Does Your 3.5EB Make Oil

[Gene K]

If you have a 3 5 EB and have fuel dilution issues does your truck "Make" Oil?

My '18 was dead on the full hole (Operating Temp after a 15 minute drain down) on delivery and has been the same for the roughly dozen times I've checked it in the last 1,000 mi. Hasn't moved even a fraction of an inch either way. Slight fuel smell but nothing major.

Does this mean I'm good? Or do I absolutely need to send a sample to Polaris to be sure?

 

[tcp71]

My 2016 F150 doesn't smell of fuel and stays at the full line throughout the OCI. First gen 3.5 eco.

 

[SteveSRT8]

From what I have seen it depends a great deal on your driving. Short trips and cool temps mean the fuel can't burn off like it will do in long trips at higher temps.

A sample is definitely needed to be sure.

Much hullaballoo has been made about fuel dilution but I have seen virtually zero examples of any real damage from it...

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted by SteveSRT8

Much hullaballoo has been made about fuel dilution but I have seen virtually zero examples of any real damage from it...


While it's not the 3.5 EB our Explorer has the 2.3 EB. This past winter, Dec thru May, 6,200 miles of use with Mobil 1 5W-30 only showed trace amounts of fuel. Even if Blackstone's measure of fuel dilution is "optimistic" the wear metals in my UOA were really good. Especially considering this was a very cold winter here in northern NJ and my wife used the remote start way too frequently. The oil did shear to JUST below 30 wt. and the flash point was at the minimum of "normal" for the oil. For what it's worth the TBN was 3. My UOA's are posted in the UOA section. The oil when I changed it had an ever so slight gasoline smell, not much of one. And it DID NOT add any oil that I could tell. In the 6,200 miles the oil level was down less than 1/4 on the dip stick. Which has been consistent for the 2 warmer weather runs I did previously. Other UOA's I've seen with new fuel diluting Honda 1.5 DI engines, not sure if they are turbo, doesn't seem to affect the wear metals. So maybe fuel dilution is not that much of a problem with reasonable OC's.

Whimsey

 

[Gene K]

Originally Posted by SteveSRT8
From what I have seen it depends a great deal on your driving. Short trips and cool temps mean the fuel can't burn off like it will do in long trips at higher temps.

A sample is definitely needed to be sure.

Much hullaballoo has been made about fuel dilution but I have seen virtually zero examples of any real damage from it...


GDI Engines seem to be much harder on timing chains. The question is what the exact cause is. Is it the interaction between ZDDP and Carbon Soot attacking hardened metal and/or gas in the oil and/or the extra loads imposesd by mutiple cams, valves, and cam phasers? I doubt the timing set on the 3.5 EB was all that different from the 3.5 and 3.7 Ti-VCT and yet a huge difference in failure rates.

 

[andyd]

You never had a holed fuel pump diaphragm wipe out the lower end? I have. Mums '62 VW bus, a couple months of winter, driven about 6 miles back and forth to school. Oil was a pint high. The engine outlasted the body though.

 

[itguy08]

Yes and No.

On the Taurus it's never made any oil - will use maybe 1/2 qt in a 7500 mile OCI. Seems to be consistent over it's 129k life.

On the F150 which we use to tow and around town, it will make oil in the winter and sometimes in the summer. It will go above full to the hole on the dipstick but never past that. I do OCIs at 6 months or about 5k as it does sit a bit and tows heavy. Sometimes the smell of fuel will be in the oil, especially in winter. Ford did have a TSB for the 11-13's on that and it seems that they reroute some vacuum hoses to get more evacuation. Just rolled over 90k and no signs of issues.

 

[double vanos]

My ‘11 EB FX4 never raised the oil level but made the oil smell like fuel. The oil had the consistency of varsol coming out too. I switched to Edge 0w40 and that fixed the "varsol" effect on the drain oil, and so far seems to have saved my timing chains as well. Original chains at 122k and quiet as a mouse. 5k OCIs with FL500s.

 

[Thugzy]

Originally Posted by Gene K
If you have a 3 5 EB and have fuel dilution issues does your truck "Make" Oil?

My '18 was dead on the full hole (Operating Temp after a 15 minute drain down) on delivery and has been the same for the roughly dozen times I've checked it in the last 1,000 mi. Hasn't moved even a fraction of an inch either way. Slight fuel smell but nothing major.

Does this mean I'm good? Or do I absolutely need to send a sample to Polaris to be sure?



3.5EB or 2.7EB? I have almost 20,000kms on my 2018 3.5EB and the oil level has always stayed at the full mark. UOA shows no fuel. Perhaps the Gen2 engines dont have FD issues. My engine is still breaking in

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...n2-m1-0w40-euro-5-star-tuned#Post4882458