dragonfire Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 i have a xt 89 mpfi. runs fine. no major issues. other than cv axel needs replaced, par for the course. but my main problem. upon checking the oil noticed a gas smell. not knowing if the people before me used and type of seafoam or other engine cleaners in the oil. i changed the oil. besides it needed it. well after a week of driving. i now smell gas in the oil. the xt starts right up no problem. no smoke upon start up or driving. but yet it seems there is gas in the oil:eek:. i dont have oil smoke from bad rings and compression is good in all cylinders. i am stumped:confused:. i am gonna pull the spark plugs to inspect tomorrow. dont what that will tell other than they need to be replaced...lol. any help to point me in the right direction would much apprecated:rolleyes:! never dealt with this in either my spfi sedan or any other injected vehicle. i have in old carbed vehicles. but those where float sticking issues. not gonna help me here:grin:. thank you for time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallasooby Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 GAS... oh no.. IT's probably not really gas yer smellin in the oil.. hmm... I always thinkj that .. have you done a compresiion test ? what is your dignoses so far..ol ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 have you been cold idleing the car?gas has been known to wash past the rings on cold engines that are idling.Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 car runs fine? how exactly are you diagnosing gas in oil so quickly and easily? i have funny pictures in my head, do tell! injectors can leak or operate incorrectly and dump too much fuel into the cylinder. I would suppose it can get into the oil from there past rings or valve stem seals. Washing of the cylinder walls is really bad so you'd want to check into that sooner than later if it's possibly happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94Loyale Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 If it's a strong smell of gas in the oil, and the motor runs good and compression is fine. First thing that comes to mind is an injector leaking down when the motor is shut off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfire Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 an injector leaking down is what i am thinking. in the process of finishing up two new axels my 88 sedan. as well as rotors and and pads. when that is finished. i will get back to the xt. thank you for the info 94 loayle. and grossgary i have been down this road before gas in the oil. granted it was on carbed V8s. but still there was no quick or easy way of diagnosing this problem. it runs fine and does burn excess fuel. no black smoke on start up or while driving. so i figured it was leaking down after shut down. will know more when i get a chance to pull the plug i put in and se what they look like. thanks you for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberoo Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Im not familar with how subaru MPFI is setup but couldn't you pull the fuel rails connect the electronics and fuel lines to the rails then turn the key on with the injectors pointing in a bucket to see if they leak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Im not familar with how subaru MPFI is setup but couldn't you pull the fuel rails connect the electronics and fuel lines to the rails then turn the key on with the injectors pointing in a bucket to see if they leak? Usually with injector leak, it happens over the period of a couple hours. When the car is shut off, the fuel system is still pressurized and if an injector is leaking, the pressure escapes through it. Then the fuel washes down into the cylinder, past the rings and into the oil. You can pull them out and send them to an injector specialist to have them checked out and repaired if nessessary, or source up a good known set and be done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skishop69 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 On any other car, you'd pull the injectors and fuel rail. Leave them attached to the rail and set them on a piece of cardboard that has a piece of notebook paper on it. Key it up 3 times but don't start it. Come back later and check for spotting on the paper. The gas will cause the ink on the paper to run indicating leak. As many times as I've had my XT apart, I can't remember if the rails can be pulled... How do you figure it's burning excessive fuel? Depending on mileage, compression, plug type/gapping/condtion, cap/rotor/wires and timing set, it may be 'normal' for the car. How did you check for gas in the oil? All oil is going to have some kind of fuel smell. The best test is to take a few table spoons, put it in a shallow tin can or on a piece of metal and see if it burns when lit. If not, the amount of fuel is minimal at best and shouldn't be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfire Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 ok so. after much time and having to move. i finally got around to the xt. turns out the plug in the left front was not installed correctly. and when i say this i mean it was moving while the engine ran. when i touched it i could hear air leaking past. and when i was smelling the fuel in the oil. even after i changed it. i had driven it qutie a bit. running on three cylinders. i am gonna say this was half the problem. but i dont seem to have that issue anymore. :::fingers crossed::: i replaced all plugs. that one never was tightened properly. RPM automotive installed these plugs. the socket binded on the the head and felt like it was tight. i am just happy it did not blow out of the head causing major issues. it is now running well. used the E3 spark plugs. so far so good. when i get more time and can have the car down for more than a few days i will check to see if i do indeed have a leak down problem. thank you everone for your input. on to the next step and replace cv axel. and then injector check and then something else i am sure. oh yeah leaking from a nasty rust hole under the plastic cover at the bottom of the windshield. about the size of a half dollar.. not looking forward to pulling all that off to fix this. i hope this isnt gonna be something major, but i am sure it wont be easy to say the least. damn new jersey car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobDood05 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I Found this, hope it helps. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/engine-oil-analysis/ Fuel % This is the amount of raw fuel content in your oil sample given as a percentage of total volume. Fuel dilution is common from cold starts with lots of idling (engine ECUs typically run rich on a cold idle) and short trips. This causes raw fuel to work past the piston rings and into your crankcase, which dilutes your oil and acts as a solvent, partially washing away the critical oil film and increasing wear between parts. This is why used motor oil, especially on older carbureted vehicles, sometimes smells strongly of gasoline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now