Fuel in oil

[Wade]

Well, got my oil analysis back yesterday, so thought I'd post an update. Oil analysis shows there is definitely fuel in the oil, and the oil was definitely degraded if it was reading like an 0W20 instead of a 5w30, but fortunately no signs of wear (yet). On the plus side, there is a very little amount of insolubles in the oil, so I don't think excessive blow-by is the culprit...on the other hand, where is the fuel coming from?

I have 2200 miles on the new oil, and the fuel smell has returned. Checked the oil last night, and the oil level was alarmingly high. I used a syringe-style vacuum pump to suck about 1.5qts of fluid out of the crankcase through the dip-stick tube, and topped off with 0.5 qts of fresh to put the oil back on the 'full' dot on the dipstick.The oil reeks of fuel, so definitely have some contamination coming from somewhere.

The truck gets to sit for the next two weeks as I'm out of town, but my plan is to get it into the dealership the first week of January. Hopefully they do more than just change the oil and call me an idiot...

What's your date of manufacture? I want to see if we can find a common variable between us. Mine was April if I remember correctly. I'm deep in with Ford Corporate, still looking for a solution. Considering filing a complaint with the NTSB since with a lowered flashpoint comes the risk of fire or explosion. With two of us now we might be able to make some headway.

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[BcP28]

What's your date of manufacture? I want to see if we can find a common variable between us. Mine was April if I remember correctly. I'm deep in with Ford Corporate, still looking for a solution. Considering filing a complaint with the NTSB since with a lowered flashpoint comes the risk of fire or explosion. With two of us now we might be able to make some headway.

April as well!! 4-27-19

 

[shred5]

I have seen others with this issue as well maybe find out when there was too..

like this thread:

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/oil-level-rising-up-dipstick-after-oil-change.3629/


This one was low but still had some. Interesting what Blackstone said at the top of his..

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/ranger-oil-analysis.5237/

 

[Wade]

Where were you able to get that vehicle information from? My door sticker just says the month and year. Looks like we are onto something!

 

[BcP28]

Where were you able to get that vehicle information from? My door sticker just says the month and year. Looks like we are onto something!

I have access to detailed info like that as part of my job (its info you can get at a dealer too), but you can find your build date on your window sticker too I believe. I think its somewhere in the middle along the bottom edge?

 

[Wade]

Just found mine, 4-17-19, definitely possible there was a bad batch of high pressure fuel pumps or something. That's my guess anyway. I bet a lot more people have this issue but just haven't discovered it yet...

 

[BcP28]

Just found mine, 4-17-19, definitely possible there was a bad batch of high pressure fuel pumps or something. That's my guess anyway. I bet a lot more people have this issue but just haven't discovered it yet...

We might be getting somewhere, something that might be more important is the build date of the engine (on the sticker on the front of the block). Mine says 23-Apr-2019.

 

[Wade]

And for everyone viewing this thread, my engine has a date of April 25th, so very well could be a bad batch of parts that went through during that time period.

 

[I_smell_like_diesel]

And for everyone viewing this thread, my engine has a date of April 25th, so very well could be a bad batch of parts that went through during that time period.

Quick question.... Whats your current millage?

 

[Wade]

Quick question.... Whats your current millage?

2500 miles

 

[David Schuster]

To OP and others experiencing this, how high up on the dip stick are you seeing oil? I just read the thread, so checked mine. it's a bit over the top sight hole, but doesn't seem too excessive. maybe a 1/4" Hard say if any fuel smell, mostly an 'oily' smell like when changing the oil I guess . Was yours up and past the twist near the bottom of the stick? Mine's a March build, so guessing Feb engine build. (too cold to go back out & check ) ~5,200 miles on factory fill

 

[BcP28]

To OP and others experiencing this, how high up on the dip stick are you seeing oil? I just read the thread, so checked mine. it's a bit over the top sight hole, but doesn't seem too excessive. maybe a 1/4" Hard say if any fuel smell, mostly an 'oily' smell like when changing the oil I guess . Was yours up and past the twist near the bottom of the stick? Mine's a March build, so guessing Feb engine build. (too cold to go back out & check ) ~5,200 miles on factory fill

Mine was right in the middle of the twist. I noticed initially at 7800 miles (4.8k on oil) and I changed the oil. Its back now with 10,200 miles. It's a strong enough smell that even my garage smells like someone spilled fuel on the floor.

 

[BcP28]

My first thought initially was a faulty/fractured injector and/or excessive blow-by, but in my case I would have thought both of those would lead to poor performance of some type. If it was an injector, I'd figure I'd have a rough idle and rough running plus a lot of smoke out of the exhaust, which I don't. My engine starts fine, idles smooth, and drives fine, and my exhaust is normal. If it was blow-by, I'd figure an additional consequence would be oil-consumption (I've heard of this happening with Fords 3.5L Ecoboost too), which would possibly show a lower level on the dipstick, and I'd be getting blue exhaust.

The more I've looked into the high-pressure fuel pump, the more it makes sense. There's always fuel in the pump, and it's at upwards of 2500psi, and the pump is mechanically driven via the cams, so there is a direct mechanical interface between a fuel component and the non-combustion part of the inside of the engine, all it would take is a slightly tweaked seal and fuel can be forced in.

The other things I've thought of were the evap/purge system, but there's no direct path into the crankcase. Plus if there were a leak of some sort in this system, it would trigger a check-engine light almost immediately, as it is heavily monitored for emissions. I've also thought about the PCV, but that system just regurgitates whatever is already in the engine, so don't think that would be a root-cause. I've also thought of turbo seals, but the turbo should never see fuel flowing to/through it.

My plan is to try to have the dealer check the HPDI pump first and see if they can perform a leakdown test. Till then, the Ranger will gets the garage.

 

[MINI Ranger]

My Ranger is currently in the shop for this problem and the taillight recall.
2000 miles into second oil change and cold oil level has risen approx. 3/4" and smells of fuel.
I had oil changed early due to same issue. It's time to figure this out.
I suspect a HPDI pump, but Ill have to rely on the dealer to figure it out.

 

[BcP28]

My Ranger is currently in the shop for this problem and the taillight recall.
2000 miles into second oil change and cold oil level has risen approx. 3/4" and smells of fuel.
I had oil changed early due to same issue. It's time to figure this out.
I suspect a HPDI pump, but Ill have to rely on the dealer to figure it out.

Interesting...do you know right off hand when your truck was built? Both the OP and myself had trucks built at the end of April. It'd be interesting to see if this is isolated to a few trucks in a select range of dates, or if it's more of a systemic issue.

FWIW I had my truck in to the dealer last week. They did an oil change and want me to monitor it and bring it back immediately once I notice the smell again. I'm guessing I'll be back again in early Feb based on how quickly it came back last time. Hopefully we can make something of this and get Ford to fix the issue!

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