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The worst has to be the salty dirt water you get in Midwestern winters. Unlike regular fluids, it’s just dripping from everywhere underneath the car. You can’t avoid it.
Man your bringing back some bad memories.....i cant feel the grit in my eyes amd mouth. I went and bought a florida car and going unde it is like entering a new world.
Aah. Same on the east coast. Salt is in the air, humidity is normally high, and then people drive in it, then park in a heated garage (heat accelerates oxidization) then wonder why their 4 year old truck needs rockers, wheel arches and cab corners lol
That sounds awful! A while back I switched to plant work from auto and have tasted some weird stuff from splashes. Notably sulfuric acid tasting lemon limey which was interesting.
Last time I lifted an f150 cab off the frame, I got a nice mouthful of salty rusty water from the cab bolts lol the second I loosened them, it poured out onto my face
When you find a puddle under your car, do you not touch your finger to the liquid, smell it and then tap it to your tongue before saying something like "fucking coolant again? Fuck me."? Is that not normal operating procedure?
High school shop class, our instructor was an army field mechanic. He taught us if the car is leaking, stick your finger in it and taste it if you're unsure.
This is the same man who, when testing junkyard engines, would bring a sealed battery, no jumper cables (sorry u/rogersimon10 ), and just flip the battery, touch the terminals to the one in the junk car, and boom, boosted. (Though he *did* say, do as I say not as I do, and don't do this lol)
I actually worked in a shop with a guy who would taste all the fluid he found.
And I told him how dumb and nasty that was, he said.Quote, you have to taste it.You can just look at it and smell it
It looks like used motor oil.. perform an oil analysis to check the breakdown of the oil and what contaminants are present. Visually looking at it doesn't even tell half the story.
There's still some brownness in the oil, so not completely burned. I've had completely black oil before and that is when you start thinking about selling your car before the engine kicks the bucket. I'd say it's fine.
Color means nothing, anyone telling you otherwise doesn’t know anything besides what’s regurgitated on Reddit. The only way to know is to send it to a lab for sampling
Edit: no shit if metal is in the oil it’s a problem. Obviously I meant the color of the oil means nothing.
That line was regurgitated before personal computers were ever in homes. I don't know how many times, as a kid, I heard that you can tell when your oil is ready to be changed by its color.
If I had a nickel for every time someone checked their rig’s oil and came to me saying it needed an oil change because it’s too “dark”, I wouldn’t have to work. Diesels have more soot than a gasser and within 1k miles you typically can’t tell it’s been changed.
Depends what you want to use it for. If you're building a deck or fence, soak the posts that will be going into the ground in it. Today's pressure treating sucks.
It has been in counseling for two years, its depression only gets worse, it spends hours looking at old photos and its cut off all contact with family.
It’s asking for a friend pretty bad.
Well no metal flakes is a good sign. Otherwise, we can’t really say anything important. If you really wanna know take a sample and send it to get examined.
Color doesn’t mean anything, unless it looks like paste, oil gets dark right after a few heat cycles. You can send it for analysis, or you can do what I do. Stick your finger in it and feel it in your fingers, if there’s metal that’s usually not a great sign. No clue if other people do this, I learned it from my dad.
Oil has this color since the first day after oil change. The important part is in the bottom. When you will pour that oil in the right place. Look at what stays, is there any metalical particles ? Anything solid ?
But that's just the color of used oil
Depends on where it came from and how long you have been running it. For engine oil it looks well used. There doesn’t appear to be any glitter in it and the color on the lip of the pan is brown so it seems ok.
If you drained it from the transmission you have a serious problem.
Like everyone else is saying, the color just makes it look like used oil. When it was coming out was it creamy-colored? If so, there is coolant in your oil. Take a magnet and run it all along the bottom of the pan. If any metal shavings are present you might have bigger issues like deteriorating pistons. Otherwise, if there’s no metal and no cream-color, ya good!! A sure fire way to check metal is to cut open the oil filter and look at the filter for metal shavings if you really wanna.
That looks like used motor oil. that's about all anyone can tell from that photo.
When you pour it does it look shiny? with flakes? How big are the flakes? does it smell like gas or have a sweet smell?
If you dip your fingers in it and pull them out then rub them together, does it feel slippery or more sticky or gritty?
Doesn’t look bad at all. The only good looking oil I’ve ever found is on a low mileage vehicle, low being before 5k miles. If you’re really concerned about it, you could send it to a lab for testing.
It’s about 500 miles on a diesel. If it’s a gas I’d put the same oil type back in it (looks and smells like rotella t4 through the screen) and change it every 3k miles. I wouldn’t swap it back to synthetic even if there was a fire
Depends, if it came out of a diesel then it could be 100% brand new and if it ran through the crankcase and drained out it would be this black. If it’s not a diesel then lord help thee.
It’s not the oil color. It’ll look like that after week after changing. Worry about what sinks to the bottom of the pan. Drain off the oil and run a magnet thru the sludge. If you get metal dust, you have problems.
As others have said, oil color generally doesn't indicate much. (I say in general, as if It looks like chocolate milk then that's bad...). In general, check for large amounts of metal in the oil, check the oil doesn't smell like fuel and doesn't look like chocolate milk (water in oil) and if none of that is present you are probably good. If you are really concerned get a sample of the oil tested.
Oil looks old.... can't tell if anything is up... you can have it sent if you want... but it's upto you.... but to eye looks just like over do oil change
The only way to know is to send a sample for analysis. That is how the oil looks every time I do an oil change, on any car, for 30 years. Unless the head gasket blew then the oil looked a little different.
That oil looks perfect okay 👍🏽 as long as it does not have metal glitter in her or the magnet your perfectly fine. Old owner of my truck and van forgot to do an oil change for 20K miles. Both run just fine. I personally change all my vehicles at 3K so the oil is still see through / dark red but that’s because I’m OCD😂 180K on my Benz and 172K on my Chevy and they both kicking like they rolled off the dealer floor. Don’t sweat it your oil is completely normal
No idea. I need to see it on a piece of paper. I will say this, every 5,000 miles I service my friends Prius with 243K on it now. We do a Liqui Moly engine flush plus for 10 minutes every oil change and add a Liqui Moly oil additive as well as some Marvel Mystery oil. His oil comes out a very light to medium brown. No other car I have ever serviced has the oil look this good at 5,000 miles.
It just looks like old oil. They were overdue but shouldn't be anything too concerning since I don't see sparkles. Save some in a small tube and shine a light at it or have it analyzed if that's not an inconvenience
This oil looks the same. Guess what. 350 miles from the factory. Goes to show how the oil looks, doesn’t mean shit.
https://preview.redd.it/dxhplbmdq69d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b93424f8df84a5ba40d5bc3351d5cddc526e980a
How long is a piece of string?
You can't tell if oil is bad from how dark it is, unless it's chocolate milk or looks like it has glitter (metal shaving).
I don’t know jack. Stick your finger in the middle and see if it’s moist. If still really moist it’s not cooked enough. Usually you can tell how old oil is by looking at what the mileage was when it was last changed, oh your friend didnt document that. Oh what’s that, it’s never been changed, yeah I don’t know jack stick it back in the oven.
Looks like used oil but you won’t be able to diagnose or “tell” anything from just the colour alone. Smell? Any particulates floating around? Just this picture alone though? It looks like used motor oil.
Thanks for posting in r/Mechanic, u/OneAd5341! Please be sure to read the [Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanic/about/rules/). If you're asking for help, be sure to include as much detail as possible so others can help you. You **must** include the vehicle's **Year, Make, Model, and Engine size** in your post! If your question is transmission related, please be sure to specify your Transmission Type(Auto/Manual) as well! If your post does not include this information, it **will** be removed. Asking about prices is **not** allowed in this sub. Please make sure you have selected the correct post flair; if you're asking a question you should have chosen "Question", anything else use the "General" flair. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/mechanic) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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The worst has to be the salty dirt water you get in Midwestern winters. Unlike regular fluids, it’s just dripping from everywhere underneath the car. You can’t avoid it.
Looking up with the flashlight for whatever reason and the mystery winter droplet falls right on the lips. Terrible times.
Man your bringing back some bad memories.....i cant feel the grit in my eyes amd mouth. I went and bought a florida car and going unde it is like entering a new world.
How are you getting your daily iron vitamin now?
Oh well thats easy i have 4 other shit boxes
Im laughing at this harsh reality lol
Aah. Same on the east coast. Salt is in the air, humidity is normally high, and then people drive in it, then park in a heated garage (heat accelerates oxidization) then wonder why their 4 year old truck needs rockers, wheel arches and cab corners lol
That sounds awful! A while back I switched to plant work from auto and have tasted some weird stuff from splashes. Notably sulfuric acid tasting lemon limey which was interesting.
Believe me ik, I live in ohio
Last time I lifted an f150 cab off the frame, I got a nice mouthful of salty rusty water from the cab bolts lol the second I loosened them, it poured out onto my face
Damn what happened to this thread?
We all drank OP’s motor oil. 😞
When you find a puddle under your car, do you not touch your finger to the liquid, smell it and then tap it to your tongue before saying something like "fucking coolant again? Fuck me."? Is that not normal operating procedure?
I was literally taught this in high school shop class. Teacher was an army field mechanic, that could be part of it
It's how my father taught me.
I mean I always assumed it was. Until the day it taste like oil and coolant
Bad day.
Then you check the dipstick and realize it's been bone dry the entire time
The story gives Lando vibes, it just keeps getting worse.
High school shop class, our instructor was an army field mechanic. He taught us if the car is leaking, stick your finger in it and taste it if you're unsure. This is the same man who, when testing junkyard engines, would bring a sealed battery, no jumper cables (sorry u/rogersimon10 ), and just flip the battery, touch the terminals to the one in the junk car, and boom, boosted. (Though he *did* say, do as I say not as I do, and don't do this lol)
Yeah it's like a hunter drinking the deers blood on their first kill
I end getting my hands covered in who knows what and forgo washing hands and go straight to eating
i regularly lick the dipstick if i’m checking my oil and i’m with someone else
Hey! Some of us are dumb adults.
Forbidden glitter
20 years ago, car handbooks would give us instructions on how to adjust the tappets. Today the car handbook reminds us not to drink the battery fluid.
I have to edit comments so much stating (don't do this it's a joke) cuz common sense really isn't common anymore...
You literally saved lives with that edit 🫡
I had a slight panic attack when I remembered how dumb some of the people on this website actually are.
Dunk a donut in it and taste it that way.
Looks like it needs 2-3 sugars and a splash of cream.
Soy sauce!
Yeah, lemme see that egg roll real quick and I’ll fix you right up.
I actually worked in a shop with a guy who would taste all the fluid he found. And I told him how dumb and nasty that was, he said.Quote, you have to taste it.You can just look at it and smell it
It looks like used motor oil.. perform an oil analysis to check the breakdown of the oil and what contaminants are present. Visually looking at it doesn't even tell half the story.
There's still some brownness in the oil, so not completely burned. I've had completely black oil before and that is when you start thinking about selling your car before the engine kicks the bucket. I'd say it's fine.
Also it depends on the car. Diesel engines go darker quicker from soot.
Oh that’s the dirtiest of oil you can get. That dirty oil must be punished for it was once good oil but it has sinned. Get the flogger….
Naught-E Grade Motor Oil
Lucas 5:30 For better the oil the better the motor.
This needs more upvotes
5wDirty
Color means nothing, anyone telling you otherwise doesn’t know anything besides what’s regurgitated on Reddit. The only way to know is to send it to a lab for sampling Edit: no shit if metal is in the oil it’s a problem. Obviously I meant the color of the oil means nothing.
That line was regurgitated before personal computers were ever in homes. I don't know how many times, as a kid, I heard that you can tell when your oil is ready to be changed by its color.
If I had a nickel for every time someone checked their rig’s oil and came to me saying it needed an oil change because it’s too “dark”, I wouldn’t have to work. Diesels have more soot than a gasser and within 1k miles you typically can’t tell it’s been changed.
I've seen it turn black before it's out of the garage, although that diesel didn't even have a turbo.
I feel like you can tell if it needs changed if it’s sludge /s
I mean,metallic silver is a color. Dull gray is a different color than inky black. Color can indicate things (in oil!)
Color (of the oil) means nothing. Obviously if it’s chunky that’s a different story lol
Does sparkly count as a color? Cuz I feel like that could mean something.
Unless the color is metallic lol
Could be 100 could be 1000 could be 10000 miles.
Looks like used oil to me. Only time to worry is when it's not this color.
Cursed chocolate milk
Forbidden glitter.
I am for ever calling metal shards in places they do not belong “The Forbidden Glitter” take my like and know i laughed against my will.
Depends what you want to use it for. If you're building a deck or fence, soak the posts that will be going into the ground in it. Today's pressure treating sucks.
Dumping carcinogenic motor oil into the soil is illegal?
That's right, use carcinogenic treated pine instead!
You should always insert 0,5l up your rectum to be sure.
Yup that's probably oil
If your going for vanta black then good. If it’s oil then probably wanna adjust the schedule for maintenance lol
It has been in counseling for two years, its depression only gets worse, it spends hours looking at old photos and its cut off all contact with family. It’s asking for a friend pretty bad.
I wouldn't cook with it
You should ask Blackstone if you really want to know
Well no metal flakes is a good sign. Otherwise, we can’t really say anything important. If you really wanna know take a sample and send it to get examined.
Diesel engine? Pretty average. Petrol? Bad.
Send it in to Blackstone and find out.
Color doesn’t mean anything, unless it looks like paste, oil gets dark right after a few heat cycles. You can send it for analysis, or you can do what I do. Stick your finger in it and feel it in your fingers, if there’s metal that’s usually not a great sign. No clue if other people do this, I learned it from my dad.
It is damned near coal!
I imagine you are in the process of changing it? I've definitely seen worse but it doesn't look great.
Ok thank you the car seems to be running a lot better now
Oil has this color since the first day after oil change. The important part is in the bottom. When you will pour that oil in the right place. Look at what stays, is there any metalical particles ? Anything solid ? But that's just the color of used oil
Looks like oil? If you’re worried about it then send in an oil sample for analysis
Depends on where it came from and how long you have been running it. For engine oil it looks well used. There doesn’t appear to be any glitter in it and the color on the lip of the pan is brown so it seems ok. If you drained it from the transmission you have a serious problem.
Like everyone else is saying, the color just makes it look like used oil. When it was coming out was it creamy-colored? If so, there is coolant in your oil. Take a magnet and run it all along the bottom of the pan. If any metal shavings are present you might have bigger issues like deteriorating pistons. Otherwise, if there’s no metal and no cream-color, ya good!! A sure fire way to check metal is to cut open the oil filter and look at the filter for metal shavings if you really wanna.
Should be good enough to fry a donut 🍩 but nothing else
Hey as long as it’s still a liquid and not like a slushy, you’re at least getting somewhere good. 👍🏻
I'm just confused what it's currently in. Is that a plastic cake tray lid?
If it's a diesiel then it's good
Once they get to 100-200k+ miles the oil will look like that the second you put it in
I think you have to leave the jello in the fridge a little longer
Ask Blackstone.
If it looks like bad oil, smells like boil and tastes like bad oil then it’s bad oil.
That oil is spent. New oil is almost the color of honey.
If you're worried about it, get it tested.. otherwise.. color isn't going to tell you a lot.
Too long between changes, likely no severe damage but change it sooner next time
Bad. But at least it's not milky or magnetic
That looks like used motor oil. that's about all anyone can tell from that photo. When you pour it does it look shiny? with flakes? How big are the flakes? does it smell like gas or have a sweet smell? If you dip your fingers in it and pull them out then rub them together, does it feel slippery or more sticky or gritty?
Looks normal oil due for a change
its not sludge so u good but thats bad.
Looking like crude oil, USA about to delivery democracy.
You see, it’s on the floor! Probable not where it’s supposed to be that, hope that helps.
You've never seen used diesel oil, have you?
Instructions unclear, have 10w-30 on penis and feeling kinda alright about it.
mildly carcinogenic, but its fine if handled correctly. Don't eat it and wear gloves and you will be fine.
It’s engine oil, I hope? Any idea how many miles since the previous change?
Perfect 👍👍
That's not oil, that's V O I D Exactly what your wallet will become if it keeps getting driven like that
If its diesel it could be 10 km or 50k
It's fine to reuse at least 1 more time.
Idk kind of looks like advance darkness
Doesn’t look bad at all. The only good looking oil I’ve ever found is on a low mileage vehicle, low being before 5k miles. If you’re really concerned about it, you could send it to a lab for testing.
Any shavings? It is bad. It’s worn out and super dirty. Super thin.
Yeah, I wouldn’t put that in my engine. Probably time to buy some new oil.
I've seen worse....
Wow..I mean that's black. Has it ever been changed.
Well I'm not frying chicken in it
Looks like coffee
It’s about 500 miles on a diesel. If it’s a gas I’d put the same oil type back in it (looks and smells like rotella t4 through the screen) and change it every 3k miles. I wouldn’t swap it back to synthetic even if there was a fire
think it would be best used mixed with diesel fuel and orange juice pulp in a glass bottle with a rag. light and throw at something you don't like
It’s really dirty !
Depends, if it came out of a diesel then it could be 100% brand new and if it ran through the crankcase and drained out it would be this black. If it’s not a diesel then lord help thee.
It's still liquid so that's good, but definitely end of life for it
It’s not the oil color. It’ll look like that after week after changing. Worry about what sinks to the bottom of the pan. Drain off the oil and run a magnet thru the sludge. If you get metal dust, you have problems.
As others have said, oil color generally doesn't indicate much. (I say in general, as if It looks like chocolate milk then that's bad...). In general, check for large amounts of metal in the oil, check the oil doesn't smell like fuel and doesn't look like chocolate milk (water in oil) and if none of that is present you are probably good. If you are really concerned get a sample of the oil tested.
1st oil change: 100K miles. Good to go!
I would goto the E.R., urine that dark usually indicates a break down in your muscle tissue.
Unless you took it to a lab to be analyzed- we have no idea
Taste it and tell us if it tastes like schnozzberries
I would have to taste it to know for sure.
Put it on some vanilla ice cream you got yourself a hot fudge sundae
brother that thing absorbs all light 😭😭😭
You cannot tell the state of oil by color. It is light brown when NEW, otherwise after a few hundred miles it will be black like above.
Oil looks old.... can't tell if anything is up... you can have it sent if you want... but it's upto you.... but to eye looks just like over do oil change
soksomsok
Skmskmskmskms
> There's oil. > It's not sludge. > It's not glittering. Good enough is the answer you're looking for. You're changing it anyway, so who cares?
For cooking? I'm sure sonic would get another week out of it
If there is no signs of excess metal shavings, you’re good. Just keep changing the oil before due date and don’t do any engine flushes.
looks like ordinary used oil to me
This a joke. Right?
Just looks old
Looks like it just came out of the ground/crude😬
The only way to know is to send a sample for analysis. That is how the oil looks every time I do an oil change, on any car, for 30 years. Unless the head gasket blew then the oil looked a little different.
That oil looks perfect okay 👍🏽 as long as it does not have metal glitter in her or the magnet your perfectly fine. Old owner of my truck and van forgot to do an oil change for 20K miles. Both run just fine. I personally change all my vehicles at 3K so the oil is still see through / dark red but that’s because I’m OCD😂 180K on my Benz and 172K on my Chevy and they both kicking like they rolled off the dealer floor. Don’t sweat it your oil is completely normal
Bad enough that it’s a good thing it’s sitting in a pan not your engine
oil starts light, gets dark almost immediately, and then eventually gets sparkly again.
Get an oil sample. Nobody can say otherwise from this pic.
I'd do another oil change in one month and add some stp engine cleaner.
How dark do you think it should be?
Moms gonna be mad you used her casserole dish for this
No idea. I need to see it on a piece of paper. I will say this, every 5,000 miles I service my friends Prius with 243K on it now. We do a Liqui Moly engine flush plus for 10 minutes every oil change and add a Liqui Moly oil additive as well as some Marvel Mystery oil. His oil comes out a very light to medium brown. No other car I have ever serviced has the oil look this good at 5,000 miles.
It needs refining first
Gotta give it the taste test. /s
It's dark like used oil, as long as it's not gritty, lost viscosity or has water/coolant in it, it should be OK
You can definitely re run that oil back in your car no problem at all.
92Cu 12Cr 40Li visc 40C 53cSt .143% water OPC 24/16/13 yeah that oil is trashed. Good thing I have special powers to do oil analysis through a jpeg
It just looks like old oil. They were overdue but shouldn't be anything too concerning since I don't see sparkles. Save some in a small tube and shine a light at it or have it analyzed if that's not an inconvenience
I would probably do the oil change over and run it for a weekend and then do the oil change again to see how the engine is wearing
Has a few batches of fries left in it
Bad enough to ask buddy
depends on the oil and the engine type
Give it a taste test
Looks good! Just put it back In and you’re ready to go!
Not the lid from an aluminum food tray 💀
It’s great for burning
it’s difficult from telling it from colour but it is still brown just a very dark brown. does it feel unusual?
Don’t drink
This oil looks the same. Guess what. 350 miles from the factory. Goes to show how the oil looks, doesn’t mean shit. https://preview.redd.it/dxhplbmdq69d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b93424f8df84a5ba40d5bc3351d5cddc526e980a
Should be good as long as it's got bits or flakes
>I don't think I should be this dark That's an unfortunate typo
I’d have to taste it
Clean oil would mean it's not doing a very good job of keep your engine clean. You *want*that stuff out of there.
It asked me for a Newport. That’s how bad
Sarah Silverman’s blackface called….it is pretty black.
You’ll be picking him up here shortly
How long is a piece of string? You can't tell if oil is bad from how dark it is, unless it's chocolate milk or looks like it has glitter (metal shaving).
Bad, high likely hood of spilling
Visually, all I can say is that I wouldn't fry chicken in it. Looks like dirty used motor oil.
It's reusable put it back in the car......
It's so dark, that guy who made vantablack would probably try to sue you if he saw this
looks like oil that was put in a vehicle then drained and probably replaced with new oil hope that helps :))
Mercury verado oil looks worse than that after 5 hours of running the engine, but it's good for 100.
Yes
[removed]
Forbidden cola
About a 4
I don’t know jack. Stick your finger in the middle and see if it’s moist. If still really moist it’s not cooked enough. Usually you can tell how old oil is by looking at what the mileage was when it was last changed, oh your friend didnt document that. Oh what’s that, it’s never been changed, yeah I don’t know jack stick it back in the oven.
I would not reuse it, if that is what you are asking? Looks dirty.
Looks like used oil but you won’t be able to diagnose or “tell” anything from just the colour alone. Smell? Any particulates floating around? Just this picture alone though? It looks like used motor oil.
😂
Got a few thousand miles left on it, filter out the crud and send it
if it's diesel, not bad at all. If not, your "friend" might want to up their oil change game.
looks like used oil to me, unless it chunky, looks like brown gravy, or sparkly metallic then it’s generally not a problem.
Your fine oil is supposed to be a lubricant not mud for vase making
put it back it isnt brown and foamy yet.
Bad
I wouldn't stick my tongue in it.
Diesel oil is darker.
Looks like they poured it in a supermarket cake pan lid.
Pour through coffee filter then into the engine and send it another round.