Is clean oil in a 7.3 after 3000 miles suspicious?

[Albert Allen]

Hi there, I am new to the forum and have a question about a 1997 F-250 7.3 4x4 truck with a 5 speed stick that I am looking to purchase.

The truck has 111K miles on it and looks very clean and runs out good but when I first came to look at the truck the first thing after we popped the hood he did was to pull the dipstick out and show me the oil. After he did this he made the statement that it was overdue for an oil change.....what's the problem you say, well beside the fact that I have never had a seller pull the dipstick for me before, the oil was still a nice golden color after I would assume at least 3000 miles since he said it was over due.

I have been around diesels for many years and I have never, never seen a diesel engine that leaves the oil clear for more than maybe a few hundred miles if that.

Do the 7.3's have some magical properties that they don't discolor the oil with contaminants even after 3000 miles or is the guy possibly hiding something and if so then what?

thanks for any help!

[usnavyad]

I know on my 7.3l I've run 5k it was still kinda golden there is 15 quarts of oil also lol

[Mutley]

I routinely change my oil every 3000 miles (rotella 15-40) and it's always a relatively medium golden tone. Funny thing is though that I can actually tell from the injectors when it's time for a change. The engine shakes a little more than normal at the Tim Horton's drive thru (that thar's a coffee shop u suthuna's).

Don't be too concerned about that. Must admit though it makes me wonder when someone's so quick to pull the dipstick during a sale. Makes a guy feel like he's being 'greased'.

[ridiculously_necessary]

mine is blacker than black at 3k or 4k. never checked it before that.

i would wonder if hes hiding something. do the 710 cap upside down trick and see if it blows the cap off while running. its a poor mans blowby test.

[usnavyad]

Funny u say u can tell from the injectors I can tell on my psd cause it takes longer to crank over what's this 710 test

[ridiculously_necessary]

the oil cap (OIL = 710 upside down) old blonde joke...

put it upside down on the oil fill hole. if it vibrates off your ok, if it flips off there may be a compression issue.

[usnavyad]

Hmmm good one I have to try that

[superduty4x4]

Originally Posted by Mutley

Tim Horton's drive thru (that thar's a coffee shop u suthuna's).

My suggestion, give the rig a good once over and get a feel for the guy selling it. Usually if someone is shady, you can pick up on it pretty easy. I know no 7.3 I've owned could keep the oil looking like new after 3k miles, but maybe he knows some awesome secret I don't, or has a good bypass filtration system maybe.

[badyota82]

Mine stays fairly clean, when it comes time for a change its usually more brown than it is black, and I change about ever 5k.

Now my dad's Cummins on the other hand, its black as soon as you put it in!!

[351fifty]

ive never checked mine, but anytime when someone wants to sell you a car and they want to show you how clean the oil is sounds funny, hell he could have just added the oil by puting it in the dipstick hole so it would appear that way, but then again hell it mite be one hell of a truck too, how many miles are on it?