fuel dilution

[lazaro]

I was having a good run with my F250 diesel until I noticed my oil rising on the dipstick, and finally noticed lower oil pressure cold startup.
once diesel mixes with oil there is no chance of it seperating like water, and being able to drain out just the fuel?
I only have 47,500 miles on the oil and my sample at 40,000 was good for continued use, now I have to finally change the sump oil.
freaking injectors leaking dont give you any warning, my truck runs good still but it's parked right now.
I will have to remove all the injectors and clean them out, what a pita

 

[bruce381]

I'd just change oil and leave injectore they maybe Ok just dilution just caught up.
bruce

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

What year truck is it? What engine, 6.9, 7.3IDI, 7.3 IDI turbo, 7.3 PowerStroke, 6.0 PowerStroke, or 6.4l PowerStroke? You probably don't need to pull the injectors or stop driving it. Like Bruce said, just change the oil to start with.

 

[lazaro]

it is a IDI 7.3 and the lift pump was removed years ago.
what is making my oil rise?

 

[lazaro]

update, I have the injectors out, to flow and rebuild, and oil sample sent out.
my last oil sample was taken at 40,000 miles on the oil and the fuel content was 0 so it has only been 7000 miles and I went from adding oil every 4000 miles to having a overfilled crankcase, lets see what info the oil sample brings.

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

How many miles are on the injectors? As the injectors age the springs will relax and the spray pattern will go away. When the spray pattern starts getting poor you will greatly increase the fuel dilution and smoke out of the tail pipe. You may also want to pull the pump and at least have it flowed and maybe some new seals just for good measure.

Might also have a cracked tip on the injector, although that isn't a common problem on IDI injectors it does happen. Let us know what ya find.

 

[lazaro]

I just had the i/p rebuilt maybe 2000 miles ago, and the injectors have 2 years and 20,000 miles on them.

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

Hmmm, unless something went wrong with the rebuild or the injectors are Chinese knock-offs of Stanadyne parts you shouldn't have any issues there. Have you heard back from the fuel shop on your injectors?

 

[lazaro]

injectors are 100% and here is my UOA report http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oilsamplese4.jpg
there is only so many places fuel could enter the engine,I always end up with wack problems

 

[Jim Allen]

Here's another place to look. Does your truck have a mechanical lift pump like my 6.9L? If so, it could be leaking fuel into the engine. Also, new or rebuilt parts can be defective. If it comes to it, sometimes you need to backtrack onto trails you've already been down. Don't be afraid to pull the injectors or pump for a test if your diagnotics lead you that way. If not the fuel pump, it's gotta be the pump or injectors.

 

[lazaro]

I couldn't waste another batch of Amsoil so the engine came apart and I found .005/.007 piston to wall and pass rear cylinder scuffed and scored by the piston.
time for a new set of pistons and tight cylinder walls to go with them.
one piston scuffed and my aluminum ppm went from 4ppm to 7 ppm.
I caught this before it really got bad for me.
oil sampling is worth the time in my book

 

[wcbcruzer]

Sounds like the fuel in the oil caused premature engine wear. Or the cylinder was washed down by a bad injector.

OR... You ran your oil for too long (47k miles) thinking it was still good with the oil analyses. They don't always tell all.

 

[1sttruck]

Using UOAs to determine if the oil is ok is a 'run to failure' process, where you get a signal when something isn't right, and possibly kind of late.

 

[lazaro]

Originally Posted By: 1sttruck
Using UOAs to determine if the oil is ok is a 'run to failure' process, where you get a signal when something isn't right, and possibly kind of late.


that is very possible, but I would like to think if I would of had a newer engine when I started than the one I ended up with I may of had better results.
I have no clue how many owners had my truck from 1987-1999 or how many miles were on the engine.
when I have some extra time I will post the pics of the engine tore down.

 

[jjinco]

Only 47,000 miles and you're having engine problems? That's weird.

 

[Pablo]

Holy crikey - look at the viscosity. That's a LOT of fuel. I hate to say it, but it's not the first time I've read one of these engines filling with diesel fuel.

Did you find the root cause?

 

[Lawrence Richards]

A new set of pistons. Maybe if you had changed that oil out sooner and not believed the amsoil hype to justify those prices you be better off. You could have changed a lot of oil for the cost of that repair work and not had the down time on the truck.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: Lawrence Richards
A new set of pistons. Maybe if you had changed that oil out sooner and not believed the amsoil hype to justify those prices you be better off. You could have changed a lot of oil for the cost of that repair work and not had the down time on the truck.


The oil didn't fail the injectors did. The engine didn't fail because of the oil, it failed due to faulty injectors. And an inferior oil would have allowed the engine to fail even sooner with all the fuel in the crankcase. I know you want to bag on Amsoil, but please don't ignore facts.

 

[jjinco]

Fresh oil a little sooner sure as heck wouldn't have HURT anything. That much we do know.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: jjinco
Fresh oil a little sooner sure as heck wouldn't have HURT anything. That much we do know.


Indeed. Maybe he would have never knew he had a problem if he changed the oil every 3000 miles.