2000 Voyager, Oil Smells Like Gasoline

I had the oil changed a month ago and was told it smelled like gas, and to give it 300 and check it again. Checked oil again today, still has a strong gasoline smell and oil seems thinner than usual. My husband will not let me drive this vehicle with the children because he is afraid of fire, or the engine blowing. I am afraid of a huge repair bill. The van does hesitate when accelerating from a stop, and the check engine light blinks occasionally.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this? Is this safe to drive? I really don't want to have to figure out a way to fit 2 children's carseats in my 96 Saturn SL1. On the other hand, I don't want my family's life to end in a fireball either.

Thank you in advance.

Peggy

Unfortunately, your fear of a huge repair bill is about to be a reality and it's only going to get worse if you keep driving it. I can't be absolutely positive from hundreds of miles away but, it's a good bet the piston rings in one or more engine cyclinders have for some reason worn down, broken or dislodged themselves from the piston. This allows fuel to blow by the piston and mix with the oil in the cranshaft cavity at the bottom of the engine block. The diluted oil is then sent to the rest of the engine allowing excessive wear everywhere. A compression check will reveal which cylinder is the culprit. If there was ever a time I hoped I was wrong, this is it. Keep in touch.

How many miles/Kms has the vehicle done? Depending on where you took the vehicle for an oil change I would not place too much weight behind what they are saying. Oil in an engile will eventually smell like gas. You will be able to tell by the consistency of the oil on the dipstick when the engine is cold. if the oil is relatively thick and still clean which it should be after 300 miles, there probably is nothing to worry about. if it its leaking fuel into the oil it will dis-colour in a hurry, and remebmber gasoline is distilled from oil so the smell could be similar to some.

At the very least you need to have someone check out why the check engine light is coming on and go from there . If the oil has been changed regularly I find it hard to believe it would be a major engine problem , the 3.3 and 3.8 are pretty bulletproof.

The blinking check engine light means that the engine is misfiring and you should not drive the car due to the possibility of catalyst damage.That being said,I would suspect that your van probably needs ignition wires.I would guess that is what is causing the misfire.When it misses,all of the fuel that went into the cylinders is not being burned and a lot of it ends up in the oil.Like vipergg says,get the check engine light fixed.

The blinking check engine light means that the engine is misfiring and you should not drive the car due to the possibility of catalyst damage.That being said,I would suspect that your van probably needs ignition wires.I would guess that is what is causing the misfire.When it misses,all of the fuel that went into the cylinders is not being burned and a lot of it ends up in the oil.Like vipergg says,get the check engine light fixed.

ignition wires, that is a very interesting thought. but i highly doubt it. if it misfired, the gas won't go thru the rings, it would just be pushed out during the exhaust stroke. i believe the problem, like RIP said, is worn piston rings

The blinking check engine light means that the engine is misfiring and you should not drive the car due to the possibility of catalyst damage.That being said,I would suspect that your van probably needs ignition wires.I would guess that is what is causing the misfire.When it misses,all of the fuel that went into the cylinders is not being burned and a lot of it ends up in the oil.Like vipergg says,get the check engine light fixed.

Agree--1/6th of the fuel being used by the engine is being dumped into a possibly non-firing cylinder. I would fix the ignition problem, change the oil and filter, then see if the problem is still present and go from there.