Black Diesel Engine Oil

Erudite and wise ones of the internet NGs - how long does it take a modern diesel engined car to turn it's engine oil from 'new' colour into a 'very dark brown' or 'black' colour?

Is this something that would/could happen within 180 miles? (If not, I'm off to see the dealer about the service he's supposedly done.......)

The car in question is a 2003 Renault Megane dci 80

Artie

Reply to
Arturo Ui
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Very quicky in my experince.

sponix

Reply to
--s-p-o-n-i-x--

Yes. When the oil is changed, oil is left lying in all the crooks and nannies of the engine, also a little is left in the sump, especially nowadays that they use a vacuum sucking device rather than removing the sump plug.

This residue quickly colours the new oil. It should be less than black as midnight though, I think if you had kept a sample of the oil before the service and compared it with the oil after the service you would be able to tell the difference.

Steve

Reply to
shazzbat

It is also more difficult for them to get it out if the engine is cold or only been run in from the car park. If you actually go for a drive and remove the sump plug you get a lot more of the old oil out although its hot and a bit dangerous.

Reply to
Gordon Hudson

I asked this last month after a particularly clueless Citroen dealer supposedly serviced my car (and broke the door lock in the process, which still hasnt been fixed,despite me driving there twice to have it done, but they forgot both times to let me know the parts had still not arrived - Murley at Rugby if anyone wants the 'complete lack of service' experience). Mine had done around 15 miles, and was black,just like old oil.Apparently with diesel cars, this is normal. Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

Well that's normal - but have you checked what the oil was like before?

Reply to
DervMan

The message from "Arturo Ui" contains these words:

Within 1.8 miles in my experience.

Reply to
Guy King

Oh well - if you want some nice thoughts, I think they did the clutch cable on our BX when it broke with my wife driving. Fortunately they work on a fixed (or menu?) pricing system - it took them well over a day and they charged about 100 quid (*). I wonder if my slightly botched pedal box mend threw them :-)

She drove it in and parked it on the forecourt. They didn't like having a manky old car sitting there near their shiny ones, but no clutch cable so she couldn't (easily) move it :-)

(* I had the joy of refitting one end of the cable when I did the box. It was sufficiently tedious that I don't mind the 100 quid they charged :-) )

cheers, clive

Reply to
Clive George

Very marginally, but that's how it should be done, and so mechanics are used to grabbing the sump plug and moving their hand quick. Even if it means dropping the sump plug in the oil - that can easily be fished out later.

Reply to
AstraVanMan

The message from "AstraVanMan" contains these words:

I've always wanted a vacuum attachment to fit the oil filler. That way I could apply enough suck to stop the oil coming out of the drain plug till I'm ready for it.

Reply to
Guy King

A pal had a 205 TD from new. He put synthetic oil in as soon as the car came back from a service and put the original type oil back in just before the next service. He did this in case he invalided his warranty. When he dumped the synthetic oil, it was still non black after 5000 miles, but the oil the dealer put in was always black after a short while before he replaced it with synthetic again. This was a guy who's engine gleamed. The dealer once commented that it was the only car that came in for a service and valet, and went out dirtier than it came in.

-- Stuart

Reply to
Stuart Gray

Since the synthetic oil would make no difference to the amount of soot created by combustion the it seems that the synthetic oil used was lacking in detergents and dispersants that keep these deposits in suspension while the dealers diesel oil had to clean all the deposited crap left by the synthetic.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

IMO this is the one the vulnerable item that shouldn't be difficult to replace.

I remember years ago having the clutch cable snap on an early Escort estate car, it took me about 10 minutes to find a local motor accessory shop to buy a replacement, and about another 10 minutes to replace it, with virtually no tools.

Reply to
Ivan

SNIP

I've been told that the reason it's such a PITA on the BX is because it was designed as a LHD car, and only the RHD version has this problem, it's to do with the cable run across to the other side, and re-siting the pedal box.

And yes I know that there are loads of other cars out there that started life as LHD and they don't all have this problem. I'm just passing on what I was told at a froggy car specialist.

Steve

Reply to
shazzbat

No idea about the reasons, but it kept my mate happy. He reckoned more deposits were left in the oil filter. I, personally have no idea. I'm just relating what he did. So where did all the soot "live" when it was running on synthetic? Did the engine keep it in a special place until dino oil was used?

-- Stuart

Reply to
Stuart Gray

It settled out of suspension in puddles of goop.

Huw

Reply to
Huw

Happened to me once in a mk1 Fiesta at traffic lights. I kangerooed through the traffic to the sanctuary of a car park, got a lift home (7 miles away) to get the tool box & jack, another walk to the dealers to pick up the cable, and then found it was a only few minutes job, no tools needed.

The annoying thing was, it had snapped literally OUTSIDE the dealers premises

Reply to
Steptoe

I know it's going off on a bit of a tangent, but as a layman (so I may be totally wrong!) I can't see any logical reason why with a half decent engine design, a timing belt replacement shouldn't be a few locking studs and 20 minutes' work, instead of some of the nightmares and tears one often reads about on these newsgroups.

Reply to
Ivan

I think it probably is - if the engine is out of the car. With the timing belt at the obvious end in a transverse-engined car, there's a real problem of access.

You know how the Haynes BOL proudly states 'based on a complete stripdown and rebuild'? (do they still say that?)

Since one of the first things they do is get the engine out, this means they get to avoid all these access problems. Great!

(And I reckon they should update a few years later when the bolts etc are actually rusted on/rounded off/etc to give hints on suitable get-rounds...)

cheers, clive

Reply to
Clive George

I sold a nice indusrial vacuum pump on ebay a couple of weeks ago.

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£49 plus carriage.Though by the amount of suck it had, as soon as the sump plug was removed ,it would suck all the oil out of the engine. :-)I've still got the 6 ton jack if anyone's imterestedMike.

Reply to
Mike G

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