Moisture In The Crankcase?

[103]

I recently experienced the smell of oil in my AC, so I pulled my oil catch-can and checked my oil. I will edit this post with pictures from the catch-can, but it appears to indicate moisture in the crankcase. A friend suggested I may have a vacuum leak somewhere. I have about 114k miles on my 2019. My last oil change was 4000 miles ago with no issue and almost nothing in the catch can.

If it matters, in that 4000 miles I did spend a week in the Smokeys at highish RPMs (all on road) in cold weather (20s-40s).

Is there a common place one of our motors will develop a vacuum leak over time?

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[Dgc333]

Condensation in a catch can and crank case is normal. It is much more prevalent when the weather is cold. It is not unusual for me to find a 1/4" of ice in the bottom of my catch can in the winter.

A vacuum leak would not impact the amount of moisture in your catch can or crank case.

The smell of oil coming in via the AC would more likely indicate an oil leaking past a gasket.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Dustin, I think you might be able to take a sigh of relief - others will chime in and you might find that catch cans also catch condensation - I’ll just stop here because @Dgc333 just answered your concern while I was typing - thanks Dave. ?

 

[103]

I appreciate the quick responses. I intend to change my oil before a road trip later this month anyway, so I will see if there are any obvious leaks. I did not see anything obvious today looking everything over with a light.

I did have a bad old oil spill trying to drain through my ARB plates with a thin funnel that failed me (drain pump wasn't usable, and so I made poor life choices). I cleaned everything up, but I figure there could be some oil in some part of the plate I missed. But that was a few months ago now (and one hurricane ago), so I figured if I missed anything it would have dissipated by now.

 

[txquailguy]

I recently experienced the smell of oil in my AC, so I pulled my oil catch-can and checked my oil. I will edit this post with pictures from the catch-can, but it appears to indicate moisture in the crankcase. A friend suggested I may have a vacuum leak somewhere. I have about 114k miles on my 2019. My last oil change was 4000 miles ago with no issue and almost nothing in the catch can.

If it matters, in that 4000 miles I did spend a week in the Smokeys at highish RPMs (all on road) in cold weather (20s-40s).

Is there a common place one of our motors will develop a vacuum leak over time?

You have no problem my man!!! That would be called a cold weather catch.....lol.
Mine looks like that all winter long.....then very clear and golden in the summer...worry not.

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

OP-

First, go comment on the "highest mileage" thread, you may be the winner right now

Regarding your problem, if you aren't experiencing any visual leaks or performance issues, try getting a Blackstone report on your next oil change, will tell you whether you actually have moisture in your oil, and the general health of the engine

 

[CB750F]

114k miles, cool. Any issues?

 

[Jason B]

If it was a vacuum leak, the ECU would throw a code for lean mixture. Today's vehicles are really precise about air/fuel ratios and would detect the leaks.

 

[RedDakooter05]

You'd see excessive condensation on the oil fill cap, and some on the dipstick if your crankcase is getting water/coolant in there.


(Milky stuff under the fill cap is usually normal during cold weather and short trips)

 

[103]

114k miles, cool. Any issues?

I killed an alternator a couple years ago, but that was my fault. Otherwise no.

 

[Wytchdctr]

I'm shooting for at least 150k with a tune.... Wish me luck.

And that looks pretty normal for a catch can IMO.

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