2.3L EcoBoost Fuel Dilution

[Corollaman]

I have a 2016 ford fusion 2.0, the oil has always smelt like gas with soot on the exhaust pipes. The engine has always run fine with no performance issues. After 60,000 miles and trying different oils I've settled on running cheap oil meeting the latest specs and changing it often (sometimes as low as 4,000 miles) I'm currently running Valvoline daily protection 10w30 and a fram filter.

 

[Shel_B]

WOW! if it is fuel dilution something isn't right at 4k OCI with a synthetic meeting spec. Please let us know what it ends up being.

What does the type and brand of oil have to do with fuel dilution? The oil will be diluted with fuel regardless of type and spec, or am I missing something?

 

[BISCUT]

What does the type and brand of oil have to do with fuel dilution? The oil will be diluted with fuel regardless of type and spec, or am I missing something?

I didn't mention any brand of oil. I stated a 4k OCI with a synthetic meeting spec and the amount of fuel present in the oil as stated by the OP, at 4k OCI indicated something wasn't right. Type of oil used in a DI engine with a higher % fuel dilution matters, along with OCI, does it not? No oil will resist thining when fuel is introduced but some oils handle the presence of fuel betters than others do they not?

Am I wrong to believe a SP rated oil would handle fuel dilution better (whatever "better" may mean) than a SM rated oil? If I'm wrong please educate me. Zero sarcasm here in case it came off that way.

 

[Shel_B]

I didn't mention any brand of oil. I stated a 4k OCI with a synthetic meeting spec and the amount of fuel present in the oil as stated by the OP, at 4k OCI indicated something wasn't right. Type of oil used in a DI engine with a higher % fuel dilution matters, along with OCI, does it not? No oil will resist thining when fuel is introduced but some oils handle the presence of fuel betters than others do they not?

Am I wrong to believe a SP rated oil would handle fuel dilution better (whatever "better" may mean) than a SM rated oil? If I'm wrong please educate me. Zero sarcasm here in case it came off that way.

OK, we agree that no oil will resist thinning. What I thought you meant was that a synthetic would resist thinning better than a non-synthetic. As to whether a synthetic, or an SP rated oil, will handle thinning better, that I don't know. Better would have to be defined. My guess in that regard is that a stronger, more robust, additive package might resist the effects of dilution more than a less robust package, but that's just a guess. I don't think the base oil makeup will contribute to any reduced dilution of the oil.

So, what are your thoughts about that? Perhaps some of the more knowledgeable experts could jump in here.

 

[Cherrybomb]

My thoughts, and I could be wrong,I believe the DI motors are a problem for the companies,they don't want to admit it,don't know quite know the best way to cure it with out cost themselves lots of money.Thanks to knowledge we share here,hopefully without sarcasm, we learn.Our service advisors are in a tough situation. We ask questions, and they try!!!!Don't blame oil,filter,paper trail, document, think about Blackstone-Polaris Labs Oil Analysis for % of fuel dilution read out sheet.Gas is a solvent ,harmful for lubrication. Hope this helps,Good luck.Everone works to hard,pays to much,deserve some old fashioned value

 

[Shel_B]

My thoughts, and I could be wrong,I believe the DI motors are a problem for the companies,they don't want to admit it,don't know quite know the best way to cure it with out cost themselves lots of money.Thanks to knowledge we share here,hopefully without sarcasm, we learn.Our service advisors are in a tough situation. We ask questions, and they try!!!!Don't blame oil,filter,paper trail, document, think about Blackstone-Polaris Labs Oil Analysis for % of fuel dilution read out sheet.Gas is a solvent ,harmful for lubrication. Hope this helps,Good luck.Everone works to hard,pays to much,deserve some old fashioned value

I agree. The manufacturers are in a bit of a quandary as they're pushed towards greater and greater fuel economy and efficiency, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, the technology to deal with the downsides of this quest is still young and complicated to implement. Look at a new engine, wrapped in hoses, wires, pumps, and computer controls ... it's complicated, expensive, sometimes difficult to diagnose and repair problems, and in many cases doesn't work as well as it should.

Gas should not be in the oil. Period. Gas is a contaminant. But we're at the point now where the manufacturers (and the end users and mechanics) talk about acceptable levels of fuel contamination ... and that's what it is. Fuel in the oil is a contaminant and it's unacceptable.

So what do we do? We use thicker oil to offset some of the effects of this contamination. We buy more expensive oil hoping that the higher quality will be helpful. We change the oil more frequently. Some folks try to drive longer distances to burn off the fuel. All of these "fixes" waste time and money.

 

[BISCUT]

OK, we agree that no oil will resist thinning. What I thought you meant was that a synthetic would resist thinning better than a non-synthetic. As to whether a synthetic, or an SP rated oil, will handle thinning better, that I don't know. Better would have to be defined. My guess in that regard is that a stronger, more robust, additive package might resist the effects of dilution more than a less robust package, but that's just a guess. I don't think the base oil makeup will contribute to any reduced dilution of the oil.

So, what are your thoughts about that? Perhaps some of the more knowledgeable experts could jump in here.

We're on the same page. I do not have the knowledge base to reasonably answer. It would be nice to know from those who do have that knowledge base.