I have an 04.5 600 and I changed the oil myself for the first time earlier this week. I know that many think that the 3rd injector event causes the soot buildup in the oil but wondered if anyone had confirmed it or what. My daughter has an 04 305/555 duley and her oil is as clean when changed at 6000 miles as it is when first put in. Mine is black as soon as you start the truck.
When I changed mine this week of course I spilled some on the garage floor and of course I dropped the drain plug into the 5 gallon bucket full of 3 gallons of oil but I have changed oil on many other vehicles before and this is the first time that I had a hard time getting the "Blackness" off my hands and arms. Usually a little laundry detergent and water and hands/arms etc come clean easily, I had to really scrub hard to get most off. I am thinking that this is mostly soot? If so how can this not adversly effect the lubricity of the oil? The darkness on my hands reminds me of when I handled tires regularly while working for Goodyear many many years ago.

Can someone re-assure me that all is well? and no...so far I haven't sent a sample in for annalys. I regularly change oil 6-8000 miles and mostly highway miles at this time. When pulling 5er I then change at 5000 or so. If someone could advise me of where to send samples to get oil tested and how to send samples I would appreciate it.

Thanks.......Don

 

Sorry I can't answer a couple of your questions but misery loves company. I had a poor experience with my first oil change also. Spilled a couple quarts on my driveway and what a mess!

There have been other posts on this subject and the consenus is that "all is well" with the soot in the oil.

 

The black oil is 100% normal in the 04.5's and newer. Most guys that've had the oil analyses can verify that. The oil tests fine. It's just black.

 

how old is your daughter. sorry i could not resist. probably older then me, but i still had to ask. oh and about the oil mine is as always was black after 5,000k miles

 

My oil is black within 5 minutes of starting the engine.


Daughter is over 40 and in the Seatte area with an 18 year old & a 14 yr old. Happily married also.

And yes, I'm an old F$rt too.

 

Two reasons I don't believe black oil is a problem for these vehicles:

1. Everyone, including me, says their oil turns black for the 04.5 and 05 model years.

2. My Dad owned semi's all of his adult life, driving millions of miles. He was very particular about making sure they were maintained as recommended by the manufacturer. The oil in these trucks always turned very black. Many years ago, I asked him about the black oil and he told me that it was normal and that the oil was not doing its job if it never turned black. Given that he could get a million miles out of these trucks without major engine problems, I think he knew what he was talking about.

Also, I read something on the Cummins web site that stated that the reason they could increase the miles for the recommended oil change interval was because the newer trucks put less soot in the oil. Consequently, I don't think the black substance is soot. You might want to go to the Cummins web site (cummins.com) and see if you can find information that answers your questions.

 

I have read a few posts of people using Blackstone Laboratories for their oil samples. They have a sample report displayed and it looks very complete. They even compare your oil sample to the average sample from your kind of motor. Sounds good to me...

 

Like others I agree on the 04.5 trucks an up, the sudden black oil is normal. My 03 keeps the oil pretty clean looking up to 3K to 4K miles. Then it's only just discolored a little, not black looking on the stick. So the phase of the oil being black is it's just doing its job seems to me to be more to it other than just doing it's job. Alot of the earlier G3 trucks (03-04) are just like mine along with the 2nd generation trucks oil stays clean looking longer. Again on the later model trucks I don't believe it being jet black is a problem at all.

You can go to www.bobistheoilguy.com and Blackstone Labs has a ad you can click on and they will send you a oil sampling kit for free,very simple to use.

Tony

 

My 305/555 stays clean for a long time......my wife's 2005 Jeep Liberty Limited 4x4 CRD is another story. It has EGR and a 3rd injection event.....it's nasty ASAP after an oil change.

http://kydtr.com/iboard/index.php?sh...=0&#entry55999

Greg