Dark Oil

[BK]

Im running Valvolin VR1 20/50 (10 quarts) in my BBC. After just a few hours its getting dark. I have no oil on my valve covers so I dont think blow by is an issue and the motors only got about 100 hours on it, and I dont run it real hard. Also just had the heads redone this winter. Any ideas as to what would cause this?

[celeb1]

A rich fuel situation would cause this. Are you carbed (dp or vs?)or injected? Do you idle a lot thry no wake zones? How you change your oil can have a lot to do with it. I used to pump out my oil thru the dip stick and that would leave at least a qt of dirty oil in the pan which would mix with clean oil and look kinda dirty. If you are changing oil on the trailer and the boat is on an angel you will not get all the dirty oil out. I have used the Valvoline Racing stuff and it pours out of the bottle very dark to begin with, you might not have as big a problem as you think. Get a sample analized and see what is going on to be sure.

[BK]

Im running dual 600 VS holleys. Its a little rich but I thought youd have to be really rich to have it show up in the oil? I had the pan off this winter and the heads off so there is no contamination issue with the oil thats in there now. Your right, it does come out of the bottle a little dark (VR1 Racing oil) but I just want to make sure im not having some sort of problem thats causing this. I also notice little bubbles on the dipstick occationally after I run it. Im planning on changing the oil next week and i'll have it analized at a place here in town.

[celeb1]

Few things, when you had the pan off was there any sludge in it from before?
What is the capacity of the pan? The bubbles would lead me to believe that you have too much oil and it is getting whipped up into a froth by the crank.
What is your oil pressure like, any drastic fluctuations after a hard run?
Are you using an oil cooler? What is the water temp in your block after a hard run?

[BK]

The pan was clean when I took it off. Its a 10 quart pan with windage tray, baffles and trap doors and I run 9 quarts in it with a quart in the K&N filter.
Im not running an oil cooler and the oil pressure drops off to about 35-40 psi at idle after a hard run, cold its around 60 psi.
Water temp is between 140-160 all the time. My first thought was that the oil was getting hot and thats what was causing it to turn dark? As for the bubbles, a freind of mine got them while using Valvoline this summer as well and is going to switch back to what he was using before as he didnt have this problem previously, nor did I when I was using Kendal 20/50. Thanks for the input so far.

[celeb1]

Is your motor flooding? Does the oil has a fuel smell to it? Your fuel pump has a vent tube to reroute gas into your motor and you have those j tubes on your carb for the same reason.
Water usually turns it a milky looking color so I doubt it is water.

[Moneypitt]

Dark oil could be burnt oil. Tight mains or flexable cranks will put exceesive loads on the edges of the main bearings causing the oil to actually burn. The oil in the center of the bearing doesn't get hot enough to harm the bearing, but the burnt oil will discolor the unburnt oil. As someone said to smell the oil for fuel, also smell it for that burnt odor......Another note, internal combustion engines using LP gas have the cleanest looking oil, even after months of use, less polutants to get it the oil..........MP

[058]

Its suppose to get dark, the oil is doing its job. It is cleaning the engine as well as lubricating, sealing and cooling. The oil is picking up contaminants, moisture, acids and soot and keeping it in suspension until its changed.

[LakesOnly]

Hey you guys think you got problems? Yesterday, I went to add water to my truck's radiator and when I took the cap off, I noticed that the coolant was green.
LO

[OMEGA_BUBBLE_JET]

Originally posted by LakesOnly
Hey you guys think you got problems? Yesterday, I went to add water to my truck's radiator and when I took the cap off, I noticed that the coolant was green.
LO
my engine coolant is ORANGE. wtf is up with that?
Omega