Oil dilution in Mustang or RS 2.3L ecoboosts?

[Dmc]

The answer I found was related to short trips. I only noticed dilution when I was taking frequent 1 mile trips, on longer trips no issue. So I'll change oil more often in those conditions.

You guys are putting way too much thought into this. Trading in for a Taco is giving up *way* more than changing oil a few more times.

Lol well when you need a engine replacement at 37k or seals are blowing out due to dilution you will ask your self was going to a taco giving up lol . To each there own . I gave up after 3 of them with this problem. O ya the theory of short drives isnt the problem . I live in the south near a major interstate and have to drive 22 miles @ 70 mph . No short trips or stop and go .

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[T-Wrecks]

Lol well when you need a engine replacement at 37k or seals are blowing out due to dilution you will ask your self was going to a taco giving up lol . To each there own . I gave up after 3 of them with this problem. O ya the theory of short drives isnt the problem. I live in the south near a major interstate and have to drive 22 miles @ 70 mph . No short trips or stop and go .

Have you seen any motors needing replacement at 37K? Or blown oil seals any *more* frequently than Tacos? No you haven't. It's just not that big a deal, and if it was there would be data, and a recall or class action by now. Been wrenching on all my stuff for 50 years and it doesn't bother me so much to trade in for an inferior truck, one that had a great reputation 20 years ago, today not so much. Perhaps you should move onto to the Taco forum since you are convinced without any evidence that Toyota is better.

BTW - 22 miles at 70 mph (15 min at low rpm) is a short trip, barely enough to warm the oil (not enough to vaporize any fuel). Just change the oil every 3K if you think it's a problem. Total cost maybe $300 over the life of the truck?

 

[Dmc]

Have you seen any motors needing replacement at 37K? Or blown oil seals any *more* frequently than Tacos? No you haven't. It's just not that big a deal, and if it was there would be data, and a recall or class action by now. Been wrenching on all my stuff for 50 years and it doesn't bother me so much to trade in for an inferior truck, one that had a great reputation 20 years ago, today not so much. Perhaps you should move onto to the Taco forum since you are convinced without any evidence that Toyota is better.

BTW - 22 miles at 70 mph (15 min at low rpm) is a short trip, barely enough to warm the oil (not enough to vaporize any fuel). Just change the oil every 3K if you think it's a problem. Total cost maybe $300 over the life of the truck?

I guess you missed the part live in the south . Most times Temps are 90 plus on a cold engine so wouldn't take a long time to get to op temp . Also the 2.3 eb runs hot to start . Also your 300.00 will get you 6 oil changes at $50.00 from a ford dealer that puts 18,ooo miles on the clock so that's not life time of the truck . Just come back when you get 100k and we can compare service records . Not here for a pissing match by the way .

 

[Trigganometry]

When the other thread appeared on this issue I was taking delivery of my truck. It did make me somewhat concerned but from what I could see those that had severe problems got them resolved and noted by dealer if anything down the road happened.

My first oil change at 3700 miles sent out a sample, to my surprise although my level had risen the percentage of fuel was low compared to others in here.

Since that thread I have not come across of a single instance of anyone blowing up a motor. Keep in mind not every Ranger owner is a member of this forum! Lots of miles on some of the trucks on this forum too.

 

[T-Wrecks]

I guess you missed the part live in the south .

I didn't but it just shows your lack of mechanical knowledge. Air temp doesn't mean squat when you're driving 70 mph at 1500 rpm with no boost. Oil temps will still be low for your short drive. Not trying to start a pissing match either but you are drawing conclusions about things you don't know about. EB run hot? Really? Have you overheated yours?

As for costs it's probably a wash as fuel will be more with Taco. And real men change their own oil. Sheesh.

And one more thing. My buddy yelled at me pulling a trailer with his Taco (we switch trucks every trip) because I used cruise control which when going up a hill the V6 screams and he was afraid it would blow up (plus it's annoying AF). My Ranger barely makes a sound. So you can't use CC towing anything with a Taco. No wonder they are reliable you have to drive them like a granny.

 

[Killranger]

I owned a Focus RS for 3 years with no issues of blow by or fuel in oil in any of the 35k miles I put on it and the oil changes I did myself(using motorcraft 5w50 only and multiple track days/high speed runs). I also have this issue looking into my Rangers oil catch can I usually have more fuel then oil as well as the smell of fuel when checking the oil. But to the RS's advantage it did run 5w50 oil instead of 5w30.

 

[JohnnyO]

Hi Folks,

I for the most part stay out of these kinds of threads but I have a puzzlement. Doesn't the oil get hot enough to vaporize any fuel in the oil which would be drawn into the intake mainfold and burned? I must be missing something here...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

That's why I wonder if it happens more on trucks driven for short distances. I've had mine for 7 months and while I've not gotten a used oil analysis yet, I've not seen the oil level go UP on it's own nor have I ever had to add oil. But my work commute is about 20 miles each way and I often do other driving during my workday.

 

[RecoilOperated]

That's why I wonder if it happens more on trucks driven for short distances. I've had mine for 7 months and while I've not gotten a used oil analysis yet, I've not seen the oil level go UP on it's own nor have I ever had to add oil. But my work commute is about 20 miles each way and I often do other driving during my workday.

I think Honda has a similar ongoing issue with their 1.5t engines in vehicles that only make short trips around town and change their oil maybe twice a year if that.

 

[Josebd]

The additives in the oil will alter it's ability to mix with gasoline and water condensate. Older US oil types did not resist dilution when the GDI engines first hit the market and thus suffered significant issues with carbon buildup on the valves unlike European GDI cars. In the EU market they addressed this dilution very early on and mandated upgrades to the oil and significantly reduced the instances of this dilution as well as other related issues with GDI engines. The NA oil market was slow to adapt and update the API standards to meet the Euro-spec motor oil market.

This article goes into detail about the issue and how the oil type used plays a role.
https://www.motor.com/magazine-summary/old-new-oil-new-engines-august-2018

Oil catch cans are available because the aftermarket saw an issue with early GDI engines and marketed products to resolve it. They are still available because not all GDI engines have separators, they work, and people buy them. Are they still needed? It depends on the application. GDI only engines will still suffer from buildup on the valves because there is nothing preventing it. The addition of factory oil separators and newer oils that resist the issues created by GDI engines have helped but without having gasoline and the included detergents coming in contact with the valves on a regular basis the issue will always be present.

Many car makers are updating GDI engines to dual port injection or by adding low psi injectors to the intake. The shift to dual port is a step up effort to reduce low-speed preignition(LSPI) by using port injection, then shifting to direct injection at higher rpm/boost situations. This method of fuel delivery is resolving many of the issues early GDI engines had with oil dilution, LSPI, intake valve buildup etc. Ford has started updating their GDI engines with dual port injection, but sadly the 2.3L has not received this update. Others like Toyota have started adding a single low PSI pre-injector to the intake and have the ECU regularly activate it to reduce the intake valve buildup.

So I’m thinking mobil 1 advanced full synthetic is good to use for fuel dilution in oil?

 

[Dgc333]

It's on the driver's side of the engine just above and back from the oil filter. It's the device you're connecting the hoses to when installing an oil catch can.

I believe Ford first started putting them on the Mustang 2.3L somewhere in 2018. For the 2015-2016, Ford released an external unit like this one. https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-6766-A23

What is installed on the 2.3L consists of a baffle plate to repeatedly change the direction of airflow slowing it down so the oil vapor will fall out of the air stream. This is the back side of the separator/baffle plate installed on the 2.3L Ecoboost.

As far as effectiveness, based on what people are reporting when draining aftermarket catch cans, it looks like they do make a significant impact in the amount of oil vapor returning to the intake via the PCV but leaves room for improvement. Perhaps putting some steel filter material like that found in catch cans would slow things down more to allow more oil vapor to be removed within this baffle plate.

Just saw this thread and realize it is old but thought I would add a tidbit.

The 2.3 in the Ecoboost Mustang has always had the same style oil separator as the Ranger and so does the 2.0 Ecoboost. There was a TSB against 2015s and early 2016 Ecoboost Mustangs for excessive smoke at idle where they replaced the oil separator with one with an updated PCV Valve. Radium has a billet oil separator that replaced the factory part for the 2.3 Ecoboost that has better baffling to colese more oil and keep it in the pan.

For the past 6 years I was a participant on the Ecoboost Mustang forum and the topic of fuel dilution was not a topic. I had two Ecoboost Mustangs and between the two never had an issue with fuel smell in the oil or the level increasing in the pan in the combined 100k miles. Both had UPR catch cans which I checked and emptied monthly. During the summer months I would have maybe a 1/4 ounce that was mostly oil with some moisture. During the winter there would be about a 1/2 ounce that was predominately moisture (quite often frozen at the bottom of the can). Never had a fuel smell in the contents.

With my 21 Ranger I changed the oil at 3k miles and there was no fuel smell and the oil was at the same level as it was when delivered. I changed the oil for the second time yesterday at 10k miles. There was no fuel smell and the oil was at the same level it was when I changed it at 3k miles (just over the top of the hash marks).

 

[Porpoise Hork]

So I’m thinking mobil 1 advanced full synthetic is good to use for fuel dilution in oil?

Mobile 1 is just one of the hundreds of brands blended/packaged by Warren Distribution. As long as the oil you choose meets API SN Plus (Dexos 1 Gen2) standards it is rated for GDI engines and will be fine.

https://www.gmdexos.com/brands/dexos1/index.html

Any of the oil brands in that list will perform nearly the same as Mobile 1 advanced and a lot of them would be far cheaper. At the end of the day it's a matter of personal preference. And sticking to regular oil changes is what's most important.

 

[Dgc333]

Mobile 1 is just one of the hundreds of brands blended/packaged by Warren Distribution. As long as the oil you choose meets API SN Plus (Dexos 1 Gen2) standards it is rated for GDI engines and will be fine.

https://www.gmdexos.com/brands/dexos1/index.html

Any of the oil brands in that list will perform nearly the same as Mobile 1 advanced and a lot of them would be far cheaper. At the end of the day it's a matter of personal preference. And sticking to regular oil changes is what's most important.

Mobil 1 has always and still is manufactured by ExxonMobil. I highly doubt any of the major oil companies like Mobil, Shell/Pennzoil, Castrol, Quaker State, Valvoline etc. Would be sourcing oil from a private labeler like Warren.

Also, Mobil 1 has many formulations that are Group III, Group IV or a blend of each. The Mobil 1 Advanced is their line of 0W-xx oils which are not recommended by Ford for the 2.3 Ecoboost, they recommend 5w-30.

FWIW, I buy whatever synthetic oil that is on sale when I need oil, that is most often Mobil 1. But the oil change I did yesterday was with Pennzoil Ultra synthetic. I think it was $22/5qt jug at Walmart.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Mobil 1 has always and still is manufactured by ExxonMobil. I highly doubt any of the major oil companies like Mobil, Shell/Pennzoil, Castrol, Quaker State, Valvoline etc. Would be sourcing oil from a private labeler like Warren.

Also, Mobil 1 has many formulations that are Group III, Group IV or a blend of each. The Mobil 1 Advanced is their line of 0W-xx oils which are not recommended by Ford for the 2.3 Ecoboost, they recommend 5w-30.

FWIW, I buy whatever synthetic oil that is on sale when I need oil, that is most often Mobil 1. But the oil change I did yesterday was with Pennzoil Ultra synthetic. I think it was $22/5qt jug at Walmart.

You are correct. I was looking at the wrong list... I mixed the Dexos list up with Warren's product list.

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

Here we go another oil dilution thread based on smell tests and dipsticks

Get a Blacksone report then make a post (or any other lab)

 

[Wytchdctr]

Also the 2.3 eb runs hot to start .

Relative to what?

I know relative to defining a short trip it is the opposite. My Ranger and the loaner Explorer with the 2.3 are slow as hell to get to normal operating temps. Per another post that is linked to the crank driven fan and heat exchanger with the transmission.

*Note: I don't excessively idle to warm a car up. Once it idles down I'm off an don't push them until they are good an warm, but still drive them like a sane person.

My Hyundai 2.0 Nu (trade in), Chevy 2.2 ecotec, Genesis 3.8 v6, Chevy 6.0 v8, and Kia 3.3 are all at "normal" on the dummy gauge (the 6.0 has a real temp gauge on it) Waaaayyyy before the 2.3t. So a short trip in it is a bit longer for the Ranger IMO than anything else I own or recently owned.

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