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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
I'm looking at a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L with 57,000 miles. I
pulled the dipstick and the oil looked dark and smelled a bit cooked. The vehicle had been taken in trade at a [Dodge] dealer. The salesman showed me the shop work that had been performed on this vehicle to ready it for resale. Among other things such as brakes and stabilizer bushings, the engine oil and filter had been changed. The van had about 50 miles on it since the oil change. Although I put a deposit on the 2002, I am concerned about the care that the engine was given by the previous owners. Why would the oil be dark so quickly? What inspections or tests can be performed to determine the overall health of the engine? When I change the oil in my current van (1994 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L with 180,000 miles), the used oil is very dark, nearly black at 5,000 miles. The fresh oil is nearly clear and it takes a few hundred to a thousand miles before the oil is dark again. I also have a 1997 Corolla. I changed the oil last week and have driven over 1,000 miles since the change. I check the oil level today and the oil is still clean and clear! |
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#2
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
On May 19, 10:18 pm, HKEK > wrote:
> I'm looking at a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L with 57,000 miles. I > pulled the dipstick and the oil looked dark and smelled a bit cooked. > The vehicle had been taken in trade at a [Dodge] dealer. The salesman > showed me the shop work that had been performed on this vehicle to > ready it for resale. Among other things such as brakes and stabilizer > bushings, the engine oil and filter had been changed. The van had > about 50 miles on it since the oil change. > > Although I put a deposit on the 2002, I am concerned about the care > that the engine was given by the previous owners. > > Why would the oil be dark so quickly? > > What inspections or tests can be performed to determine the overall > health of the engine? > > When I change the oil in my current van (1994 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L > with 180,000 miles), the used oil is very dark, nearly black at 5,000 > miles. The fresh oil is nearly clear and it takes a few hundred to a > thousand miles before the oil is dark again. > > I also have a 1997 Corolla. I changed the oil last week and have > driven over 1,000 miles since the change. I check the oil level today > and the oil is still clean and clear! They oil may be contaminated due to excessive blow-by caused by worn out piston rings among many other things -- this would be a very bad thing as it would mean engine rebuild. It may also be an issue with something not working on the emissions side of things, which might be cheaper/easier to fix. Definitely, if the oil was indeed changed, it should NOT look black after 50 miles. To check the condition of the piston rings you can have compression test done on the engine, which effectively will tell you whether the rings are good or not to some extent. Hope this helps, Alex |
#3
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
"HKEK" > wrote in message oups.com... > I'm looking at a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L with 57,000 miles. I > pulled the dipstick and the oil looked dark and smelled a bit cooked. > The vehicle had been taken in trade at a [Dodge] dealer. The salesman > showed me the shop work that had been performed on this vehicle to > ready it for resale. Among other things such as brakes and stabilizer > bushings, the engine oil and filter had been changed. The van had > about 50 miles on it since the oil change. It's hard to say. Likely as not, they falsified the work report. I bought a car from a Dodge dealer just a few weeks ago, and they had records showing they did work that was obviously not done. Who knows. 3.3's are pretty tough. |
#4
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
In article .com>,
HKEK > wrote: > I'm looking at a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L with 57,000 miles. I > pulled the dipstick and the oil looked dark and smelled a bit cooked. > The vehicle had been taken in trade at a [Dodge] dealer. The salesman > showed me the shop work that had been performed on this vehicle to > ready it for resale. Among other things such as brakes and stabilizer > bushings, the engine oil and filter had been changed. The van had > about 50 miles on it since the oil change. > > Although I put a deposit on the 2002, I am concerned about the care > that the engine was given by the previous owners. > > Why would the oil be dark so quickly? > > What inspections or tests can be performed to determine the overall > health of the engine? > > When I change the oil in my current van (1994 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L > with 180,000 miles), the used oil is very dark, nearly black at 5,000 > miles. The fresh oil is nearly clear and it takes a few hundred to a > thousand miles before the oil is dark again. > > I also have a 1997 Corolla. I changed the oil last week and have > driven over 1,000 miles since the change. I check the oil level today > and the oil is still clean and clear! That is a severe inconsistency. I'd not believe anything they say, even the mileage, and would pass on this one. |
#5
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
> Why would the oil be dark so quickly? If the oil was not changed often enough or never changed, you will get a build up inside the motor. When you do replace it and start driving the old build up (dirt) blends in with the new oil. That makes it black and will take out the bearings down the road. I always change mine between two and three thousand miles. |
#6
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
HKEK wrote: > > I'm looking at a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L with 57,000 miles. I > pulled the dipstick and the oil looked dark and smelled a bit cooked. > The vehicle had been taken in trade at a [Dodge] dealer. The salesman > showed me the shop work that had been performed on this vehicle to > ready it for resale. Among other things such as brakes and stabilizer > bushings, the engine oil and filter had been changed. The van had > about 50 miles on it since the oil change. > > Although I put a deposit on the 2002, I am concerned about the care > that the engine was given by the previous owners. > > Why would the oil be dark so quickly? > > What inspections or tests can be performed to determine the overall > health of the engine? > > When I change the oil in my current van (1994 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3L > with 180,000 miles), the used oil is very dark, nearly black at 5,000 > miles. The fresh oil is nearly clear and it takes a few hundred to a > thousand miles before the oil is dark again. > > I also have a 1997 Corolla. I changed the oil last week and have > driven over 1,000 miles since the change. I check the oil level today > and the oil is still clean and clear! If the oil gets dark after 50 miles of driving at 180K this is pretty much normal for any car that has had the oil changed at extended intervals of say 5000 to 7000 miles. Had the oil been changed more often it would take considerably longer for the oil to become dark. Basically what is causing the oil to become black is grime that has accumulated inside the engine. The engine may still be in good shape. Check the tail pipe. If it is coated with black soot then the engine is probably beyond hope. But if the engine runs well and is still in good shape you can clean it out by changing the oil whenever it gets dirty. That may mean changing it at 50 miles for the first oil change, but the next one will be longer (maybe 500 miles). After following a regimen of changing the oil whenever it gets dark for a while you should be able to get it back to where it will stay clean for thousands of miles. -jim ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#7
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
I can have the vehicle inspected and the deposit is refundable if my
mechanic finds any serious issues. It has been suggested that some shops do not drain the oil during changes but pump it out instead through the dipstick tube. It was further suggested that this practice may leave enough used oil behind to contaminated the fresh oil being added. When I drain oil for a change, I drain it hot and for an hour or two if not overnight. |
#8
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
Just drive the used car around.If it seems ok and the price is
right.(cheap) Buy it. cuhulin |
#9
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
If they're not getting underneath the car to drain the oil, then they might
also be not changing the filter... "HKEK" > wrote in message oups.com... >I can have the vehicle inspected and the deposit is refundable if my > mechanic finds any serious issues. > > It has been suggested that some shops do not drain the oil during > changes but pump it out instead through the dipstick tube. It was > further suggested that this practice may leave enough used oil behind > to contaminated the fresh oil being added. > > When I drain oil for a change, I drain it hot and for an hour or two > if not overnight. > |
#10
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Evaluating a Used Car - DipStick (Oil) Reading
"april1st" > wrote in message ups.com... > They oil may be contaminated due to excessive blow-by caused by worn > out piston rings among many other things -- To separate the blow-by hypothesis from the other things, could it be as simple as removing the oil filler cap and seeing how much smoke comes out? A compression test might be better, but the smoke test is fast and free. |
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