Oil smells like Gas

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Sometimes on my 94 Probe the Oil smells like Gas. I dont know why, or if my observation is even correct. Oil is Light color Brown when hot, dark and blacker when cold in Morning. Smell I smell Hot, sometimes less when Cold (Pull dipstick first thing in the morning.) Gas usage is slightly high, gas mileage has been better.

I hope my car isnt dumping massive amounts of Gasoline in to the Oil through the Injector, lessening the lube properties of the Oil with Fuel Dilution and doing God knows what in the crankcase. Maybe cleaning it, maybe Killing it. Maybe Sludge floating around, maybe not, i dont know. Even imaginary Sludge is scary.

If the Oil does sometimes "reek of Gas" and sometimes doesnt
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what possibly can i do, and is this even a problem at all?

I try to let it burn off on long trips sometimes, sometimes i let the car run 5-10 minutes Idle sometimes i do not, however if i pull the dipstick there is a 50/50 chance it reeks of a gasoline-like smell and chance it smells slightly like "Oil"
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170,000 miles. 94 2.5 DOHC 5-speed. Not taken care of well before me, has been since i acquired it. Oil selection thoroughly discussed, im good in that department.

Never thought to "Smell the Dipstick."
 
Always some gas smell. Mine does a little, or I'm sensitive to it, but my UOA showed no fuel contamination.
A drop os gasoline will smell up a lot of oil
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Is it the oil that smells like gas, or the vapors from the valve cover with the oil fill cap off?


You're right, If I smell the oil cap, it always smells like gas, well not like pure gas but similar, so it's really hard to tell if it actually is gas, but if I smell the oil from the dipstick the smell is almost gone.

EDIT:

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I just realized something, if a non enthusiasts read this thread they would all think we're crazy, sniffing oil junkies
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You get some gas by the rings especially when the engine is first started cold. About the only fix is a nice long drive and not letting the car warmup at idle. Putting it under load will warm it up quicker and help seal the rings reducing the issue,
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Is it the oil that smells like gas, or the vapors from the valve cover with the oil fill cap off?


Sniffing Oil on Dipstick hot, and being careful not to burn my nose. Though there is not enough to really do so, if it does touch my nose.
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Never taking Cap off to see the Oil Misty Steam that is present from all engines.

I smell Gas on it.
 
Gasoline is so aromatic that 1/2 teaspoon in 5 quarts of oil smells like lot of gas but, no harm. The only way to check is a UOA and look for serious fuel percentage. My Mazda turbo smells of gas But a UOA showed less than .3% and no extra wear and oil withing specs. Short drives of less then 10 miles exacerbates the issue. IMO
 
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Originally Posted By: river_rat
Always some gas smell. Mine does a little, or I'm sensitive to it, but my UOA showed no fuel contamination.
A drop os gasoline will smell up a lot of oil
+1
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This is the same for me... UOA is the only way to tell for sure.
 
Originally Posted By: StevieC
Originally Posted By: river_rat
Always some gas smell. Mine does a little, or I'm sensitive to it, but my UOA showed no fuel contamination.
A drop os gasoline will smell up a lot of oil
+1
thumbsup2.gif


This is the same for me... UOA is the only way to tell for sure.


And the same for me too. I've thought my oil smelled "gassy" and yet the UOA comes back showing either zero or only trace gasoline contamination. Go figure...
 
Gas gets into the oil by the rings.
Much more so when cold and rich.
For a quick check, look at your spark plugs and into the cylinders, if possible. See if any are different, indicating a rich cylinder. A blacker one is a clue.
 
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