Fuel in oil

[Doc]

As I mentioned, there will be the rare ones (and I was actually thinking about your case), but again, how are things going with your Ranger otherwise? All good? Have you broken down on the side of the road yet?

Or is your truck still in the shop because of something that "may" be a problem in the distant future?

This is all I'm trying to get at with my response above. There seems to be a lot of sounding-off/alarmist posts about a "maybe" something... but it's all science that we can work with. Of course a catch-can would cure all, but you can't put that in every vehicle because 95% (or more?) of us wouldn't even know it was there/what to do with it. These are the natures of this beast. Of course we can deal with it, but there is no way it's a "sky is falling" scenario like some would like to think it is...

Catch can will cure nothing related to fuel in the oil ..

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[the5Gmartian]

I have 12% fuel dilution in 500 miles. Multiple oil samples over a year, all taken and sent out by the dealer. Please tell me what you would do? Does that warrant a service trip?

Do you have a tailgate damper?

 

[SymChris]

Catch can will cure nothing related to fuel in the oil ..

shush you... I'm trying not to be too much of an a$$.....

 

[MotoWojo]

You are over 500 miles
Break it in hard, run it in third gear from 3000 to 5000 rpms up and down,
and repeat, change the oil first , get it hot then seat the rings. Don’t bog a cold engine..change it again at 1000 miles...send a sample..if that doesn’t work, then explore all the suggested alternatives...
Regards
Doc
JMHO ..

What I meant was, 12% in 500 miles on the oil. I have 25,000 miles on the truck. I have had 5 oil samples the past year, all taken by the dealer, and that 12% was the lowest one, although I haven't seen the last sample that was taken when the Field Service Engineer and a service tech from Ford came to the dealership to run some tests on my truck, and they took the oil sample back to Ford. That had 5,000 miles on the oil, as the Engineer had wanted to see how bad the wear metals would get. They will not share that test with me and claim they are not obligated to. It must have been bad as the oil level was about 3/8" above the twist for 3,000+ miles of the ~5,000 miles on that oil change. The truck has been in the shop 12 times in 13 months for this issue. Changed HPFP once, all 4 injectors twice, all HP fuel lines once, and oil separator assembly once.

For the record, which I have stated before, my trucks oil level was rock solid and consistently good for the first ~10,000 miles, and then the flood gates opened. What happened? Truck still runs good, but the oil level climbs about 1/10" every 50 miles, and actually is a little worse after the last fix attempt, which involved replacing the oil separator assembly and reprogramming, which they did not get into specifics as to what they changed. My fuel trims are much higher now, 11-16 at idle, and it seems like unmetered air must be getting in the system somehow. The dealership told me it was normal and was due to the adaptive learning that was triggered by the reprogram. They told me the fuel trims should come back down in 1,000 - 2,000 miles. If so, seems a bit longer than I would imagine? It won't make it that long before it is back in for service, as the oil level is up to the twist again in less than 500 miles since the last oil change. Also, worth noting, my mpg has been continually dropping. Before this issue, my worst tank was 19+ mpg, which includes one whole winter, and most tanks averaged 20+mpg. My last fill was 16.1mpg and my best tank since last September has been 18.1 mpg.

 

[MotoWojo]

Do you have a tailgate damper?

Now that you mention it, I installed a damper way back when this issue started.....hmmm?

 

[Doc]

What I meant was, 12% in 500 miles on the oil. I have 25,000 miles on the truck. I have had 5 oil samples the past year, all taken by the dealer, and that 12% was the lowest one, although I haven't seen the last sample that was taken when the Field Service Engineer and a service tech from Ford came to the dealership to run some tests on my truck, and they took the oil sample back to Ford. That had 5,000 miles on the oil, as the Engineer had wanted to see how bad the wear metals would get. They will not share that test with me and claim they are not obligated to. It must have been bad as the oil level was about 3/8" above the twist for 3,000+ miles of the ~5,000 miles on that oil change. The truck has been in the shop 12 times in 13 months for this issue. Changed HPFP once, all 4 injectors twice, all HP fuel lines once, and oil separator assembly once.

For the record, which I have stated before, my trucks oil level was rock solid and consistently good for the first ~10,000 miles, and then the flood gates opened. What happened? Truck still runs good, but the oil level climbs about 1/10" every 50 miles, and actually is a little worse after the last fix attempt, which involved replacing the oil separator assembly and reprogramming, which they did not get into specifics as to what they changed. My fuel trims are much higher now, 11-16 at idle, and it seems like unmetered air must be getting in the system somehow. The dealership told me it was normal and was due to the adaptive learning that was triggered by the reprogram. They told me the fuel trims should come back down in 1,000 - 2,000 miles. If so, seems a bit longer than I would imagine? It won't make it that long before it is back in for service, as the oil level is up to the twist again in less than 500 miles since the last oil change. Also, worth noting, my mpg has been continually dropping. Before this issue, my worst tank was 19+ mpg, which includes one whole winter, and most tanks averaged 20+mpg. My last fill was 16.1mpg and my best tank since last September has been 18.1 mpg.

Sell it to Carvana..

 

[jsphlynch]

This is straight from black stone labs:

The problem here is that Blackstone does not have any special insight in the engineering of these engines. Their 2% threshold is based on only on what they typically see across gas engines from various makes and models. So are many peoples' Rangers showing higher fuel dilution than most vehicles. Absolutely, and Blackstone's statement reflects that. Does that actually represent a problem? We have no clue. The only people that do are the engineers who designed the engines, and they are being completely silent about how much fuel in the oil they're designed to handle.

I really wish Ford would just come out and say "Fuel dilution up to approximately X.X% is within the design constraints and is taken into account when anticipating long-term durability." Until they do, I'm not going to blame anyone who gets squeamish enough about analyses that show 2.5% dilution to bale on their Ranger.

 

[Texasota]

Now that you mention it, I installed a damper way back when this issue started.....hmmm?

I don’t think I would be able to retain a sense of humor given what you are dealing with. It is admirable.

 

[N. J. Jim]

I don’t think I would be able to retain a sense of humor given what you are dealing with. It is admirable.

Yes it is very. I wish I had his demeanor!

 

[cbull]

This thread has turned into just a cesspool of people hypothesizing about a fuel in oil “problem” that nobody even has proof is a widespread issue. You have one, maybe two people on here who had freak scenarios with actual proof, but because of this, people are actually trading in their trucks. All of these people freaking out about “fuel in oil” because either it “smells like fuel” or their $100 catch can that was engineered in a garage caught a tiny amount of oil and a bunch of water, but guess what… their trucks keep on running just fine. You don’t think Ford engineers have absolutely tortured and tested this engine before deciding to put it in all of their new and upcoming vehicles? The Bronco, Ranger, Mustang, Explorer, Lincoln Corsair, etc.. Oh and might want to go read some Tacoma forums about what they think of the 3rd gens before you go trade your Ranger for one lol. This thread is ridiculous.

I think it may be that your an idiot, are you really trying to say people on this forum are to dumb to know when they are having issues?
I suppose your opinion on the 6.0 and 6.4 diesel is they were great diesel engines and that all the problems people had with them was just made up from dumb people.
Ford did a real great job torture testing those engines didn't they?! Lol
The truth is these companies do very little testing, it's the customers that do the testing.

 

[cbull]

Question here, does the oil and gas mix together or does it separate?
If gas separates like water then does fuel sit at the bottom or at the top?

 

[Zaph]

For F’s sake, STOP IT. Did your truck die on you yet because of this? If yes, you can say you have an issue, otherwise F’N Sop it.

Nobody's truck is going to show any issues from fuel dilution for years. Not even Motowojo's. We're all just concered about long term engine wear. Some people don't even care about that. 5 years and they are done with the truck, from then on it's not their problem.

It's time to admit that the internet is not your safe space. You are going to hear things that might not make you happy. You may just want to stay away from the discussion if it makes you angry.

It's nobody's goal here to scare people, or "foster debate" or promote fear mongering. We just want a solution to a real problem.

I really wish Ford would just come out and say "Fuel dilution up to approximately X.X% is within the design constraints and is taken into account when anticipating long-term durability."

That would be awesome. I think we're not getting that statement because of how widespread the problem is. Any answer they give opens up the floodgates to warranty claims.

 

[puckdodger]

5% oil dilution is less than 300ml. Nothing to really be concerned with.

So, let's say that 5% of your morning coffee turns out to be urine. How happy are you with that 5% now???

 

[kal718]

For F’s sake, STOP IT. Did your truck die on you yet because of this? If yes, you can say you have an issue, otherwise F’N Sop it.

Close this dang thread, it’s making people think they have “issues” they don’t, until someone can prove it actually did something warranting a service trip.

Change your oil and other associated fluids that you think need changing (and I’m all for early fluid changes), and all should be good, unless you have that rare one that doesn’t play nice.

if you have a somewhat decent dealer/service garage (or are a decent DIY’er) than you just get’er done every 6 months or your preferred mileage.

I love this thread and all the info it brings, but jeepers….

/just venting….

P.S. (pre-edit) - I understand some of you brought your trucks in and had stuff done like HPFP’s and injectors so have at least got this fuel in oil thing raised with them (Ford) and in their database of things to look into….
L
My 2019 is a long-hauler for me. Not towing, just ownership and driving’er for 10+ years. Rust-proofing and 6 month checkups has worked well for me for years with various vehicles….. again , just venting….

So it's not a problem until the engine blows up? That sounds remarkably like saying someone doesn't really have cancer until it kills them.

 

[jsphlynch]

So it's not a problem until the engine blows up? That sounds remarkably like saying someone doesn't really have cancer until it kills them.

But is it cancer or just a funny looking mole? The doctor hasn't told us, so we're googling the symptoms and assuming the worst.

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