Fuel in oil poll

[2ford]

Concerning. I'm glad I joined this forum. I haven't checked my oil yet. 600ish miles. Only popped the hood to add washer fluid.

I'll take a dipstick sniff next time I'm in the garage. Curious problem though. I haven't studied my shop manual or the engine bay, so I'm not familiar with fuel lines and routing. What jumps to mind is if the direct injectors are leaking off during shut down. But I'd think that would cause a rich, hard, smoky start. It would seem a fuel system leak would show itself with a gasoline odor around the truck.

Leaky injectors could be possible although not to the extent some are experiencing but as you suggested those issues and washed cylinder walls would affect ring seating as well. I think most believe the problem is the high pressure fuel pump leaking into the crankcase . It is the same issue GM had with some of their 2.4 engines

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[DeathRanger]

Sent my oil to blackstone labs around 10k miles

The flashpoint was a little low, showing a
harmless trace of fuel dilution. Small amounts of fuel are often from normal use like city driving or idling.

 

[harringtondav]

Leaky injectors could be possible although not to the extent some are experiencing but as you suggested those issues and washed cylinder walls would affect ring seating as well. I think most believe the problem is the high pressure fuel pump leaking into the crankcase . It is the same issue GM had with some of their 2.4 engines

I wondered about that. But as I said I don't know the fuel system's plumbing, and possible paths to sump.

I had a '95 Caravan that developed a warm weather starting problem. That engine had a vacuum diaphragm fuel rail pressure valve. It choked pressure to 40 psi until intake vacuum dropped and allowed the full 60 psi dose. The diaphragm had broken and was allowing fuel to leak into the intake manifold through the vac hose. Thus rich and difficult warm starts.

Makes me wonder if the Ranger's problem is somehow related.

 

[devbloggs]

My previous 3.5L EcoBoost and all of our company EcoBoosts definitely have a fuel smell when changing the oil. We do oil changes at 5k km to help keep the fuel out of the oil but it's been a normal thing for any EcoBoost I've done an oil change on. Original or the newest gen.

 

[harringtondav]

My previous 3.5L EcoBoost and all of our company EcoBoosts definitely have a fuel smell when changing the oil. We do oil changes at 5k km to help keep the fuel out of the oil but it's been a normal thing for any EcoBoost I've done an oil change on. Original or the newest gen.

My concern is oil and lubrication degradation. When I read here about sumps making oil, that's scary. I'd like to think that trace amounts of gas would flash off in the hot sump and get burned off thru the crankcase vent. I love syn motor oils, but I don't know their tolerance for fuel vs. dyno oils.

Edit p.s.: Does the ranger have a fuel cooler?. ...another possible crossover leak path.

 

[Doc]

I’m changing oil old school ....3000 miles due to gas smell in the oil..( dilution and degregation)..
Regards

 

[caprtaineddie]

When I bought my first F-150 with an Ecoboost engine, a service manager at that time told me that it would run very rich until up to operating temperature. I wonder if this is a characteristic of these 2.3 engines and causing the problem. Most of my trips are short, so this may be something I need to expect with the Ranger.

 

[Dustanmont]

I just did my first oil change at 3200 miles with Amsoil Signature. Plan on going to 10k, which will be 6,800 miles on that oil, before sending a sample to Blackstone.

 

[harringtondav]

When I bought my first F-150 with an Ecoboost engine, a service manager at that time told me that it would run very rich until up to operating temperature. I wonder if this is a characteristic of these 2.3 engines and causing the problem. Most of my trips are short, so this may be something I need to expect with the Ranger.

I just took a sniff of my dipstick @ 600 some miles. Of course, my nose was calibrated for gas smell. Inconclusive. Maybe fuel, maybe just newer syn oil. I was surprised to see the oil so clean, but there isn't that first 100 mile darkening after an oil change in an engine with 7K miles on the old oil.

Also I noticed the oil level was above the top hole in the stick, well above the top of the hash marks. I don't have a point of reference, so I'll give it an oil change at 1K miles and scribe the full mark.

Also called the dealer's service advisor. He seemed to give me an honest story. They haven't encountered this problem, and a check of my VIN showed no alerts. ....I'll also be sending a sample of that first oil change for analysis.

I'm thinking the same as you noted. I purchased the truck in mid Dec 2019, and have made a lot of cold Iowa starts and short trips. The mileage shows a rich mixture during these trips.

 

[BcP28]

I wondered about that. But as I said I don't know the fuel system's plumbing, and possible paths to sump.

I had a '95 Caravan that developed a warm weather starting problem. That engine had a vacuum diaphragm fuel rail pressure valve. It choked pressure to 40 psi until intake vacuum dropped and allowed the full 60 psi dose. The diaphragm had broken and was allowing fuel to leak into the intake manifold through the vac hose. Thus rich and difficult warm starts.

Makes me wonder if the Ranger's problem is somehow related.

Just for reference, here's what we are concerned about with the high pressure fuel pump.

The HPDI pump is driven by a square lobe on the rear end of the intake cam (1 in pic). The pump itself is a spring-loaded diaphragm that rolls on that lobe (2 in pic). The spring-side of the pump is bathed in engine oil with the rest of the cam, the inside of the pump is bathed in fuel at ~2500psi.

The suspicion is that, given the lack of performance issues associated with the fuel dilution (no rough running/idling, misfires, CELs, etc), the fuel is seeping through the seal in the pump (2) and finding its way into the oil without affecting the combustion side of the engine. The trick is convincing dealers and Ford that this is the issue that needs to be reconciled.

 

[BcP28]

Just adding to this thread. When I changed the oil when I first noticed the issue back in November at 7800 miles, I pulled this sample. That oil was changed after 2500miles by the dealership in January and they noted the issue (forgot to take a sample).

I'm coming up on 12,000miles (almost 2k on this oil) and ordered another blackstone kit. So far the oil level is normal, but there is a fuel smell returning. I'll give it another ~1000 miles keeping an eye on level and will collect another sample.

 

[harringtondav]

Just for reference, here's what we are concerned about with the high pressure fuel pump.

Thanks. I'm a retired engineer. I suspected the old MPFI rail pressures of 60 psi were insufficient for direct injection at near TDC turbo pressures. So 2.5K psi makes sense. And undersigned sealing adjacent to a lube circuit sounds like trouble. Hopefully this is the root cause. I see a fairly simple recall fix not requiring open heart engine surgery. The cam driven pump looks like the culprit, and a fairly easy change out, unless it's size increases.

My old big green ag employer's recall process (they called them PIP - Product Improvement Program): 1) Denial. 2) Oops, it's real. 3) Whip up a fix. 4) Determine scope and severity - fix as fail (customer complaints) or mandatory PIP. Fuel system leaks tend to catch the attention of the NHTSA. That is ugly publicity. ....wondering if Ford has it figured out and is installing new parts on new Rangers and holding back for our whining.

 

[Traneman]

No choice on the survey of "No gas in Oil smell".

I am at 4,800 miles on my Ranger, and still have the factory oil. I checked my oil and did not smell any gas in it. Just pure oil smell to me.

 

[Stephen Abbene]

I just got my report back from black stone. I had 3% fuel in my pile at 2980miles. That seems really high to me. Has anyone had any luck contacting their dealer ship or ford about this? I mentioned it when I took my truck in for an oil change and the dealer service guys didn’t seem to care.

 

[Roaring Gorilla]

When I had my Ranger serviced for maintenance alerts last week, I told the service department about my concern with gasoline smell in oil. They dismissed my concern completely and did not assess during the service.

I have about 5,000 miles on my truck and have yet to have an oil change on my truck. I have not checked my oil since my service.

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