Smell gasoline in engine oil

[Benjamin]

This topic is in regards to my 2011 Ford Crown Victoria.

I changed my oil about a month ago. I didn’t notice any smell out of the ordinary.
2 weeks later I noticed my engine oil a little darker, and the level seemed a bit low(about 1/4 in the recommended zone on the dipstick-there may be a slight leak).
I opened the oil cap and smelled inside and I could smell the presence of gas in the engine.
I read through some forums, and they recommended changing the oil as soon as possible, and to see if the smell comes back after a week.
I just changed the oil and filter and now waiting to see how it plays out at the end of the week. I’ve been traveling for work about 2 hours on the highway to my destination and small(10-13 mile round trips) each day during the week followed by another 2 hours straight driving to get back home at the end of the week… Then I make much smaller trips in my area during the weekend.(If this information is helpful in any way…)

Any ideas on where to start diagnosing the issue?

Topic

[Eric]

Obviously with any issue like this it could be more than one thing. I would honestly start with looking at your spark plugs to see if you maybe have a leaky injector. You could also have a bad fuel pressure regulator though I am surprised that you do not have a check engine light. To much fuel in any cylinder can damage the cylinder wall if bad enough.

[Benjamin]

[quote=”Build#1″ post=174132]Obviously with any issue like this it could be more than one thing. I would honestly start with looking at your spark plugs to see if you maybe have a leaky injector. You could also have a bad fuel pressure regulator though I am surprised that you do not have a check engine light. To much fuel in any cylinder can damage the cylinder wall if bad enough.[/quote]

My cluster needs repair, too… none of the dials/lights work lol, so I’ve been using a speedometer app on my phone as a temporary replacement.. However I plug my trusty scan tool into the port about twice a week… Not one DTC. I remember trying to get to the spark plugs just to check them a while ago. You have to take out the fuel injector rail to get to them(I’m 98% sure I put the fuel injectors/electrical connectors on correctly) and at that, the plug dwelling is so narrow in diameter, you can’t get a normal socket to fit in. I may have to modify a socket/find alternative tools to get to the plugs.

[Mike]

Is this car an ex taxi or police cruiser? I thought the Crown Vic wasn’t available to the general public since long before 2011. How many miles on the car?

What you describe sounds (and smells) like the typical symptom of “blow by”. Before farting around with the fuel injection system, I’d recommend doing dry and wet compression tests on all of the cylinders.

Granted, the car is only 5 years old and really shouldn’t be suffering from a worn out engine, but there’s no telling how it might have been abused when it was in fleet service. It’s possible the engine never got broken in properly to begin with.

EDIT: Just noticed your signature info. So yes, the car is an ex police cruiser. The police usually maintain their vehicles pretty well, but sometimes good maintenance can’t keep pace with hard abuse. I strongly recommend doing the compression checks before anything else.

EDIT: With further thought, it’s entirely possible that your dead instrument and warning light cluster occurred when the police electronics were stripped out of the vehicle. The tech might have been over-zealous and removed too many fuses and relays.

[Rob]

I would do a compression test both wet and dry…… also would rec a leak down test too…. I would also probly check your pcv valve its probly badly clogged too

[Benjamin]

I took it to a mechanic and they checked the oil and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The oil cap is right next to(about 6 inches from one of the fuel injectors, I don’t know with the oil cap and fuel injector being that close together, and sticking my nose into the oil fill hole, the smell of the gas potency would be heightened? I’ve changed the oil once or twice since I got it. I might just be over-exaggerating?

The vehicle has around 92k miles and a couple thousand idle hours.

The cluster worked for 2 weeks after I had purchased it. Then became intermittent, and then stopped completely. Plan on sending it in to an ebay repair vendor for around $75.

Thank you for your input, I’ll most likely take it into for further diagnostics this weekend.

[Author]

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