Just drained my oil today and found the color to be very dark, pretty much completely black as opposed to the transparent yellowish color of the oil when it was new. I've been using Mobil 1 0w40. Is it supposed to be this dark if changed at the regular 5000 mile intervals? If not, what problems should I look for?

 

The first oil change i did after i bought my car was also very dark. My car had a bit of a sludge problem when i bought it though. I changed the oil more often for a while and it fixed the problem. I would suggest changing the oil at more frequent intervals (i changed mine with full synthetic every 1000 miles for 3 months) and see if it cleans up.

 

I'm going to check for any hidden sludge this afternoon. I have to change out the oil pan anyway. I'm also going to remove the valve cover and take a look at the camshafts. I'll try the frequent oil changes too, and see if that takes care of it. Thanks for the tip!

 

Black oil means its doing its job and removing crap.. You worry if its rank and thick.

 

oil is supposed to turn black, if you are changing it before it does then you are just wasting oil and money by changing it more frequently then necessary. 4-5k miles is fine for mobil1

 

Ok cool. Yeah, it's not any thicker and it's free of any solids. So I guess I'm good to change it at the normal intervals. Thanks guys.

Still going to check for sludge though, just for peace of mind.

 

Good idea with the 1.8.