Fuel in oil

[fordman89]

So I called the dealer today and they told me to bring it in today for them to check the oil level. Two techs looked at it and the one didn't seem overly concerned. What didn't impress me right off the bat was he checked it within a minute or two of me shutting the engine off. He said he thought at most it was 0.20 qt. overfull. They had the Ranger listed to take 6.2 qts of oil. I showed them my pictures of it when I checked it and they didn't say much. They did document it and said they'll look into it more next service (which will be soon, very soon). I told them when it comes in, I want them to measure and document how much oil is removed. I asked if they ever sent oil out for analysis. They looked at me like I had six heads and asked "why would we?" I told them "I manage a fleet of diesel vehicles and we send oil out for analysis frequently and check for a variety of things. My concern with my truck is the oil is being diluted with fuel." Their response was "if Ford tells us to, we would." I'm ordering a Blackstone kit just for my own documentation. We use Blackstone at work, so I am familiar with the process.

I'm not terribly concerned, but enough to document and follow through. Still love the truck, but just want to be sure it has the longevity I'm looking to get out of it. Once I get the oil changed and the analysis done I'm going to monitor the oil level regularly and if it continues to rise, I'm going to involve Ford. Guess that's what I get for going to the dealer on a Saturday.

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[HenryMac]

Good deal thanks for the replies. I just ordered a kit from Blackstone and it should be here in about 1-2 weeks. With the Ranger oil already smelling of gasoline at 1400 miles should I be concerned enough to get the oil changed ASAP or continue driving as I have? I also have a few road trips planned to rather remote areas and would prefer to not get stranded. Is there any driving habits or issues that would cause more or less fuel to build up in the oil in the meantime before the Blackstone kit arrives? I have heard mentions of cold starts and remote starts being supposed contributing factors to gasoline buildup.

It's normal to have some fuel smell especially when the truck is new. It takes a while for the piston rings to wear in and you'll have more "blow by" during that period.

The first few times I checked the oil on our Ranger it smelled like fuel. The level never started to creep up, so I didn't concern myself about it.

I changed the oil at about 3700 miles and it now has a very faint smell of fuel... so faint you're not even sure if it's fuel or just oil.

Driving habits... the more you smash hard on the go-pedal, the higher the turbo pressure, the more blow by. It's the nature of the beast.

Cold starts generate condensation, which the pcv system will take care of as long as the motor gets up to temperature long enough to burn off / evaporate off the condensation. If you live in a high humidity location you'll get more condensation than if you live in an arid location.

 

[RangersLTW]

It's normal to have some fuel smell especially when the truck is new. It takes a while for the piston rings to wear in and you'll have more "blow by" during that period.

The first few times I checked the oil on our Ranger it smelled like fuel. The level never started to creep up, so I didn't concern myself about it.

I changed the oil at about 3700 miles and it now has a very faint smell of fuel... so faint you're not even sure if it's fuel or just oil.

Driving habits... the more you smash hard on the go-pedal, the higher the turbo pressure, the more blow by. It's the nature of the beast.

Cold starts generate condensation, which the pcv system will take care of as long as the motor gets up to temperature long enough to burn off / evaporate off the condensation. If you live in a high humidity location you'll get more condensation than if you live in an arid location.

Awesome! Thanks for the reply. Ill keep an eye on it over the next few longer drives and note the oil level more consistently as well as the smell.

 

[HenryMac]

Awesome! Thanks for the reply. Ill keep an eye on it over the next few longer drives and note the oil level more consistently as well as the smell.

FWIW: What I did was take a photo of the dipstick with oil on it... then compare the photo to each time you check it.

 

[acsnowrider]

FWIW: What I did was take a photo of the dipstick with oil on it... then compare the photo to each time you check it.

Is this your level, with 6.0, or 6.2 quarts??

 

[HenryMac]

Is this your level, with 6.0, or 6.2 quarts??

Factory fill...

But when I changed the oil I put in 6.0 quarts, not 6.2... worked just right.

 

[2ford]

A good point that I haven't read in this thread is the downside of overfilled crankcase, especially in modern engines. In the old days, overfilling was blown off with "no problem, it'll burn off", and in the old days that's what happened. The PVC valve was replaced regularly as a maintenance item.

My experience with MINI turbocharged engines and overfilled crankcases was that those engines would develop carbon on the backs of the valves and require expensive repairs requiring intake manifold removal and blasting the carbon away with abrasives.
The excess oil in the engine would flood the oil separator system and allow liquid oil into the intake manifold which would then enter intake and cook onto the backs of the valves. Some blamed this on Direct Injection fuel systems, but the difference between port injection and direct injection is how the fuel enters the combustion chamber. Port injection tends to self clean the backs of the intake valves, where direct injection enters directly into the combustion chamber, so no cleaning or cooling affect from atomotized fuel spray.
I still have not found the answer to how the Ranger dipstick is marked. Mine has two holes and a hatched area that starts at the lower hole and stops before the top hole. The owners manual does not picture my dipstick and instead shows hatched area stopping at upper hole.
Is the upper hole full mark or the top of the hatched area? Ive had two dealer oil changes and one was at top of hatch, the other was between top hatched area and upper hole.
With fuel added to my oil, it is above upper hole when checked after sitting overnight.

My post #166 mentioned what the owners manual says about overfilling the crankcase. Every car I've owned that had an owners manual cautioned about overfilling the crankcase lest you cause engine damage. Definitely some of the issues you mentioned but the biggest is aeration of the oil. Air in the oil is bad creates pressure issues. "Think of air in break lines". My dipstick looks like the one in post #144 but my oil level is at the upper end of the cross hatch section, anything above the cross hatch is the start of overfill. Also dont forget these mentioned overfill issues are because of the addition of gasoline which makes it worse. That amount of gas in the crankcase is not normal. Only benefit I see in this is the gas in the oil may help keep the backs of the intake valves clean lol.

 

[acsnowrider]

Factory fill...

But when I changed the oil I put in 6.0 quarts, not 6.2... worked just right.

So ooo-- The picture is your previous, oil level?? I did the same thing, at 6k (second oil change/6 quart dump), but didn't "establish" the level on the stick-- at 7000 miles, checked it cold/overnite sit, and level is 1/4 inch, above top of crosshatch area, well below that "upper hole".

 

[Dmax]

So I called the dealer today and they told me to bring it in today for them to check the oil level. Two techs looked at it and the one didn't seem overly concerned. What didn't impress me right off the bat was he checked it within a minute or two of me shutting the engine off. He said he thought at most it was 0.20 qt. overfull. They had the Ranger listed to take 6.2 qts of oil. I showed them my pictures of it when I checked it and they didn't say much. They did document it and said they'll look into it more next service (which will be soon, very soon). I told them when it comes in, I want them to measure and document how much oil is removed. I asked if they ever sent oil out for analysis. They looked at me like I had six heads and asked "why would we?" I told them "I manage a fleet of diesel vehicles and we send oil out for analysis frequently and check for a variety of things. My concern with my truck is the oil is being diluted with fuel." Their response was "if Ford tells us to, we would." I'm ordering a Blackstone kit just for my own documentation. We use Blackstone at work, so I am familiar with the process.

I'm not terribly concerned, but enough to document and follow through. Still love the truck, but just want to be sure it has the longevity I'm looking to get out of it. Once I get the oil changed and the analysis done I'm going to monitor the oil level regularly and if it continues to rise, I'm going to involve Ford. Guess that's what I get for going to the dealer on a Saturday.

My post #166 mentioned what the owners manual says about overfilling the crankcase. Every car I've owned that had an owners manual cautioned about overfilling the crankcase lest you cause engine damage. Definitely some of the issues you mentioned but the biggest is aeration of the oil. Air in the oil is bad creates pressure issues. "Think of air in break lines". My dipstick looks like the one in post #144 but my oil level is at the upper end of the cross hatch section, anything above the cross hatch is the start of overfill. Also dont forget these mentioned overfill issues are because of the addition of gasoline which makes it worse. That amount of gas in the crankcase is not normal.




Only benefit I see in this is the gas in the oil may help keep the backs of the intake valves clean lol.

LOL

 

[Wheazy]

not to muddy the waters but I'm guessing nobody contributing here is running a catch can? Wondering if it would help the dilution/overfill????

 

[Scoops14]

not to muddy the waters but I'm guessing nobody contributing here is running a catch can? Wondering if it would help the dilution/overfill????

The thread was started by an individual using a catch can.

 

[Wade]

not to muddy the waters but I'm guessing nobody contributing here is running a catch can? Wondering if it would help the dilution/overfill????

All the catch can does is capture what is already going through the pcv system, which otherwise would be returned to the combustion chamber to be burned up anyway. Ironically, because my catch can is really just filling up with gasoline, all it is really doing is preventing all that gas from washing the back of my intake valves....

 

[fusseli]

A very curious statement. Playing the devils advocate here, fuel in the oil will boil off while the engine is running and burn off via the pcv system intake air. Maybe that's enough to clean, I dont know. The part that doesn't add up to me is the loss in lubrication from gasoline mixture going into engine bearings rather than motor oil. Maybe they have solved that too somehow?

Almost 6k miles on factory fill here. I had checked a couple thousand ago and it was normal on the dipstick. I checked the other day and I had oil all up the dipstick and over the fill line.

I plan to Mityvac out a sample for Blackstone from the dipstick tube, then take it for its first oil change.

 

[fusseli]

All the catch can does is capture what is already going through the pcv system, which otherwise would be returned to the combustion chamber to be burned up anyway. Ironically, because my catch can is really just filling up with gasoline, all it is really doing is preventing all that gas from washing the back of my intake valves....

Yes, if the speculation is correct, a catch can could literally be hurting the system that Ford intended. This is all speculation at this point.

 

[Dmax]

Yes, if the speculation is correct, a catch can could literally be hurting the system that Ford intended. This is all speculation at this point.

Talked to my dealer, he was very familiar with catch cans. He said personally he wouldn’t add one to this truck. If ever any issues documenting problems going forward someone could blame the can as the issue. While under warranty I’ll leave it alone.

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