black engine oil

[Bandit12]

Hi Guys this is my first diesel and I change oil and filter every 6000 miles. Despite this the fresh oil always seems to go black really quickly. I'm about to do an oil change.

Question is should I use an engine flush or not worry about it?

Advice, experience and tips are always appreciated

Bandit

[CitroJim]

That's perfectly normal for diesels. Nothing to worry about at all

[Old-Guy]

It's impossible to drain all the old oil from the engine, no matter how long you leave it draining, though it does help to jack up the left-hand front wheel to encourage a bit more to drain out of the sump. The residue turns the new old oil black within a few miles. Jim's right (as usual).

[Stickyfinger]

I like to do 2 changes with a cheap oil in quick succession (2k miles) after first getting the car, then switch to a high grade and use that from then on and extend that to 8k.....

[van ordinaire]

I had similar concerns, for the same reason, when I got the C15, more particularly because it was not only the colour, but the consistancy, of Indian ink.

My immediate reaction was to adopt a similar strategy - but it had to wait 'til I could source the cheap oil. So, 1500 miles later than I'd intended, changed oil & filter & when I checked the level the new oil was already the same as the old, at least in colour. Decided to do next change after 1,000 miles: now at €8.99 for 5 litres &, was it £4? for a filter on-line that's no big deal. Trouble is having over-estimated the sump capacity & under-estimated the consumption - AND having bought 10 litres of oil I'll have to stick to the proposed 3,000 mile oil (if not filter) changes, just to use up the cheap, under spec'd oil.

(better get on line & order up another couple (1/2-doz?) filters!)

[Bandit12]

That's perfectly normal for diesels. Nothing to worry about at all

Thanks guys and this is my kind of engineering-simple

[Peter.N.]

It uses high detergent oil which picks up all the rubbish, shows its doing its job.

Peter

[Zelandeth]

As everyone has said, black oil is perfectly normal in a diesel. Not sure how good an idea it is on modern engines (most of my fleet have been Ladas, Skodas and old Saabs) but I have found that the high detergent properties of diesel engine oil makes it good for use as an intermediate oil when cleaning out a neglected engine.

[van ordinaire]

I'm still a little concerned that my engine oil is almost black by the time it reaches the sump, i.e. without the engine having been started. Still only time, & a couple more oil changes, will tell.

I used cheap diesel oil to fire up a replacement engine, of uncertain heritage, in a 2CV, it produced huge amounts of black smoke, which hadn't cleared after 5 or 6 miles, so required another change, if car was to be used, BUT it did do the trick: cheaper than flushing oil - & you CAN drive on it ('though you may not want to!)