pitch black oil

[66Alpine]

Hello everyone,

Have owned this Beam for 2.5 yrs. have driven it 200 miles..once received I changed the oil...drove it 10 miles..ck'd the oil...black..changed the oil again..drove it another ten..same thing!!! What's the deal? anyway to get back the rich honey colored oil??

As always, thank you for your help...

Johnny

 

[Duke]

Engine flush before each oil change.

New engine.

 

[jumpinjan]

The black is from oxidation. I suggest you just drive it and change it frequently for a while until it gets flushed out.

 

[Nickodell]

It will also turn dark if you are burning oil because of worn piston rings and/or bores, and/or valve guides. Oil is then burned in the combustion chamber and ends up in the sump. Also can happen if your crankcase ventilation is not working.

In addition, note that motor oils contain a dispersancy additive, this additive is what causes the oil to turn black after a short period of use as it keeps particles of soot in the solution rather than allowing them to conglomerate into larger particles which would damage the engine and form deposits on the internal parts of the engine. As the oil is stressed by use, oxidizes or is contaminated the dispersancy additive fails and the particulate matter begins to agglomerate.

Field test:

Place a drop of oil from the dipstick on a piece of blotting paper held level and not resting on a surface. The oil will wick out across the paper. If the dispersancy additive is functioning it will carry the small particles with the oil and form a spot with uniform darkness and a slightly darker outer edge.

A ring of light debris on the outer circumference of the circular spot indicates that the oil has retained its dispersancy properties.

A black central spot indicates sludge and the loss of dispersancy as the particles have settled in the center and the oil has wicked outward.

A brown or yellow stain on the blotter spot indicates oxidation.

If anything other than the uniform dark spot with a darker outer edge is found, drain and replace the oil immediately.

 

[am99ey]

Johnny
I had the same, pitch black oil. Rocker cover was full of black stuff. And the engine was running rough.
After the engine was dimantled by my mechanic it turned out that a piston ring in #4 was broken at point 3/4 of circumference !!
The cause was probably lack of lubrication due to rich gas mixture; caused by a worn jet assembly, caused by improper centering of the jet assembly, caused by a difficult access to the hex of the jet assembly.
Also the valve guides were worn. The effect was oildust when the lid of the rocker cover was opened.
I would clarify the cause carefully not to cause more damage to the engine.

 

[Alpine Addict]

Engine flush can stir up sludge in the oil pan and may not be a good idea. I had the oil pan on my series 5 cleaned at a metal cleaning facility.