ClubCJ - The CJ Lancer Club

Can anyone tell me what colour the oil should be after a service. I had to check the oil level in my GF's car this morning wich was fine and quiet clean considering its got about 5000k on it since its been changed.
I then checked the oil in my Ralliart and ...dark brown?
I had the oil changed about 4 weeks ago (and filter) and have only done about 600k's
I know turbo's are harder on oil and ive never checked it before after a few hundred K's after an oil change...is the colour normal for the 4B11T at these K's after a change?

It should be a similar colour to the oil from the bottle - probably just a bit darker. I used to change the oil on my XR5 every 5k and checked the oil every week. Usually, when you first change the oil (& filter) it will be quite hard to see the oil level on the dipstick.

what sort of oil was used?

Synpower full synthetic 5w 40 (Recommended grade)

Thx Ken,
It's got the new oil filter i supplied on and i normally ask for the empty bottle of oil back but forgot this time. I would imagine the old oil would have been pretty dirty....500k's over due service and about 5mth's over due date.....it doesnt get driven much and last time they rang me to tell me it was due for a service i had put 800k's on it since the oil had been changed lol
I think it's just ive heard a lot of bad reports about servicing lately that has made me a bit duious

bump

Yeah I tend to get that too. The last time I took it to the dealer, after ~60kms it was quite dark. I checked right after the service, before driving off the service lot. It was light caramel. Drove it to work and then home, might have given it a bit due to transfer case and rear diff oils being changed and I wanted to see if it made a difference (it didn't), got home checked it again it looked quite dark for only 60kms.

http://www.texlube.com/oilmyths.htm
Myth #2 - If the oil turns dark or black quickly, it's no good. You can tell the condition of oil by the look, smell or color of it. Dirty (black) motor oil means the oil is breaking down.
Fact: A common misconception is that high quality motor oil should come out of an engine looking clean at the time of an oil change. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the oil is doing its job of cleaning the engine, then it should be dirty when it is drained. Havoline motor oil will start looking dirty a short time after it is put to use.

The above might just be marketing mumbo jumbo, but if you truly don't trust the quality of oil the mechanic used, change it early - eg. at 3,000kms or whatever - for your own peace of mind.

Thx heaps guys...puts my mind at ease a bit...I normally do my own oil changes on my cars after the warranty period. but as i still have a lot of warranty left and am the first owner im trying to abide by Mitsu.
Ive been involved with cars and mech stuff most of my life but just wanted to see what feedback from other owners was.
As i said...im maybe a bit nervous with the bad reports about service's
I allways supply my own oil and filter so i know what is going into it.

Ive got a very interesting write up on a heap of different oils that i think i will put up and you will be very surprised with the results...It's a independant write up to so there's no "brand" preference and they cant argue with scientific testing anyway.

Cheer's

Its picking up muck out of the petrol. Its probably also coming from the nooks and crannies in your engine.

Also, an example... If you make a cup of coffee, it only takes a few drops of milk for the coffee to dramatically change colour. Same goes for most situations where you add something to a liquid. A dramatic colour change doesn't mean its a dramatic physical change.

thx Jake, Ive just never checked the oil this close to having it changed and different cars behave differently so just needed a comparison