You are correct smokincummins....wix actually supplies penzoil, valvoline, NAPA brand, quaker and a couple more i think. I ve been using the NAPA Nascar ( black one) Gold. so far so good i guess..

 

If were gonna compare soot in the oil between the brands of oil and trucks then you also have to look at the setup of the truck. All these boys want their trucks to smoke like chimney's, well guess what, that adds soot to your oil. So in comparing the color of the oil at change intervals between trucks we also have to look at how over fueled each truck is also. Apples to apples kinda thing.

 

Yea your very right! A lot of people don't thank about that!

 

I believe that would have to depend on how much blow by your getting. Are you referring to fuel in the oil system?
Increased heat in the cylinders would have an affect on the oil properties. I think unburrned fuel ( chimney smoke) out the exhaust is a different "soot" than the soot in your oil.. unless your burning alot of oil due to blow by, i dont think extra fueling would add "soot". am i wrong? just trying to understand your quote thats all...

 

I think that the 'chimney' smoke would be the same kind of soot. I also feel that if there is more soot in the combustion chamber and out the exhaust pipe then it will also be able to find it's way into the oil pan. You are correct in saying how much blow by the engine has might affect how fast soot can get into the oil pan. I think that would have to do with engine condition and wear. The more soot that is in the combustion chamber or the more wear on the rings, then the more soot that would find it's way into the oil.

My boy just bought a '96 PowerStroke with 300,k + on the clock. We pulled the 'stick' when we were looking at the truck and I noticed that I could see through the oil to be able to read the dip stick under it. Talking to the owner, we learned that he faithfully changed it at 5,k and used Delo 400. This particular fill had over 7,k on it. I was so amazed because on my truck, even on the first change (And it was done early!), the oil is so black that you can not see through it at all. And this is 'during' the oil change, when you pull the stick to check on how you are doing on the re-fill (Yes, before even starting it the first time. It does seem like the threads on the oil pan would hold in a bunch of dirty oil, so I have even drilled a drain hole in them to get rid of any old oil. That hasn't seem to help a bit.)

Oil engineers would be laughing at us since it is too hard to tell if an oil is dirty just by how it looks. The only way to reliably tell for sure is to do an oil analysis. (bobistheoilguy.com is a great site to get info on reading your oil analysis. I also like the job that blackstone labs does on an analysis.) A couple of tricks used in the field is:
1) to drip one drop of oil into a clean paper towel and see what it does as it expands. If it can leave most of the soot in the center and then the outer area of it's expansion are 'clear' then the oil doesn't seem to have too much soot in it.
2) take a drop and put it in your hand. Rub it with your finger and see if the black goes away or not. If you can't seem to get rid of the black, then it might have too much soot in it.
These two methods are not very reliable or accurate, but may provide some insight into how much soot is in your oil. It may help if you did these tests every so often on a new oil change to be able to catch the point where the oil becomes too dirty.
I ran my oil 10,k and did an analysis. It's numbers weren't too bad. I still had some life left in the oil but copper was 15 (Should be 4), iron was 88 (Should be 23), and magnesium was 675 (Should be 232). Blackstone felt that the iron and copper might be lingering from wear-in or that the engine isn't liking the 'extended' oil change intervals. I know this engine hasn't been worked hard enough, so I feel it is wear-in related. Time will tell.

I was always told the original fill in a Cummins in a Dodge was Shell Rotella-T. I used some of that and it sure has the same smell to it. The one some complain about at stop lights (I kind of liked it myself ). I quit using Rotella after a truck driver friend told me about what he saw in their shop. He drives for a big company and they also had him working in the shop. He said he can tell when he tears into an engine what oil it was using. This company uses both Delo 400 and Rotella-T. The Delo engine is very clean inside and the Rotella one will have a lot of build up of sludge inside. There is a lot more to what makes a good oil than just that. I will try to find some info I have on Delo. I thought I had some that shows its wear is right in there with synthetics.

 

Far as I know, the oil is SUPPOSED to be dirty. There are components added to the oil to keep the soot suspended in the oil instead of gathering in the bottom of your oilpan. And FYI, the color of your oil has absolutely nothing to do with its lubricating properties or its condition.

Ill stick with syn and most likley with Amsoil.

 

Yup, agree 100% with Dr. Evil.

I've never seen a diesel that didn't have black oil. We have about 25 diesel trucks at work and NOT one of them has EVER had clear oil, even right after an oil change.

I get my oil analized and so far I have 20k on the oil in the truck and it's still going fine. I'm coming up up 25k in a couple hundred miles and I will send another sample off. If it last 25k that is pretty much an oil change once a year.

 

So which oil is good in the 07 5.9 to use. Hows royal purple? is it bad. Should i use a synthetic?

 

my oil stays clean all the time. dunno whats so different.

 

I agree with Dr. and Nate. Oil has to strip away soot, carry it off and keep it in solution or you will develop problems. If the oil doesn't keep the soot from clumping up it will allow the soot to become large enough particles or clumps to wear on bearings and the like. A guy I work with feels that if the oil is clean then you have a soot problem as it isn't cleaning it away from the inside of your engine. I understand what he is saying, but I don't agree. I think that most modern diesel formulated oils will be able to handle at least a moderate amount of soot loading. I know that is part of the specification testing all oils go through. I don't know what the numbers are but it should at least be able to handle normal amounts of soot for a few thousand miles.

Like I said, we are being a bit silly about the 'look' of the oil as to whether it is clean or not. I bet Nates is 'nasty' black with 20,k on it but if analysis says it is clean across the board and good to keep using, then it is! On the opposite side is my kids 'new' powerstroke I mentioned above. My FIL has an '02 F-250 and is running AmsOil with their BMK remote bypass system. I will have to ask but I think that oil has been in there over 2 years and maybe 10,k miles or so. Last I heard it was still amber colored!! I was amazed that it 'stayed clean' looking. I feel the difference is how much power the engine is making. Let's face it, they have all 'turned' up the power levels over the years. 1st gen Cummins were 160 HP and my 3rd gen is 325 HP. It is almost the same engine so the only way to turn up the power like that is to add more fuel. My friend has a 305 HP '04 Cummins and even pulling most of the time his oil stays an amber color until around 3,k or 4,k after a change.
Maybe it has to do with how efficient the engine is. I don't know. I do know my fil's PowerStroke will get 21 + on the open road. My friends '04 will also get better mileage than my truck. I just equate the lower mileage to more soot....