So if I'm reading this correctly you are saying you find 3-4 qts. of fuel in a 10 qt. crankcase?
If you are seeing anywhere near a 30% dilution I am going to say someone has access to the oil fill under the hood and is messing with you by pouring fuel into the crankcase
The only other way I can see this (still hard to believe) would be with a fuel injector dumping fuel. If this was the case I'm pretty sure a code would be thrown.
Your nose will not accurately analyze your oil. I don't care how old fashioned you are.
Another thought, If the fuel dilution is the culprit a 50-75% failure rate would be more likely since most of us used the original spec oil.
I am respectfully calling BS on your story.
John:
I have been rereading this thread to carefully craft a response. As I have stated I have found that much fuel dilution, normally in an engine with some type of catastrophic failure which I have the engine to repair or rebuild.
Yes fuel dilution occurs, and at different percentages at different times in your oil change cycle. TC has stated he checks at around 2K and then 5K and then at oil change. If an out of tolerance condition for fuel dilution is found then a cause needs to be identified before I see the engine in my machine shop. TC has stated a 4% dilution as a point that he will relinquish ownership of his ED, I would say find the cause and fast.
Causation: Yes some type of miss fueling is a cause, and no sometimes a code may or may not be thrown. As I have stated in other responses or threads we have seen that issue with multiple fuel types and manufacturers. Also a catastrophic failure of high pressure pump, internal engine part failure, valve, rings, etc.can be the cause.
Drive cycle not conducive to normal fuel evaporation. Yes it takes some time for the oil temp to achieve optimum temperature to allow evaporation of contaminants, not just fuel, and then evaporation is not an instantaneous affair so sufficient drive time is needed to accomplish sufficient evaporation. This is the operational design of the Positive Crankcase Ventilation system. In the day that was the vapor you might see coming from the crankcase vent tube under the car or truck venting to atmosphere. We now vent to the intake system to more efficiently burn these harmful vapors.
Yes and No fuel dilution is not linear, depending on your drive cycle times as just stated. Mine and many other posters, possibly you, have sufficient drive times that even with a less than stellar oil may not suffer catastrophic failure. I know for a fact that my own fuel dilution ratios change during my oil change cycle based upon duration of drive, whether a regen began but was unable to complete before engine off condition, ambient temperature, and engine service load.
Other oil contaminants: Water, acids, Water forms in an engine due to ambient air temperature and humidity when you start your motor and begin to warm in up to drive and as you drive. No way to avoid it, it happens, the colder the ambient temp and the higher the humidity the more it occurs. This moisture, water, then reacts with fuel dilution, residual oil treatment breaking down naturally, to form acids and bases in your oil which causes a loss of lubricity in your oil. Insufficient engine run time at optimal temperatures will not completely vaporize these contaminants, and cause bearing, camshaft, and valve failures to name a few.
All these reasons are why we change oil to begin with and why I chose to use a more robust oil when I purchased my ED Ram. Once these contaminants begin to form they damage the oil, which is why oil additives are designed to compensate for the contaminates for the designed oil change interval.The CJ/CK synthetic oils standard was finalized and oils hit the market in December of 2016. These oils, caveat not the SN designation, are more robust and capable of handling the peaks and valleys of oil contamination for an extended oil change cycle such as our ED is recommended.
I will also state, again, I only see the worst cases such as some of the owners on this board. If I based my decision on what to drive on what I see in my shop without analyzing cause and effect, design shortcoming, misuse, aftermarket re-engineering, I would still be riding my Schwinn.
I hope this explanation will satisfy you BS flag on my previous post and not create as much tension as another posters responses.
Have a good day, a great new year and may your ED run as fine as a silk purse for the duration of your ownership.
