Oil has an obnoxious fuel smell....

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Ive noticed that the crank breather on my 81 honda has a VERY strong smell of gas coming from it when the engine is running. I can smell it faintly on the dipstick when the engine isnt running. This honda has a webber carb and a jegs electric fuel pump. Im guessing they did this because OEM parts are non existent at this point. How would i know if the oil actually has fuel in it or if its just a high amount of blow by? I just chenged the oil last week and its still just as bad. The oil level hasnt increased though. also, is there a good oil to fight off fuel dilution? Im already using Rotella 10w-30 conventional.
 
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Check the dip stick. Does the oil run off , does it smell of gas? A really gassed out oil will catch fire if a flame is put to to the dip stick. What do the plugs look like? A 1.5L engine doesnt need much fuel. Is the after mkt carb and pump too much for it? Meantime while do figure out the trouble, I would use cheap 20w50 at a 3K mile interval.
 
The oil sits on the dipstick minus a drip or two. It still looks nice and new btw. This is why im running an HDEO for 3k OCI's. Im guessing the current setup is too much for it but OEM parts are not cheap and are all aftermarket. I got this car cheap and Im trying to keep it that way lol. Im trying to figure out if theres anyway I can just "live" with it and use short oil change intervals. I did try lighting the oil on the stick. Nothing happens.
 
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I think its a carbed "small engine" thing and maybe worn rings......I say that because my first subaru was a non F.I. 1.8 and it always had duel dilution, after we did a rebuild (compression loss) it was cut in half. Idling will always make it worse along with short trips.
 
Will the engine run for a while with worn rings? I really havent ever had a carbed engine and im trying to keep this car cheap. It will be my DD and travel 15 miles a day tops. Im wanting to use a good HDEO and short intervals and put this in the back of my mind.
 
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Originally Posted By: Volv04Life
Will the engine run for a while with worn rings? I really havent ever had a carbed engine and im trying to keep this car cheap. It will be my DD and travel 15 miles a day tops. Im wanting to use a good HDEO and short intervals and put this in the back of my mind.


I cant answer that for every case, but in my experience A motor can run another 200K with worn rings and blow by !

The Subaru I mentioned had 100K when I got it (with worn rings) and I put 85K on it until we rebuilt it. I would use a HDEO like you said, IMO a perfect oil would seem to be a 5-40,10-40 HDEO, maybe go to a syn-blend like T5 to handle the fuel dilution a bit better and do the shorter OCI's. With this being your first non FI car maybe its just your driving habits and it will get better as you get used to not having FI.
I would,
-idle as little as possible
-only choke when absolutely needed
-make sure your RPM per gear is correct (if 5spd) that is
hard to explain, dont let the engine dog down from being in to high of a gear.

-maybe add an external crank breather filter
-replace spark plugs with proper gap.
 
Originally Posted By: Zaedock
This is where a UOA comes into play. Worth the $20, IMO.
The carb may just need an adjustment.

.....X2 !
 
Originally Posted By: wsar10
Originally Posted By: Volv04Life
Will the engine run for a while with worn rings? I really havent ever had a carbed engine and im trying to keep this car cheap. It will be my DD and travel 15 miles a day tops. Im wanting to use a good HDEO and short intervals and put this in the back of my mind.


I cant answer that for every case, but in my experience A motor can run another 200K with worn rings and blow by !

The Subaru I mentioned had 100K when I got it (with worn rings) and I put 85K on it until we rebuilt it. I would use a HDEO like you said, IMO a perfect oil would seem to be a 5-40,10-40 HDEO, maybe go to a syn-blend like T5 to handle the fuel dilution a bit better and do the shorter OCI's. With this being your first non FI car maybe its just your driving habits and it will get better as you get used to not having FI.
I would,
-idle as little as possible
-only choke when absolutely needed
-make sure your RPM per gear is correct (if 5spd) that is
hard to explain, dont let the engine dog down from being in to high of a gear.

-maybe add an external crank breather filter
-replace spark plugs with proper gap.


Lol. It has new plugs, i put them in 2 days ago. It has a breather filter which is how i figured this whole problem existed. I dont "lug" the engine. It does idle a good bit to get it up to operating temp because the choke was stuck permanently on when i bought it due to being broken so I unhooked the choke. I pump it once and start it.
 
Originally Posted By: Volv04Life
Originally Posted By: wsar10
Originally Posted By: Volv04Life
Will the engine run for a while with worn rings? I really havent ever had a carbed engine and im trying to keep this car cheap. It will be my DD and travel 15 miles a day tops. Im wanting to use a good HDEO and short intervals and put this in the back of my mind.


I cant answer that for every case, but in my experience A motor can run another 200K with worn rings and blow by !

The Subaru I mentioned had 100K when I got it (with worn rings) and I put 85K on it until we rebuilt it. I would use a HDEO like you said, IMO a perfect oil would seem to be a 5-40,10-40 HDEO, maybe go to a syn-blend like T5 to handle the fuel dilution a bit better and do the shorter OCI's. With this being your first non FI car maybe its just your driving habits and it will get better as you get used to not having FI.
I would,
-idle as little as possible
-only choke when absolutely needed
-make sure your RPM per gear is correct (if 5spd) that is
hard to explain, dont let the engine dog down from being in to high of a gear.

-maybe add an external crank breather filter
-replace spark plugs with proper gap.


Lol. It has new plugs, i put them in 2 days ago. It has a breather filter which is how i figured this whole problem existed. I dont "lug" the engine. It does idle a good bit to get it up to operating temp because the choke was stuck permanently on when i bought it due to being broken so I unhooked the choke. I pump it once and start it.


well...
If your choke was stuck than I would think thats your fuel smell.
 
If you only do short trips with it, you are going to have a fuel smell from running rich. I wouldnt worry about it.

Do you know what kind of Weber carb is on it? Even a Weber 32/36 with smaller jets is probably too much for that motor. Also check for overrun of the bowl as that electric pump may be too much for it. You should ony need 1-3 psi in that little thing.
 
Originally Posted By: jayg
If you only do short trips with it, you are going to have a fuel smell from running rich. I wouldnt worry about it.

+1 My Bonneville is a short tripper and the oil always smells of gas too.
 
Originally Posted By: wsar10


well...
If your choke was stuck than I would think thats your fuel smell.


Yup. Change the oil early and keep the choke unstuck and you'll be good.
 
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