Oil change needed?

hgrimberg · **Joined:** Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:03 pm **Posts:** 363

I changed the oil and filter 2 months ago. I made a 200 miles trip running almost all the time at 90 miles/hour. Now my oil level is at its minimum and all black.. Should i just add 1/2 gallon of new oil or do I take all this black oil out and replace it all?

Lancer · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:19 am

The engine oil gets black very quickly with this engine. If you're worried about the state of it, get an oil test kit - ebay/amazon is your friend here!

I'd be a LOT more concerned at that level of oil usage. 200 miles - even at 90 it shouldn't use anywhere near that much.

One thing, do you mean your oil level is at the min mark on the dipstick? If so, that's probably the right level. There are a lot of posts on here about this. The dipstick marks are notoriously inaccurate. Certainly on mine, once drained and filter changed, I put the recommended 6 litres in and run the engine to fill the filter; the oil level (after about 30 mins) is just above the min mark. I was told by the workshop mechanic some years back and have read on here, that any more just overfills and is either burnt off or can blow a seal.

user113 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:37 am

Lancer is right. Next time you change your oil try this:

Drive your car once around the block and look at the oil. Unless you have some sort of extra filtration, it will be NOTICEABLY dirtier in just that short of a run, even if you have GDE tuning.

That is why a bunch of us on here have one of these:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=76515

papaindigo · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:44 am

Yep oil gets black fairly quickly.

As to level.
1. the correct level on the dipstick is known to vary from vehicle to vehicle
2. actual correct fill amount depends on filter size. With stock filter change fill is 6.4qts or just a hair over 6lt. With a typical oversize filter (WIX 51515) it's 7qts or 6.6lt
3. I've found checking oil level to be very sensitive to a) time allowed from oil to drain back to the sump and b) how level the surface of the ground you are parked on is; just the slight slope of my driveway is enough to throw readings way off.
4. once you have done a fill and run the engine to fill the filter then park on a flat area wait 5-10 minutes for drain back then check and note dip stick level. This is now your full fill mark; if very different from dip stick marks the make a new mark.

Don't overfill; it just blows out CCV thru turbo>intercooler>intake

flman · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 1:26 pm

I have yet to see a diesel that actually had clear oil after an oil change once it was started?

thermorex · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 1:38 pm

With gde tune, my oil looks like a used gasoline engine oil (not black), which I think is awesome job from gde...

hgrimberg · **Joined:** Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:03 pm **Posts:** 363

My oil level is at the minimum mark on the dipstick. So, for what you all are telling me, this is normal and I dont have to be adding or replacing the oil, right? Thank you!

thermorex · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:42 pm

hgrimberg wrote:

My oil level is at the minimum mark on the dipstick. So, for what you all are telling me, this is normal and I dont have to be adding or replacing the oil, right? Thank you!

The general consensus is that oil dipstick is not accurate. You'll need to measure next time the oil you put in the jeep (6 litter) and after you run the engine a bit (so the oil filter fills up - keep in mind that oil filter has a pressure valve that will not allow thick oil to go through - this is to allow enough engine oil to reach your engine components and still lube them when cold, so best is to do this on warm engine), let it sit for about 15 minutes and look what level you have on the dipstick. That would be your correct oil level.

Side on this, I'd recommend to fill up with some oil till half mark on dipstick. This should be a relatively safe level. Then observe if your oil gets lower and in what distance, kind of getting a clue on how much oil is used. It is kind of a guess work till you figure your 6 litter mark on your dipstick, after that you'll know exactly if your engine eats more oil than it should.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:45 pm

I have always been taught over the years that if the oil is clean it is not doing a good job of keeping the internal engine components clean and keeping the solids in suspension so the oil filter can capture them!!!! :mrgreen:

So discolored oil is a good thing…. :wink:

GreenDieselEngineering · **Joined:** Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1111

WWDiesel wrote:

I have always been taught over the years that if the oil is clean it is not doing a good job of keeping the internal engine components clean and keeping the solids in suspension so the oil filter can capture them!!!! :mrgreen:

So discolored oil is a good thing…. :wink:

You have been taught wrong. Soot in the oil is from poor combustion and particulates getting past the rings. Less soot in your oil and it will be cleaner. The particles in dirty oil are typically smaller than the oil filter media can capture otherwise the filter would be able to keep it squeaky clean. On larger diesel engines many folks run a secondary oil filtration that is good down to 1-2 microns. This is very helpful for those doing extended change intervals.

thermorex · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:09 pm

To add to this oil topic: prior gde tune, after about 100 miles the oil looked about the same (black) like after 5-6k. Post gde tune, after couple oil changes that flushed the soot from the engine, the oil after 5-6k looks like a "burned" gasoline oil, it is dark brown not black. And relatively transparent. I use that 5-6k oil change interval since this is about the mileage I drive mid November-mid April and mid April-mid November, when regardless of the mileage, I do an oil change, especially after winter when that's a must for me.

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:16 pm

My experience mirrors thermorex exactly. Oil used to look like black ink after 200 miles. Now it stays translucent for the entire 5k OCI. Thanks GDE.

Oil change needed?

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