Dirty Oil

I changed the oil (and filter) on my X at 1300 miles. I put Mobil 1 10w30 in it. I now have 2900 miles and I checked the oil and was unhappy to see that it was pretty dirty!! Is this still due to the break in? I have not been driving it hard at all. I do alot of city driving. Is that causing it? I went ahead and changed it again today. Anyone have the same situation?
Thanks

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BT

I'd say that's pretty normal. You don't need to change it because it's a little dark. If it's completely black I may worry. However, you really shouldn't put Mobil 1 in quite that early. Yes, the engine is still breaking in and Mobil 1 does more harm than good during break in because it actually reduces friction so much the engine won't completely break in. You're probably OK though.

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

I used to think the same thing about break in, but how about all of the cars that come with factory fill Mobil 1? For example....Corvette BMW, Porsche, Jaguar etc. Is it maybe just a rumor? I also changed my oilo t 1,000 with synthetic oil and have not had a problem.

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Chris
'00 Xterra SE 4X4 Auto(Silver Ice)

It's not a rumor. Those cars come with it because the engines were manufactured with closer tolerances to eliminate the need for break in. Most production engines are produced with tolerances that are "good enough". The plan is that break in will cause the engine parts to wear together in the first few thousand miles. Synthetics are so frictionless they actually prevent that. Ususally the worst problem you see from using synthetics too early is a bit of an oil burning problem. The piston rings never have a chance to seat properly. Whether or not you can use synthetics right off the bat, is completely engine dependent. And the X was designed to require a break in. The cars you mention are all more expensive, lower production, high performance cars with engines built to higher tolerances.

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

[This message has been edited by ILUVMYX (edited 02-12-2001).]

The dark oil is normal. When you do an oil change you are not getting all the old oil out. The new and old mix and give the "dirty look" to your fresh oil. Many shops will soon make available an oil change flush that does remove 99% of the old oil. My company is testing the machine now.

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Interesting thought Paul. From my experience when you change oil it will not be that nice golden brown after a few miles. As mentioned above, the old and the new oil mix and become one. This has been going on for years with all sorts of makes and models of vehicles and is not something I am concerned about.

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'00 Solar Yellow XE
Automatic
3-pack

Well I guess I got lucky then b/c I started to use synthetics at 1,000 mi, and I now have 6,000 mi and it doesn't burn any oil. now I just have to hope that I don't have any long term affects.

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Chris
'00 Xterra SE 4X4 Auto(Silver Ice)

I changed my engine oil to synthetics at 1200 miles. My engine uses no amount of oil that I can detect in six months.
The only long term effect you will see is an engine that lasts forever.

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i started using amsoil synthetic oil at my first oil change at 3,000 miles. i now have 21,000 on my xterra! absolutely no problems!

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I never thought of Mobil 1 causing the engine to NOT break in! I guess thats good! That shows just how great the oil is. I have used mobil 1 in all of the cars I've had and never had a problem with it, but then again I've never gotten a brand spankin' new car either! Thanks for the input!

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BT

Read this article for a good understanding of break-in. Especially the part that says "What about synthetic oils during break in?" This guy says it is perhaps legend to not use synthetics right away, but also says the oil companies and car manufacturers don't recommend it. I guess probably 1000 miles is enough. I figured I'd change it at about 3000 to be safe.
http://www.seansa4page.com/resource/breakin.html

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

[This message has been edited by ILUVMYX (edited 02-12-2001).]

At 3000 miles I am planning on running a Synthetic oil made specially for 4x4 to handle the higher temps, harder loads, etc associated with a 4x4 vehicle. I ran Mobile 1 syn. for 3 years in my 5.0 and with 130K miles on it (after 5 years as a highway patrol vehicle) it was still blowing new 5.0's and 4.6's away without an engine rebuild. I have full confidence in synthetics and after 3K, synthetics are all my X will ever use.

But thats just my $.04 worth.



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XChemist and Xylon
ChemistDCTimpe@aol.com
2001 4x4 V6 Auto 3-pack
Cloud White
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MAXC Member

I switched to Mobil1 at 3000 and am now at 7000 (?). Everything's great.

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blueghost
'01 Xterra SE 4x4

Hey Tex-X....a little slow on the machine that you are testing....lol...we have had that machine come and go at our shop over a year and a half ago....guess it was too expensive for the customers....lol...

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We are slow on that kind of stuff. We have 1500 locations. Do the math. It ain't a cheap date buying equipment. I think you're right though, too expensive for the customer. My guess is we will test it then never see it again.

There is a great article in automotive weekly this week on oil. I'll try to post some of the myth busting they do over synthetics.

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[This message has been edited by Tex-X (edited 02-16-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Tex-X (edited 02-16-2001).]

I switched to Mobil 1 @2K. Same as in my first X. I was curious though - how long are you folks using synthetics going between oil changes? The Mobil 1 flyer says change at manufacturer-recommended intervals, but I hear of folks going 5k between changes. I changed in my first X every 3,500 or so. What up?

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I still plan on doing mine at every 3k miles. You can never be too careful. Although it may eat through your wallet!

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'01 Silver Ice XE 4X4 3 pack V6 AT
BT