Black oil

[rScotty]

Its normal. Its not a gas engine, diesel makes soot, oil encapsulates it. Its fine and doing what its supposed to.

The "kioti engines are know for this because they dont run hot enough...." is a BS line fed to you by the dealer to try and make you go away happy and not ask any more questions.

Its NOT a kioti thing....its a DIESEL ENGINE thing.

I thought I hit "Good Post", but guess I hit "Reply". So I will....good post, LD1.
I thought all diesel oil was black with soot, but have learned differently. Still, sooty oil is a diesel thing. Some more than others.

Both our old Ford F250 truck and the JD Backhoe have pre-emission engines and the diesel engine oil omes out looking sooty & used, but not completely black.

We have an Mercedes diesel in our old RV, it's oil comes out at 12,000 miles looking exactly like it did when it went in. No soot or dirt. Looks and runs new. It has DEF emissions equipment. Even the tail pipe is clean.

Our Kubota tractor has all the emissions equipment that came on it from the factory. Its oil comes out looking like India Ink. It could not be blacker. It will stains your skin and clothes.

All of them are high mile/high hour engines and all start easy and run fine.
You want to be careful about believing salesmen and recruiters.
rScotty

 

[4570Man]

Thanks for the advice, maybe I should point out to Kubota and Ford how mistaken their recommendations for their Diesel engines were!
They both recommend 100 hour engine oil change intervals under ideal conditions.


I think I will continue 50 hour intervals since it's not always ideal conditions here.
You know, short 15-20 min runs occasionally etc. etc.
Oh, and it can take 3 years to get 50 hours of use sometimes, sometimes only one year.

Ford manual:
View attachment 720632

Kubota manual:
View attachment 720633


Cheers

View attachment 720634

Here’s the oil change interval for my Kubota.

 

[hube2]

I read something on on this site: https://costeffective.com.au/2016/04/03/my-diesel-has-black-oil-after-an-oil-change/

It had a quick way to determine if there is too much soot in your oil.

Pull out the dipstick and wipe it off on your fingers, rub it between your fingers, then wipe the oil off with a rag. If your fingers are left stained from the soot then you have excessive soot in your oil.

The rational given is the soot should be suspended in the oil, if soot is left on your skin then a portion of the soot is not being suspended properly in the oil and this could be an indication that it's time to change your oil.

Opinions?

 

[MHarryE]

Soot is the result of incomplete combustion. Makes its way into the engine oil however it can. Newer diesels are designed for more complete combustion with the result being less soot load on the oil. My Cummins (1992) is particularly dirty, needs 150 hour changes, very large sump on the engine to dilute things to increase change interval. My larger Kubotas have either 400 or 500 hour change intervals but are still black by 100 hours. My small Kubota diesels, under 25 HP, are dirty and require much more frequent oil changes, 50 and 100 hours.

 

[Howard57]

we have several tractors with original engines clocking in at over 12000hrs some simple rules
1- buy good quality fuel(if possible) and be fastidious about refuelling
2-we always use synthetic oil and change oil and filter every 150 hrs again be a bear about being clean
3-check your air filter diesels need fuel and air
4- in cold weather block off your rad diesels do not run well cold

 

[FERLING]

Hi all Kioti owners. I have 2014 CK30 HST ( 125 hours ) and notice every years when replacing the oil that it is pretty dark. The tractor is not used very much other than snow blowing or a bit of landscaping, it sits more than anything else in the garage. I was told by the dealer that the Kioti engines are know for this as they do not run hot enough to overheat which causes the oil to be black. Anyone have any input on this.
Thanks

Quit asking that dealer for advice would be my first opinion. Second, if a Diesel engine doesn’t blacken the oil then the oil isn’t doing its job.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Consider the wise people who believe in science that change oil and coolant by analysis. It is not uncommon to double, or even triple, oil change intervals. Any oil that is formulated for diesel engine service by API is supposed to hold particulate in suspension, hence soot from fuel (broad term).

 

[Alan46]

My oil comes out so clean my wife wants to add vinegar to it and use as salad dressing!

 

[FERLING]

Thanks for the advice, maybe I should point out to Kubota and Ford how mistaken their recommendations for their Diesel engines were!
They both recommend 100 hour engine oil change intervals under ideal conditions.


I think I will continue 50 hour intervals since it's not always ideal conditions here.
You know, short 15-20 min runs occasionally etc. etc.
Oh, and it can take 3 years to get 50 hours of use sometimes, sometimes only one year.

Ford manual:
View attachment 720632

Kubota manual:
View attachment 720633


Cheers

View attachment 720634

15 to 20 minutes run times should bring everything up to operating temperature. Hours or once a year or manufacture suggestions? For warranty just don’t exceed manufacture’s suggestions on maintenance. What your billfold can stand and what helps you sleep at night controls excessive maintenance.

 

[FERLING]

Re: the oil, mine is also black when changed.
I use my tractor frequently, but not always for more than an hour or two. I average about 100 hrs/year. To have a 7 yr old tractor with only 125 hrs seems strange.
FWIW the manual suggests oil/filter change every 100 hrs. I follow this and use Rotella T6 full synthetic and WIX filters.
And my tractor runs in the middle of the temp range per gauge.

Add a Workmaster 50 to your strange list. March of 2016 bought new. Nov. 2021 it has 199.5 hours. Change oil every 50 hours. Oil comes out black. (Mobil one Turbo synthetic)

 

[K man]

Looks like I am not the only one that has low hours on his tractor we should start a club lol

 

[RalphVa]

Our Isuzu's oil is honey colored. Just checked it yesterday. Changed at 50 hours in about its 3rd year maybe. Now at year 9. Will change along with all the filters and coolant next year.

 

[FERLING]

Looks like I am not the only one that has low hours on his tractor we should start a club lol

Yep - We should update when motor quits and how long it took plus how little hours were on it. In this day and age we use high dollar synthetic oil with filters that have extended use to match oil. Tractors have electronics that adjust everything automatically for maximum efficiency. Like autos as long as it’s working correctly you should see extended service. If anything screws up the you have an extended headache. I use to change oil in my autos every 3,000 with 1 year time limit. Now I change oil (Mobil 1 synthetic 18,000 guaranteed or 1 year along with extended use Mobile filter) every year at inspection time with 5,000 to 10,000 miles on oil. (15,000 miles on 2018 Silverado 4x4 as of Nov. 2021)
Almost 67 years old and never lost a motor! Bought new and have bought used. Most mileage on a vehicle was a 1998 Dodge 360 four by four that purred like a kitten when I sold it with 202,000 miles.

 

[newbury]

For me to do it in 500 hours interval would take forever to reach as I am lucky if I put 20 hours a year on mine but I do it anyways you know the old saying better safe than sorry.
Just saying

Well a Used Oil Analysis (UOA) may let you keep using the same oil forever. And still be safe.

A UOA would also discover things like abnormalities that a simple eyeball might not.
As far as color of oil that may depend on the way your engine works. My Ford 7.3 diesels have a High Pressure Oil Pump, which holds about a quart of oil that is NOT changed during a normal drain and fill. So within a few miles the oil starts to look used.

 

[kpsp50]

I have all diesel vehicles and every diesel that I have comes out with black oil I don't care if it's 100 or 5,000 mile it's always black tractor trailer black tractor black car black that is quite normal so don't worry about it

 

[JWR]

Its normal. Its not a gas engine, diesel makes soot, oil encapsulates it. Its fine and doing what its supposed to.

The "kioti engines are know for this because they dont run hot enough...." is a BS line fed to you by the dealer to try and make you go away happy and not ask any more questions.

Its NOT a kioti thing....its a DIESEL ENGINE thing.

Exactly. Agree 100%. I never use synthetic oils in tractors so may there is some difference there? I have so far owned 5 diesel tractors and 4 VW diesels during the last 42 years. Every one of them showed coal black oil and it was blacker than any gasoline engine oil within just a few hours of use too. I'm guessing another reason the Kioti dealer might have fed the OP that BS -- he had that theory, heard it somewhere or made it up and just passed it along like any other ill-founded rumor.

 

[Bob Rooks]

View attachment 720949My oil comes out so clean my wife wants to add vinegar to it and use as salad dressing!

I think that's an excellent idea. Kudos to your wife. Just think of all the new minerals that will be added to your diet. So if it has a little diesel fuel or anti freeze bite to it, you'll know right away. Or maybe it will have a slight aluminum flavor.

 

[Bob Rooks]

.........I'm guessing another reason the Kioti dealer might have fed the OP that BS -- he had that theory, heard it somewhere or made it up and just passed it along like any other ill-founded rumor.

EXACTLY!! I know one tractor dealer in Oregon that insists on using compressor oil in the fuel injection pump/governor. They could not give me a reason for it. So far as I know they are the only dealer in the free world that does this.

 

[rScotty]

I have all diesel vehicles and every diesel that I have comes out with black oil I don't care if it's 100 or 5,000 mile it's always black tractor trailer black tractor black car black that is quite normal so don't worry about it

Black oil may be normal, but I wonder if it is necessary?

Would a good bypass lubrication system remove the soot particles? Bypass systems filter particles some 10x smaller than standard filters.
rScotty

 

[DieselBound]

Unless you're changing viscosity for winter there's no reason to change it just because winter is coming.

There ARE some diesel engines whose oil doesn't turn black. I won't even try to explain... A friend has a mid-2010s Duramax and he says his oil stays pretty clear-looking: he's like me, an older VW TDI guy, so we know all about oil turning instantly black! Oil in my old Kubota generator doesn't seem to turn black like it does in everything else I have. I cannot explain this.