fuel in oil

[DR.ISIN]

I can only assume there is one or more leaky fuel injectors in my Windstar if there is gasoline in my crankcase oil. I can't think of anything else. I would appreciate verification of this or any other possibilities are also greatly appreciated. Thankyou.

[LeSabre97mint]

Originally Posted by DR.ISIN

I can only assume there is one or more leaky fuel injectors in my Windstar if there is gasoline in my crankcase oil. I can't think of anything else. I would appreciate verification of this or any other possibilities are also greatly appreciated. Thankyou.

Hello

What year is your Windstar? How many miles? How is it running? How much fuel is in your oil? Did your oil level raise? Can you smell the fuel?

Regards

Dan

[12Ounce]

You can "listen" to the injectors click using a short length of old hose. They should all sound the same.

Another possibility for your symptoms is a mislocated Camshaft Sensor synchronizer.

[DR.ISIN]

I have a 98 Windstar 3.8 liter with about 200000 kilometers on it. I just finished installing new catalitic converters on it cause they were plugged. It was not running very good at the time and it took me a long time to realize this problem. I have taken it out for a test drive and it runs awesome. Just as much power as it has ever had. I am assuming the plugged converters have made another problem now which i can only assume leaky injecters. I changed all the gaskets on the engine.(upperand lower intakes, timing cover etc.) The timing cover was leaking so I bought a gasket kit. I changed the plugs and wires too. Normally you have to take the engine out to do the timing cover but I was able to take the studs out that hold the water pump. so I did it in my garage without removing the engine. This is all i can think of for now. I am trying to think if the van was blowing a darker exhaust but i don't think so. The oil level raised noticably after a 30 minute drive. Just guessing there might be as much as an extra liter or quart in the crankcase. I could then notice that the oil was thin and had a gasoline smell.

[DRW1000]

Just my 2cents but I am not convinced that leaky injectors could cause the fuel to get into the oil. I would think that it may put more fuel in the intake stream but noy into the oil. Have you considered a ruptured fuel regulator diaphram? or the fuel regulator hose? Even then I do not understand how it would get into the oil.

[DR.ISIN]

i just took it apart to look at the injectors again. I agree, i can't understand how any problem with an injector should cause that problem. If a cylinder was'nt firing and none of that fuel was being burnt, it would not wind up in the crankcase oil. I bought a obd 2 code reader today. codes were for o2 sensors and the mass air flow sensor.

[DRW1000]

What exactly were the numeric codes?

Problems with the MAF reading could cause the PCM to compensate and add more fuel than normal but again the question of how it is getting into the oil.

[12Ounce]

A possible scenario ...

If you had a sticky injector, it might bleed down the pump pressure (when the engine is stopped) .... into the combustion chamber, bypassing the piston rings into the crankcase.

If this is the case, only luck has prevented the piston coming up-stroke on a filled chamber ... and bending a rod.

[DR.ISIN]

I looked at the injectors and they seemed fine, spark plugs look ok as well. I cleared the codes and they seem to stay clear now so I don't know if the problem has fixed itself and i should change the oil again and take it for a drive again. I am still confused as to how this is happenning.
Please correct me if my thinking is off base. Could one or some of the injectors be injecting alot more fuel than can be combusted with the amount of air present in each cylinder? The excess fuel then runs down past the rings into the crankcase. (can you tell I am not a mechanic?)

[12Ounce]

You say you "looked" at the injectors ... did you "listen" to them also?

[wiswind]

I have pictures posted at http://community.webshots.com/album/201931518cScpNK which show how to clean the Mass Air Flow sensor (MAF). You will use a non-residue electronic cleaner.
You will get some fuel into the oil if you are doing pretty much all short trip driving without a few longer (like 30 minutes or more) trips. Short trip driving will give you fuel and moisture in the oil. However, if you have some longer trips of say, 30 minutes or more several times a week, your oil should warm up enough, for long enough for this to evaporate out and be pulled out by the PCV system.
However this would NOT cause anywhere near enough fuel to get into the oil to make the level go up.

If your engine is running super rich, you will also get fuel into the oil, due to unburned fuel remaining in the cylinders after the burn cycle.
This problem will need to be corrected, as it will clog your new cat's.
I wonder if your engine is getting out of "open loop" operation.
I can read this with my scanner, and my engine goes into "closed loop" within about 1 minute of starting it up. Open loop is for before the oxygen sensors are warmed up. If you are getting a code that says that a oxygen sensor heater is not working, then you could be staying in open loop, which could cause too much fuel. Also, if one or more of the upstream sensors is bad.....the same could happen.
I would read the codes again, and post back with the actual Numeric code....there are a LOT of codes for the oxygen sensors.

[sl1cksNsk1n1es]

worst case senario maybe the old clogged cats created an abnormal back presure and did some damage to one or more of your piston rings... this means on every compression stroke you would get a significant amount of fuel in your oil...... i hope thats not the case.... What does everyone else think

[teenie]

I have a '95 Windstar that has been giving me problems for a couple of months now (undrivable). It began with symptoms like it was flooding itself-too much gas (you could really smell it) choking, coughing & finally stalling. The injectors all appeared to be stuck wide open. We replaced all the injectors, map sensor, fuel pressure regulator, and even the head gaskets (one cylindar appeared VERY clean while the others had black carbon appearing stuff around them). The van is still doing exactly the same thing, and the gas is POURING into the oil. Just running it 1-2 minutes (the most it'll run before stalling) raises the oil noticably on the dipstick.

I'm sorry I can't give more details than this-I really know nothing about cars. But if you can help, please ask anything & I'll try to get the correct information for you.

Thanks a bunch.