Will oil dilution cause rapid oil consumption in a gasoline engine?
I have a 2001 Honda CRV. After a head gasket and valve replacement it started using oil FAST, like a quart every 50 miles. The car also smelled strongly of gasoline. It was not using oil or before this head gasket replacement. The car runs perfectly, and compression seems fine (although not tested yet). I ruled out bad rings, because I couldn’t see any reason that rings would suddenly fail overnight. By the way, the quality mechanic that did the head gasket work couldn’t provide a reason for this sudden oil burning. All symptoms pointed to a valve seal problem. The mechanic said the seals were replaced, but I went ahead and replaced the seals anyway. After that, the car is the same, runs great, smells a bit like gasoline, burns oil.
So now my theory is oil dilution. I am doing some simple tests for oil dilution, smelling the dipstick, flaming the dipstick (yes…). I will do a blotter test today, and will have the oil analyzed if it gets to that. The oil seems thin, it does smell a bit like gasoline, it does seem to flame more easily than oil, and it seems to blacken very quickly.
My next step is to replace the fuel pressure regulator and the fuel injectors. But before I waste my time (money is not the object, I’ll spend whatever I need to get this car running), I was wondering if fuel dilution of my oil could cause the engine to burn oil. Most commonly oil dilution will cause you oil level to rise, not fall, but my theory is this… the diluted oil is thinner and therefore getting past the rings, and being burned off. Does this seem plausible?
I have a 2001 Honda CRV. After a head gasket and valve replacement it started using oil FAST, like a quart every 50 miles. The car also smelled strongly of gasoline. It was not using oil or before this head gasket replacement. The car runs perfectly, and compression seems fine (although not tested yet). I ruled out bad rings, because I couldn’t see any reason that rings would suddenly fail overnight. By the way, the quality mechanic that did the head gasket work couldn’t provide a reason for this sudden oil burning. All symptoms pointed to a valve seal problem. The mechanic said the seals were replaced, but I went ahead and replaced the seals anyway. After that, the car is the same, runs great, smells a bit like gasoline, burns oil.
So now my theory is oil dilution. I am doing some simple tests for oil dilution, smelling the dipstick, flaming the dipstick (yes…). I will do a blotter test today, and will have the oil analyzed if it gets to that. The oil seems thin, it does smell a bit like gasoline, it does seem to flame more easily than oil, and it seems to blacken very quickly.
My next step is to replace the fuel pressure regulator and the fuel injectors. But before I waste my time (money is not the object, I’ll spend whatever I need to get this car running), I was wondering if fuel dilution of my oil could cause the engine to burn oil. Most commonly oil dilution will cause you oil level to rise, not fall, but my theory is this… the diluted oil is thinner and therefore getting past the rings, and being burned off. Does this seem plausible?