fernando.

I have a d15b7 with roughly 118,000miles. Is it normal for the oil to start going really dark after 30miles of driving?

TylerB

It's normal. Unless its milky don't worry about it.

BlackDeuceCoupe

Sounds like piston ring blowby/blowback to me.

Have you done a compression check?

If you get normal readings... then I wouldn't worry about it!

fernando.

^^ Thanks for the tip. I have a compression check done soon.

Ruben19

you need to do your oil changes more often

1992Si

For a Honda, no that's not normal. That's if it's had regular oil changes over it's life. If the compression test is good just do some oil and filter changes on a regular bases. Keep checking the oil level.

jdm_bones

iTrader: (5)

Yes sir ^^^ blow by gas, will enter your oil sump when your pistons rings have gone bad, do us a favor and do a compression check the post the numbers up, then we can give you better feed back.

fernando.

Great thanks guys. As for changing the oil, I change it every 5,000km's which is like 3100 miles.

hondamark35

let's not jump the gun too soon...

what's it look like under VC?

before you test anything check the color of the oil that stays in the engine when the pan is drained. my first guess is prior neglect maybe by a previous owner when it came to oil changes. the thick build up (of all sorts of things) mixes in with your fresh clean oil, making it darker.

you can clean this out if it bothers you. without disassembly... just soaking it up with rags, or using a fluid evacuator under the valve cover will get rid of some of it... but you should be ok keeping up with your regular oil changes to slowly dissolve it away.

if everything looks honey-coated under the cover, then move on to blow-by and compression tests.

92eg_h22

seafoam your motor or try to get some sort of Lucas engine cleaner...may help. You could just have alot of sludge in your motor.

brucepick

Mine was black when I bought it 20 K miles ago (Sept. '08) and would turn black within a couple or few hundred miles after an oil change.

I did a couple Gunk flush treatments. Both times, after running the flush I'd drain it, fill with fresh oil, new filter, then idle it 5 minutes. Then drain that and put in a fresh filter again. You don't want that stuff hanging around in your engine.

Then I did two cycles of Auto-RX. That stuff is expensive but it's been cleaning things up. Still burns oil but it looks like it's burning it slower. Stays some kind of amber too, not black. Some guys recommend Marvel Mystery Oil to clean up stuff inside the engine - I might try that if a 3rd Auto-RX treatment doesn't resolve it all.

ALSO it used to take like a couiple hours for any oil added into the fill opening to drain down to fully show up on the dipstick. Check for that. After fully warming it up, shut it off and check oil after a couple minutes. Then check again after a couple hours. I'd think that some increase is normal but if it goes up half an inch or something after the couple hours wait, then you know it's draining down very slowly. Plugged up passages inside. Be aware so you don't overfill it. "Oh, it's STILL low!! I better add another quart!" Maybe not. Find out how long it takes to drain down into the oil pan.

TravisCadello

My b7 did the same thing so i never bother changing it lol. but i did 3 oil changes back to back in 2 weeks and it would go black after a few miles. motor ran great never found out what was wrong. i figured it was neglected so i kept changing it jus wasting money.

I dont think its something to worry about but i know how it feels when u put expensive oil in and check it a few days later expecting u to feel good that its all clean and new but looks old like DAM! lol.

green99civic

Thats normal because even after an oil change you still have a little old oil in the motor. The oil shouldn't be straight black but definitely have a darker hint to it, then when you put it in.

brucepick

You can change just the filter and it will clean up. For how long, well, you'll have to see.
I found this in one of my Auto-RX cycles when it spec'd a filter change between oil changes, due to the bulk of dirt that the treatment would release out of a sludged engine. Oil cleaned up visibly.