won't last long, I wouldn't spend too much money on it. Otherwise I would replace a few parts, the car looks good and have bose.

thank you all

 

^^^Agree 100%, color is not necessarily an indicator that the oil is bad or used up. I feel your concern tho. I had an S2K that used Mobil 1, by the time i got home from changing the oil it was black already??

* Supposedly it was common for S2K's to drink the stuff also as i later found out on forums.

 

just curious, when you do the oil change, do you have an option to choose what type of oil you want to use?
I do oil change in xpress lube, it seems that I can't tell them what oil I want to use

 

The motor oil contains detergents, which is what he's referring to.

You can request a kit from Blackstone labs - http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free_test_kit.html

 

thanks! I will do some homework on this website. But wondering how many people here do this test. I mean, even I have the report, I probably can't understand the report and don't know what to do with it.

 

IIRC, they tell you the possible causes of higher than normal amount of particles in your oil.

Do a search for used oil analysis. I believe a number of people reported back after receiving their analysis.

 

'Regular' engine oil contains detergents as well.

Really the only detergent free oil you're going to find at your local auto parts store will specifically say it:



They'll tell you on the report what everything means, basically. Also, see this: http://www.blackstone-labs.com/gasol...port_expl.html

 

Thank you all. It seems to be quite useful. I guess i can do a analysis and see if it's worth further investment on replacing a lot of stuffs, engine mounts, drive axles,

 

Engine oil turns dark/dirty. I wouldn't worry so much about it. As long as you don't have like any lifter tick or timing chain rattle i don't see why to worry so much. Just get some good oil, a good filter, factory preferably and change it at least every 3750 miles as Nissan recommends.

Even if they did run the cleaner through there's no way to completely drain it out unless you tear the engine apart and clean out all the oil. Little by little new oil will eventually clean out the cleaner they put in there. And yes, new oil does contain some detergents will help clean the insides.

 

You'd surprised how many people are using Blackstone for lab testing. They are reasonably priced and the kit is free. I have not done it personally, but I knew a couple of guys had used them from engine oil, ATF to coolant. If come to need, I won't hesitate.

 

I got a UOA as well. And good thing that I did. My oil was shot after a little over 3k. I do idle the car a lot during the winter especially so its more like 5k on the oil. I also ran Auto-Rx last year and am doing it now again. Some seafoam will probably help with the sludge as well.

 

You raised a very good point. I wouldn't worry about the color if I hadn't experienced the engine noise(sounds like a rapid "da da da da da"). The engine noise makes this car sound like a crappy car. I'll put a new thread about this engine noise after I record the noise. I did a lot research and changed the spark plug and pvc valve.
the weird thing is that it comes on for no reason, and after some time it goes off. Then it comes back again. very annoying and makes me worry about the engine condition.

 

<--With the Honda i used Mobil 1 cause thats what it called for. I use Castrol Dyno oil in the max with either oem or wix filters.

* I hope this doesnt turn into a "what oil is best" thread we already have one of those and its LOOOOOONG.

 

thanks

Did you buy the oil yourself and bring to mechanics or you can specify one?

I do oil change in xpress lube, it seems that I don't have an option to choose oil

 

Just curious, why don't you buy the oil you like and change it yourself ? It would be cheaper and you could use higher quality stuff. Oh and peace of mind.

 

just ordered the engine oil analysis from blackstone,

 

I'm going to grad school and don't have a place that I park the car so that I reach the bolt. You guys must have your own garage.

 

You don't even have to jack the car up, you can reach under and undo the drain plug.

 

thanks, I just checked the "how to", it doesn't look difficult.
Maybe I can try it next time.

 

I change my oil on the street in front of the house. Not even in a driveway

 

Guess I'm somewhere between the street and a driveway, my apartment complex parking lot:

 

 

Rolling around in leaves is bad enough (you can see where we cleared a little path with our backs crawling underneath the car).

What you can't see is that for every leaf, there are 100 ****ing acorns. That just hurts.

 

can't agree with you more.
I used to play sand volleyball by my company, which is surrounded by pine trees. you can imagine our bare feet.

 

More of a gymnasium volleyball guy myself, sand gets too hot and I like shoes.

Only thing about that is half the time I end up serving into the rafters.

 

I love how we all are turning this thread to BS I am all for beach volleyball And even indoors my serve is right on.
I feel your pain with the acorns. At the junkyard they have gravel and I have laid under cars there.

 

x2

This is the easiest car I have ever changed the oil on....

 

then you have not worked on many cars my friend.. the easiest car is a chevy astro van the filter is straight up..

 

A little more back on track, in the peace of mind department, did you try taking a good hard look into the hole for the filler cap on the forward valve cover? If that isn't telling enough then remove the whole valve cover and you should be able to at least put you mind at ease as to the condition of the top end. If it's all coked up then chances are you have some fundamental issue like stuck rings or something.

 

Wow. I can't believe people are still wasting money on oil changes doing short interval replacements. A decent dino oil is good to about 7000 miles.

I've been changing mine every 10 to 15k since I had 120k miles on the car and I'm at 273K. I'm running Mobil 1 with the Extended filter.

 

^It's all about application, the dealer reccomended is a VERY rough guideline, if you run highway miles, and you run your car daily, 13k miles is not hard on anything for an oil change, on DINO oil.

Mixed (1/2 city 1/2 highway) daily driven should be 6k miles on DINO.

City daily - 4k miles

any driving that's not daily driving you have to consider mileage/time, oil/engines accumulate moisture, fact of life, if you let the car sit for extended periods of time, or run it in dusty conditions, you should be changing your oil/filter, and air filter a lot more frequently, 2900k-3400k on DINO.

Point is application is everything, when, how often, where, and how hard you drive your car is indicative of when you should be changing your oil and servicing the car.

There is NO guideline, dealers base their guideline on 'mixed driving' which IIRC is 65% city, 35% highway, daily.
everyone is different and everyone drives their car different.

as far as the oil being dirty/black, dont sweat it, it's a VQ, and most engines will have blackened dipsticks/oil RIGHT after you change the oil and run the car.

 

what special about a VQ engine that it blacken the oil fast?

 

After my UOA they told me that my oil was almost shot. It had a little over 3500 miles on it. I do idle the car a lot so its like 5k but still.... I am running MaxLife 5w30 and that has been known to go 7k with ease. I guess not with my driving stile

 

......and to be honest, I know I'm beating the hell out of my oil here in NC. Temps have been really hot over the last 2 months and I've been using the AC. This is mixed 50/50 City/Highwway driving. I swear i'm waitng for my motor to just give up but she keeps on going.