Anyone checked / discovered gasoline smell on their oil dipstick?

[Jake10080Guy]

Just asking out of curiousity if anyone bothered to check on their Bronco Sport, If this is a common issue with most or all EcoBoosts sometimes.

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[jkeaton]

Nope.

 

[Colonel Angus]

What made you sniff the dipstick?

 

[rocks]

Not yet...

 

[PugDad]

What made you sniff the dipstick?

Just being nosey!

 

[jkeaton]

What made you sniff the dipstick?

Thats what he said.....

 

[Jake10080Guy]

What made you sniff the dipstick?

My vehicle has the 1.5L EcoBoost 4-cylinder (not the 3-cylinder) it's not a bronco sport, but it only has 60,000 miles on it and I've heard from others (such as Scotty Kilmer) that these engines often get oil dilution, so I smelled the dipstick and there was definitely a bit of gasoline odor on the measuring stick, wondering if any of you would have encountered it due to EcoBoosts having high pressure direct injection

 

[rocks]

My vehicle has the 1.5L EcoBoost 4-cylinder (not the 3-cylinder) it's not a bronco sport, but it only has 60,000 miles on it and I've heard from others (such as Scotty Kilmer) that these engines often get oil dilution, so I smelled the distinct and there was definitely a bit of gasoline odor on the measuring stick, wondering if any of you would have encountered it due to EcoBoosts having high pressure direct injection

The same thing was happening to the CR-V 1.5L which was a problem for Honda early. Seems to be fixed now.

 

[Meanderthal]

My vehicle has the 1.5L EcoBoost 4-cylinder (not the 3-cylinder) it's not a bronco sport, but it only has 60,000 miles on it and I've heard from others (such as Scotty Kilmer) that these engines often get oil dilution, so I smelled the distinct and there was definitely a bit of gasoline odor on the measuring stick, wondering if any of you would have encountered it due to EcoBoosts having high pressure direct injection

Oil dilution can be an issue for DI engines, as you stated. It is something to keep an eye (or nose) on. It seems the consensus around here is to change the oil at 5k miles to prevent it getting really bad. You can also submit an oil sample to Blackstone and they will tell you how bad the dilution is.

 

[Mark S.]

I think you're worrying about a non-issue. Yes, direct-injection engines--especially turbocharged ones--experience fuel contamination at higher levels. That's because raw fuel is injected directly into the cylinder instead of getting mixed with air and atomized in the intake tract. Further, when the engine is cold the powertrain control module (PCM) adds even more fuel than when the engine is warm to enable faster, more reliable startup, and to generate heat as rapidly as possible to warm up the catalytic converter, which doesn't work when cold. The problem is some of the excess unburnt fuel gets into the oil. How? When things get hot they expand, so internal clearance between parts must be greater when parts are cold to allow room for expansion. That means until your engine is up to full operating temperature the greater space between the piston rings and cylinder walls allows unburnt fuel into the crankcase where it winds up in your engine oil.

Contrary to a lot of hysteria you may read online, this is a well understood issue, one that engine manufacturers are well aware of.

Your engine's oil has two primary purposes: 1) to lubricate internal engine parts, and 2) hold any contaminants in suspension such that they do not compromise the oil's lubricity. In other words, oil contamination is expected, and fuel dilution is but one of the many contaminants your oil must handle. In the past, we assumed the worst-case scenario for oil life and simply changed the oil every 3000 miles. Today, we don't have to assume the worst. Manufacturers test their engines under the worst possible conditions and set service intervals based on data, not assumptions. Ford has opted to include an intelligent oil-life monitor (IOLM) in its vehicles. This device monitors your driving habits, and recommends oil changes based on a data-driven algorithm. One of the data points it monitors is engine temperature. The IOLM "knows" that if you make frequent short trips, where the majority of time the engine is not at full operating temperature, your engine will deposit more contaminants (fuel, water, additional combustion by-products due to the richer mixture, etc.) in your oil. Consequently, it will direct more frequent oil changes to prevent contaminants from compromising your oil's lubricity.

All that said, if you're still worried about fuel contamination in your oil forget using your nose--it's not a very accurate tool for this task. You now know that it's almost a certainty your oil will have some level of fuel contamination. The question is how much? Is it enough to be worried about? The only way to know for certain is with a laboratory analysis. Take a sample the next time you change your oil and send it off to a reputable lab (Blackstone has been around for a long time). I can almost guarantee if you change the oil when recommended by the IOLM there will not be enough contaminants in the oil to compromise lubricity, which is the only thing you really need to be concerned with as regards oil contamination.

 

[Maxwellian]

Mine smells a little when my commutes are short.

I had a 2017 CRV that had major dilution. The computer was still giving me about 8k between oil changes. When my drives were 10 miles or less, the fill level went up the dipstick about 3/8” past the full line. A few percent will smell, double digit percentage of fuel in the oil can’t be good.

 

[Maxwellian]

I think the naturally aspirated Honda engine took at least twice as long to hit operating temperature as the Ford turbo on a cool (mid 50s) morning. I think that’s part of why the BS doesn’t have as big of an issue.

 

[NMhunter]

Thanks for the explanation Mark.

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