topping up oil after driving?

ktcoil

hi guys, checked the oil the other day and its getting blacky colour, bought some oil which i have at home, when i driver home from work later and get home, how much time do you have to leave before i can put oil in, its about a 30 minute jurney home? thanks:)

Stoke

I'd top it up after maybe 5 or 10 minutes sitting. Engine oil tends to go black. I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Diesel or petrol?

fannyadams

I wouldn't top up the oil unless it is on the bottom mark of the dipstick.
you can blow up/sieze the engine if there's too much oil in there.
and it goes black because it has to rub over all the moving parts in the engine and the fuel & air that goes in the engine isn't clean so don't worry it's supposed to be black.

ktcoil

thanks guys and its black, will double check the mark and see if it is very low will top up and if not will just check again later on.

cajef

ktcoil wrote: »

thanks guys and its black

Maybe time for an oil and filter change, when was the vehicle last serviced?

londonTiger

afaik, oil goes black within a few drives after oil change. Look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Tc-YkJRxk

oil going black after 5mins. Although tobe fair they are burning the oil at far higher temps than what they would burn at inside of a car. Also oil circulates inside the engine so it's not always exposed to 300 degrees Celsius, it gets to cool down in the sump.

IanMSpencer

ktcoil wrote: »

hi guys, checked the oil the other day and its getting blacky colour, bought some oil which i have at home, when i driver home from work later and get home, how much time do you have to leave before i can put oil in, its about a 30 minute jurney home? thanks:)

YOur handbook will give the procedure, but around about 10 minutes should be fine to allow the oil to drain back into the sump. The handbook would confirm the process (my cars all want a warm engine to check, but some might assume a cold engine).

The handbook will also say how much between the two markers, this might be something like 1 litre.

Take the dipstick out, wipe it, put it all the way back in and then check. If it is 1 litre between the marks and it is at or below the bottom put a litre in, if it is halfway, put half a litre in, if it is higher, don't worry too much but try and keep track of how quickly it is using oil. Regular topping up is unnecessary unless there is a fault. It is not a problem being between the marks, but too full can cause problems as well as too empty, so don't be tempted to overfill just in case.

If you do top up, it takes a bit of time for the oil to work through the engine, so wait 10 minutes before rechecking.

Stoke

londonTiger wrote: »

afaik, oil goes black within a few drives after oil change. Look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Tc-YkJRxk

oil going black after 5mins. Although tobe fair they are burning the oil at far higher temps than what they would burn at inside of a car. Also oil circulates inside the engine so it's not always exposed to 300 degrees Celsius, it gets to cool down in the sump.

On most old diesels, you could do an oil change, start the car, drop the fresh oil and it'd be black again.

Norman_Castle

ktcoil wrote: »

thanks guys and its black, will double check the mark and see if it is very low will top up and if not will just check again later on.

Is the car petrol or diesel?. Black oil is normal in a diesel engine but not in a petrol engine.

Stoke

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Is the car petrol or diesel?. Black oil is normal in a diesel engine but not in a petrol engine.

Very normal on all diesels and still common on old petrols.

I really wouldn't panic.