jjs

About 1500 miles ago I changed the oil in my '83 944 with 10w30 (usually use 10w40). I think this may have been a mistake. Since then I noticed a leak in the front of the engine, haven't found the exact source yet. I wasn't too worried about it, figured I could take care of that problem myself without removing the engine. What I am worried about however is that my oil smells like gas! I noticed by smelling the small amount of oil on the dipstick. What could be causing this? The only thing I can think of is a piston ring. Does anyone know of a way I can test the oil to be sure there is gas in it, or is the smell proof enough? It will not ignite with a match by the way. Any info on this would be appreciated. And I'm guessing it's related, the car almost stalled out at a red light. I thought it was out for sure, but it caught itself and was ok after that - first time it ever did anything like that. Thanks for your help

Dano_944

jjs: your oil leak in the front of the engine could be from several sources. Is it up high on the motor? Could be cam housing seal (cam to head). Mine leaks a scrunch if I use 10-40 instead 0 20-50 or if I use synthetic oil (5-50). If it's behind the distributor or above the #1 exhaust port (common) it could be either cam housing or head gasket seal. If it is down low, it could be front engine seals, balance shaft seals, etc. which are under the cam/balance belt cover and you'll need to pull the cover to look (mine blew at 180k.).

Gas in the oil? never heard of that in any engine. To test your rings give the car a compression test. If gas is sneaking by the rings, so is compression. Otherwise, clean your dipstick and flush your motor with engine flush; put fresh 10-40 or 20-50 in and see what you got. While your at it, check all fuel connections at the fuel rail. you don't need an instant 'signal-fire' on the side of the road. Carry a fire extinguisher, too! Good luck!

Hans

When driving short distances (engine does not heat up) it is possible to get some petrol in the oil.
It than condensates against the cylinder wall and some of this passes the piston rings
Take the car for a long drive (min 30 minutes) at moderate speed and re-check.
Petrol will deteriorate the additives in oil pritty fast so check more often than you used to and change oil at shorter intervals.
Take care

951Tom

That could be a sign of leaky fuel injectors washing the cylinders down with gas after you turn the motor off. The gas runs down into the crankcase hence your gas odor. Test to see if your fuel system holds pressure after shut-down.

Tom
'87 951
'86 Supra

keith

Leaky fuel injectors or FPR going south...
On a side note, the FPR and damper can get bad enought to dump gas into the vacuum lines, and it can end up in the KLR (ask me how I know)

jjs

KLR? I'm not familiar with the acronym, what is it? How do you know Keith? Did your car catch fire?

keith

KLR is more or less the boost computer on the 951. I pulled mine out to find out why it wasn't working properly, and poured gasoline in my lap.

Worn rings WILL make your oil dirty quickly (from the byproducts of combustion), but the gas smell (especially if it is heavy) is generally injector/FPR related.

Antonio

I had a similar problem with my Volvo 740 Turbo. It had a very strong gasoline smell at the dipstick. In my case it was result of the motor running way too rich. Unburned fuel vapors got trapped into the crankcase ventilation system. Once the engine cooled off, the vapors would be condensed and drip into the oil pan. After I fixed the rich mixture problem and changed the oil a couple of times, the smell went away.

Michael Stephenson

I had the "gas in oil smell" once.

Cured it by installing new injectors.

keith

My wife says I have the "gas and oil smell" a lot....

jjs

could a bad seal between the engine and the intake manifold cause fuel to get into the oil? my mechanic says that it is not the injectors but a bas gasket. Does this make sence?

rplencne

Bad intake manifold gaskets will NOT result in fuel in the oil ... at least not in a 944. Bad intake gaskets will cause idle problems. All the previous posts are the best places to look. My guess would be the FPR. Had one die in a Volvo once ... lots of gas in the oil ... 90lbs at the injectors will do that

-Bob P.

PrerYDoG

I hate to rise topics from the grave, but I'm having the gas in oil smell problem too. Are the responses in this post correct? Should I be replacing the injectors and the FPR in my case to clean up this problem, or do I need to be looking elsewhere?

TIA

Bri Bro

You might want to drain the oil and see if the smell is really in the oil or just some gas vapors trapped in the engine and the dip stick is picking up the smell.

PrerYDoG

True, but my oil also looks kind of weak, very weak, almost watery. Wonder if something else isn't in it, but I haven't changed the oil since I got it, but I don't wanna change the oil just to have gas get in it and need to change it again.


Maybe i can try lighting the end of the dip-stick on fire?