YACT: Engine Oil smells like Gasoline when checked

[Hamburgerpimp]

I checked the oil in my truck the other day and noticed a strong gasoline smell from the stick. I change it at 3K intervals on the Toyota 4Runner Limited V6 and it's dealer maintained. It now has 18K miles which is basically new. I use Mobil 1 Full SuperSynthetic. Must be all the stop and go traffic. Any ideas?

 

[HappyPuppy]

"Your oil shouldn't smell like gasoline."

"No shyt, so what is it?"

"I have no idea."

"So why did you post a reply?"

"Because I am addicted to ATOT postcount!"

 

[Vette73]

YEAR, make, model, engine, and is it Carb or F/I?

If it was a older truck I would say bad fuel pump, but could be to many short trips? Is engine light on or does it ever run ruogh at idle, etc..??

 

[Jeff7181]

Oil that smells like gas is caused by gas in the oil

Seriously though... it's probably blowby... combustion gasses leaking past the piston rings. Could be from improperly seated rings. Or it could be a leaking fuel injector that's letting too much fuel into the cylinder and washing the oil off the cylinder walls and dripping down into the crank case... or it could be a dead cylinder that isn't firing so the oil is being washed from the cylinder walls and gasoline is leaking down into the crank case.. Hope for one of the last two =)

 

[RU482]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975
YEAR, make, model, engine, and is it Carb or F/I?

If it was a older truck I would say bad fuel pump, but could be to many short trips? Is engine light on or does it ever run ruogh at idle, etc..??

Dude, you can't read, can you?

 

[RU482]

I had an 01 civic with under 10K miles. I could always smell gas in the oil too. Same for my camry I have now. Curious

 

[Jeff7181]

Another thought... some engines are not meant to be broken in with synthetic oil... they say the rings aren't fully broken in until 10,000 miles... so if you've been using synthetic since day one, the rings may not be broken in yet. Sythetics are just too damn slippery and don't allow the rings and cylinder walls to wear into eachother like natural oil does to create a good seal.

 

[Ronstang]

What is your fuel economy like? Has it decreased lately?

 

[tranceport]

I'd get it checked. IF there was/is gas in the oil. I'm sure you would have had a small explosion on the wrong side of your pistons by now. A quick test would be to see if the oil instantly catches on fire. That would prove to us that you are smelling a strong gasoline amount in the oil. Do this far away from anything flameable though.. And make sure its ok with your parents . lol.

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

It's a 2002 Toyota 4Runner V6 Limited with 18K miles. Changed oil at 5K, 10K with dino and 15K with Mobil 1. It has a 90K warranty, so I'm not worried. I've been posting in the forum below (those guys are nutty!). Just thought you geeks might have something to add.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=forum;f=1

 

[JC]

Kinda low mileage for this, but a bad fuel pressure regulator could pass gasoline into the oil. I experieced this on numerous Ford 2.9 V6s. This was extreme, though, and resulted in an overfilled crankcase.

 

[Quixfire]

Short Answer: You engine is running rich.

Long Answer: Since it is fairly low miles I would have to look at your drive cycle. If you are making mostly short trips, less than 15 miles, your engine and sensors may not be heating up enough to lean the fuel mixture out. If you are taking off quickly while driving in stop-n-go traffic this can add to the problem.

I would first change the oil since gas will dilute the oil and second I would analyze the way you drive and see if you are doing any of the above habits.

Good Luck

 

[StageLeft]

I'd replace the turbo with a nissan supercharger, and hemi out the combustion blowback, but that's just me, and it may be overkill.

 

[C'DaleRider]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Another thought... some engines are not meant to be broken in with synthetic oil... they say the rings aren't fully broken in until 10,000 miles... so if you've been using synthetic since day one, the rings may not be broken in yet. Sythetics are just too damn slippery and don't allow the rings and cylinder walls to wear into eachother like natural oil does to create a good seal.

PURE BS!