initialD

iTrader: (2)

beyond a joke now , ive just checked my oil level and im below minimum i am however parked on a slightly cambered road , but surely thats not enough to put the oil level below the bottom hole on the dip stick ?? its just been rebuilt !!! had the oil filter and oil changed 1 month ago !!!! if its not the road ? then i am a very unhappy customer !

chopperman

Get it on level ground and check it. Also the oil level may appear lower when the engine cold.
What oil are you using?

initialD

iTrader: (2)

not right surely ?

Mr moff

iTrader: (1)

If you're not on a perfectly flat surface it can give all sorts of readings.
My driveway looks flat but the front end is a tiny bit higher than the back.It reads just above min.When I park at the shell garage down the road it's fine.



Danny.

Mr moff

iTrader: (1)

Is that oil black after only a month?



Danny.

burbling1

iTrader: (1)

How many miles have you done in that month?

initialD

iTrader: (2)

its not too bad when you wipe it , its still a bit golden when you look at it on the cloth , but is a bit black yea ?

initialD

iTrader: (2)

ill have to check that ? but somewhere around 1,000 at the very most

Mr moff

iTrader: (1)

I'm quite surprised its that dark after 1000 miles and one month.
With the oil level,have you tried it anywhere flat yet?



Danny.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

If it's just been built will it be due to 1000 mile service where you take the mineral oil out and pop synthetic stuff in? Would that explain the blacked oil before everyone joins a "engine builder ripped me off" bandwagon??

As I can see from pervious experience where this could lead.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Me too, epecially on a new engine where all the innards have been chemically cleaned, the oil should stay golden for ages.

I suspect its getting contaminated with blow-by gases causing carbon to get into the oil epossibly via a problem with rings/bores bedding or running too much boost.

The oil useage would also suggest this. I suggest getting a cylinder leak down and compression test, a bore inspection with a bore scope to see if the bores are glazed from poor running-in or honing/cleaning.

Other issues could be turbo seals leaking, if its leaking exhaust gases into the oil, then it can cause it to go black, it can also lose oil through the same seals under certain operating conditions, but not enough to cause obvious smoke.

On such a new engine I'd expect it to be a deep brown which is caused by heat cycling of the oil, but not black as in the picture. The oil never went that dark in my Impreza (6month oil changes).

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Its possible....depends on how well the engine was cleaned prior to assembly.

The engine builders I use has top notch cleaning machines and everything that comes out their workshop is absolutely prestine, even the oil galleries. Another engine shop may not have such good cleaning equipment.

Its worse these days as the cleaning solvents aren't so potent as they used to be, as they have to be environmentally freindly (well, sort of - it'll still kill plants if you water them with it ).

-shane-

iTrader: (40)

Did you not check the oil at all in that month?

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Second this, first of all get on a level ground and take a reading, if its only just don't 1k then surely it will as said above need swapping out but more importantly before arising any suspicion of poor workman ship give your engine builder a call on Monday and ask their opinion and advice. As most on here inc myself know who built you block and its these sorts of threads that run a million miles an hour get out of hand and with all due respect before this post a call and visit to the engine builder should of been your first port of call not a post staing "not happy" blah blah as it could be a very genuine reason why its happened.

Best of luck getting it sorted

53

iTrader: (41)

It's been run in and mapped at the builders as I understand it from the project thread Oil looks a bit manky/low if it's the post run in and mapping Synthetic ?

prodriverules

iTrader: (52)

If run in correctly which I think it has then it should defo not be that low after 1k miles unless it wasn't topped up correctly when being refilled.
I would get it back to the builder and have them correct the excessive consumption or ask them why it wasn't topped up properly seeing as they are 'experts'.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Check the car on a flat surface before you start to worry, as for the colour, I would suggest you simply can't read too much into that from a picture. If your on your first chance it'll still be a semi synth, which I believe look different to the fully synths that many run on here Silkolene Pro R has a kinda red tinge IIRC!

initialD

iTrader: (2)

i will check oil in the morning as its nice and level round my garage . fingers crossed all is ok ? the builder is very well respected on here and i dont want to start a slagging match but one things for sure if the level is still down , i wont be happy as i parted with over 4k of hard earned into his hand !!!but we will see

chopperman

personally i think its excessive but Subaru say 1 liter of oil per 1000 miles is acceptable.

It maybe the fact its still bedding in or its been given a little to much stick when cold causing the oil to black. Forged pistons take more time to expand and seal than cast. It could be some gasses blowing through due to this. It could also be mineral oil was used for bedding in and that tends to black more than synthetic.

initialD

iTrader: (2)

no its had its 1000mile run in oil + filter change and mapped . about a month ago . it has sti rods and pistons not forged . i last checked it about 2 weeks ago and it was bang on in middle .

midnight

iTrader: (10)

Something not quite right there,I used semi synthetic along time ago and it turned black after 600 miles.A really good fully synthetic should not break down after a 1000 miles.Are you sure you have no leaks ?,etc.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Gents you really can't do a valid analysis of an oil's degredation from a visual inspection, not unless it's

a) sludge
b) not there!

Chill, when you get the car on the level, you'll most likely find the level is normal

The build is under warranty I presume, so in the unlikely event that there were to be anything wrong with it, it would be sorted.

bigarf

iTrader: (67)

i wouldnt worry about the colour of the oil too much.my car never uses any oil but i did a day at cadwell,changed the oil before the day.then changed again straight after and the oil looked as black as coal.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

But unless your engine was new it will go black very quickly so you can't compare your old engine to the OP's 'rebuilt' one as yorus is already 'dirty'. Regardless of how many oil changes you do sludge and varish build up remains on all of the innards of the engine in all of the nooks and crannies of the castings. During use oil sprays all over the place and washes off any build up on those surfaces making it discolour very quickly.

HOWEVER: The OP is talking about a rebuilt engine that 'should' be internally spotless, so there should be nothing in there to discolour the oil. Unlike a used engine which is of unknown state and still has gunky crap all over the place (even well cared for engines).

Hope that makes it clearer.

prodriverules

iTrader: (52)

Big-un can't really compare his either given he run's a **** load of boost
Which in turn leads to a lot more blow by gases and carbon build up in the oil.

bigarf

iTrader: (67)

2bar int a lot of boost.

RobsyUK

iTrader: (2)

Park facing down hill and recheck, problem solved.

scoobydog63

iTrader: (4)

Didnt the OP run the engine in incorrectly and thought he had damaged it? Unless the engine was taken apart before mapping for a definative answer im guessing his moment of madness could of come back to haunt him.

Galifrey

iTrader: (3)

1 litre per 1000 miles, more likely on a newly rebuilt engine as it beds in, you checked it 2 weeks ago and it was half way between the marks.

iirc corectly, the difference between the high and low marks is 1 litre so it sounds spot on to me. You should check the oil weekly really and top up as required.

2 weeks between oil checks on a new engine is pushing it imho.

Slight camber is more than enough to change the oil level as well, so check on a perfectly level surface, allowing some time for the oil to drain from the heads back to the crankcase.

If the engine has just been run you can get a false low due to the oil in the heads.

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

Not to sure mate, bold statement this place is full of them lol as suggested get it on a flat ground and drop the engine builder a call tomorrow.

Although did you not mess about with the dump valve and the restrictor pill, cut it out of the pipe then re fit it yourself in a new pipe, which then suffer boost issues. Could the engine be boosting n detting its nuts off causing exsess oil usage and explain the darkness of the oil?

I'm no mechanic so just throwing ideas out there