Ive addressed this before when i was descrbing my car, but has anyone had that same problem where they smell fuel in their oil tank. I can put my finger in the oil tank pull it out and it would smell like gas. Does anyone have any idea of what it may be? Should i run a compression test, and if compression is around normal, would i still need an engine rebuild? the car has 118k mi on it. so if the compression is good should i jsut take my money, and flush the entire car and give it all new fluids. and buy a downpipe and install that.

Also i was planning on installing my boost gauge and BOV, robrobinettes site seems to be down, does anyone know any sites with a tutorial, that happesn to have pictures, im more of a visual learner

Thanks
-Phat N.

 

you can do a search on how to install those.. there is other ppl that have pics and stuff besides rob..

 

Yes, i will research that , but can anyone help me with the fuel problem, or does everyone not have any idea what im talking about

 

I am not positive of this, but I have been told that the fuel in your oil is simply blowby and gets worse with more/frequent boost. I've had the same problem for 4 years and 2 rebuilds, so I wouldn't concern yourself too much. It is a good incentive for frequent oil changes and running premix, however .

Again, these are more my opinions than cold, hard facts.

hope this helps--

 

Yep. I have rock solid compression and still get fuel smell in the oil. It's just blowby. Change the oil every 2000 mi because of this.

 

It usually happens cause of blowby or running very rich. Change the oil atleast every 1k miles. Gas does the opposite of oil, it won't protect and will start to wear down the internals, it will also break the oil down sooner.

 

wow 1000 miles seems like alot. i would only change it that much if it smelled really bad. if i had to change mine every 1000 miles it would be like every other week. i think that if you add premix then you could go to 2000miles. this is just my opinion but i dont have time to change the oil that often.

 

Gotta do what you gotta do. I change my oil every other week(pay day). I drive about 6k miles a year on it. Broken down it comes to about 230 miles each time. Sometimes I'll wait to around 600 miles. Call me paranoid but if I'am not changing the oil in regular intervals I feel guilty, lol! Used to use Valv. VR1 race oil 20w-50 now I use Mobil 1 20w-50. I've always had a little fuel smell in the oil. No problems ever about it just don't let it go to long to changing it.

 

If you don't have a downpipe at your mileage your pre-cat may be partially clogged. The fuel-in-oil smell was much worse in my car when my pre-cat was clogged up because the engine is working against too much back pressure. Get a downpipe.

BTW I change my oil every 500 miles. With an R-1, you're leaving 2 quarts of dirty oil in the oil coolers even though you're putting 4 qts. of fresh oil in the crankcase.

 

ok, you are paranoid. J/K, only obeying your instructions.

every 230 miles? Where do you live, Abu Dhabi? If I were POURING SAND into my engine, I might change the oil that often. WOW!

But then I'm still a beginner...

 

i change my oil ever 2000 miles on the dot. my car is...was my daily driver until i decided to install my single turbo. but while it was drivable my mileage comes up pretty fast. i guess it is up to each owner to decided how often to change the oil. i think ever 230 miles is just overkill. i mean holy cow the oil barely did anything.. i guess if you drive your car on the track and put that many miles then i could see it....i guess....

 

i usually go about 500-600 miles...but i don't drive my car that often but when i do i usually drive the **** out of it...........i use amsoil 20-50.......i can change my oil and drive 50 miles and it smells like gas....i use premix also.....has anyone ever tried one of those oil catch can things????

 

omfg, you prolly change your oil more than you fill up on gas. this has got to be a record for oil change frequency, that's just plain crazy.

 

You're wasting your time and money. Thats like an oil change for every tank of gas! And you use Mobil 1!!! I don't think you are buying yourself anything by doing this crazy routine. I change mine every few months since I don't drive it much.

 

Thanks for all the feedback, maybe i dont need an engine rebuild after all, and i will just put money down to get the downpipe, and any other problems checked such as my oil leak and maybe i shoudl get the pulsation dampener checked because i have a big smell of gas everytime i start the engine, this could be because it is not warmed up yet, right?

thanks
Phat

 

Smelling fuel in your oil that noticable means that your APEX seals are on their way out. They are no longer sealing properly.

good luck with your re-build.

 

Well, Dave Barninger, Chris Ott, Ari Yallon, and Steve Kan beg to differ. Where are you getting your info from, mate ?

 

A good friend/excellent rotor builder has shown me the ropes. Before purchasing my FD we did this + many more checks. I ask, he explains. Fuel in the oil = apex seals.

 

oh and also, i just read above..

The smell of fuel is of course going to be evident in your oil. after all, the oil is used during operation and a slight smell of fuel can be overlooked.

As i said, the EXTENT of which PhatManBUD can smell in his oil is obviously not "normal" and a cause of this is APEX seals (which is a common enough problem).

 

Even though my seals are giving out, do you think this problem will sitll be ok, if i drive it down the street a little, just no where beyond 1/2 a mile, and i wont push it. til i get my engine rebuilt. i dont want it to SIT and SIT and SIT and collect dust til i can fund the rebuild. Is there anyway i can blow the motor from just turning it on or anything?

 

Kas Rx.

Tell your buddy he is wrong. Fuel in Oil does not imply that the apex seals are wearing out. Apex seals do not seal the combustion chamber from the oil. The side seals and oil seals do that.

Second I bought my R1 with 36K miles back in 98, fuel smelled like oil just like my old 156K mile TII. So either both cars need apex seals or something with your diagnosis is bad.

Starting sometime in 99 I started having my oil tested at Southwest Spectro chemical. 10% fuel dilution everytime.

Since 99 I've worked well over a dozen different FDs, I've owned 12. They've had motors that ranged from a 50K mile used motor to a freshly installed Mazda reman. Guess what, always get that fuel in oil smell.

It isn't a indication of Apex seal life. Oh btw, my R1 now has 60,668 miles on it, still get the fuel in oil smell that I got at 36K miles and it is running strong. I drive with a heavy foot and the cars frequently see a lot of boost (stock levels).

I change my oil every 1500-2000 miles and I use 20w-50. The thicker oil helps keep the viscosity up after the fuel has reduced it.

Jeff

 

ok, now im hearing 2 of the sides. lol, but i dont know on whether to just take care of it, or to just push for the rebuild. would a compression help in me making that decision?

 

Ok maybe it is overkill but I think I worded it wrong. the first year of ownership I used to do that but I drove it a lot and that's when I did the every other week thing which came out to almost a 1,000 miles. Now I change it almost 3 weeks to a month. Even in my beater cars I change it every 2k. I just think it's so important to have fresh oil. Like what was said earlier I have an R2 which means a lot of crap oil still left in. Every now and then I'll flush it with oil then put the good stuff in.

 

PhatManBUD: does your car feel good? Is it blwoing smoke?

If not drive it. Dont worry. If something has gone wrong there is nothing you can do about it now. If the car feels good, it feels good.

rotors at times seem to be out of tune, miss beats, run rough (cold) and so on...its normal. The problem you have explain is normal. maybe you have overexaggerated making me over-step the fact that Yes there will always be a slight fuel smell in your oil.

dont worry about me mate, listen to PhatManBUD, he seems to know it all.

 

Well yeah of course it feels good, its an Rx-7 . But yeah there is alot of smoke out the back when i turn it on, but shouldnt that be normal when im warming up the car. so for now should i just worry about my oil leak coming from the filter?