Oil Smells Like Gas.

[jbuck]

Greetings! You've all been super helpful so-far, its much appreciated.

I checked my oil the other day and it has a faint smell of gasoline. Is this possible? The car seems to be running great. I'm changing the oil today, but I'm wondering if I should be looking for a larger problem.

[theunderlord]

Greetings!  You've all been super helpful so-far, its much appreciated.

I checked my oil the other day and it has a faint smell of gasoline. Is this possible?  The car seems to be running great.  I'm changing the oil today, but I'm wondering if I should be looking for a larger problem.

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Yes, this is possible... and it's not good. But lets not jump to conclusions yet... How's your MPG recently? Changed Oil Companies recently? All routine/schedualed maintenance done? After you change your oil, how long does it take for the faint gas smell to occur? Sorry for all the questions, just tryin to get a lil more info..

[jbuck]

I've only had the car for a week, so its new to me. Did a 400 mile trip over Thanksgiving, averaged about 20MPG, which I thought was pretty good. No problems except for the faint smell of exhaust while stopped.

Car has had all MAJOR services as far as I know, but honestly I don't know how long since the last oil change. I'm getting one this afternoon. Oil looks dark and seems less visous than it should be. I can't tell if its synthetic, but I'll be using Mobil-1. Engine sounds very "clacky".

I suppose I'll know more a few weeks after the change. What are we looking at here if there is a problem? Thanks for the response.

[theunderlord]

I've only had the car for a week, so its new to me.  Did a 400 mile trip over Thanksgiving, averaged about 20MPG, which I thought was pretty good.  No problems except for the faint smell of exhaust while stopped.

Car has had all MAJOR services as far as I know, but honestly I don't know how long since the last oil change.  I'm getting one this afternoon.  Oil looks dark and seems less visous than it should be.  I can't tell if its synthetic, but I'll be using Mobil-1.  Engine sounds very "clacky". 

I suppose I'll know more a few weeks after the change.  What are we looking at here if there is a problem?  Thanks for the response.

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Ok, good info... 20 MPG isn't that great even if you're going fairly fast, I just did 1800 miles last weekend at about 75 MPH and averaged 24. (fully realizing we have different cars) I would Read through Here at the "stage 0" information, this is hands down the first things you want to do to your newly aquired car. Because the only way you're going to know what has been done to your car for certain is if you do it yourself.

As for if you really do have a big problem on your hands... If you smell gas in your oil, I would change the oil post haste. Good choice on the Mobil - 1, get a good quality filter too. Smelling Gas in the oil could be a number of problems, clogged/dirty injector (not spraying with a good mist pattern) or it could be a bad piston ring, but usually you would be able to notice some smoke or other telltale signs of that.

I'd change the oil, and really pay attention to how the car sounds/feels/oil smells right after that. Oh, and seriously consider the stage 0, it can eliminate some pesky problems that plauge our turbocharged cars.

- sorry for the long winded response. Welcome to VS!

[wattsat]

I also think an oil change is first on the list however I would do this.

First, Put in regular or a synth blend oil. Run that for a couple of days and then Change it again. This time put in your mobile 1. Then Change the oil again at a shorter than normal interval. Say, 1500 miles. Then go to your normal oil change schedule.

As you know when you change your oil you NEVER are able to purge all the old oil from the system, so if you had gas in your oil the smell may still be there after an initial oil change. However, if you put in new oil then quickly change it again, the quantity of the original "Bad" oil will be greatly diminished.

I only say to use standard oil for the first change because Mobil 1 costs so darn much.

BTW, with favorable winds I average 26mpg with an average speed of 84mph on a full tank of gas. 95 850 Turbo. 24mpg for same condition with unfavorable winds.

[Sam]

What kind of oil have you been using? The reason I ask: changing to synthetic from regular oil can cause leaks. If you have developed leaks around seals, it is possible that regular oil will have plugged them - the syn, since it is finer, can actually clean them out and if the leak is large enough, it will find its way through where the regular did not. Depending on how many miles you have on the car, and the expense you want to go to in replacing seals, you may want to just stick with high grade regular, e.g. Castrol GTX.

As for mileage, I averaged 28mpg with 75mph over 600 miles (highway).

[Alfredo]

Hi,

Sorry gentleman to say tt motor oil running in ur engine a coupla thousand of miles

or even less, always smells to gasoline and cannot smell to Christian Diors perfume,

so relax. What concerns ur case, I also wud sugg to replace ur motor oil, filter indludd

and be aware tt a dark synthetic oil do not always alarm for oil replacement. Several oil

analysis show tt a dark synth. oil after 15m miles still have his full and complete lubrication.

regards Alfredo S40 2.0T ph-I autom.

[tallahasseegreys]

tt was vry diffclt 2 read.

I agree with wattsat regarding a couple "back to back" oil changes. You want to make sure that gas smell is completely out of the oil before you do too much evaluating.

Also, you need to be positive that you're actually smelling gas in your oil. When you change it, capture a bit in a plastic cup and ask a few people if they smell gas also...preferably while the oil is still warm.

Not saying you're wrong, but you just want to be sure.

[jbuck]

Hah... I did just that. Just had the oil changed -- went with the dino until I can figure out if there is a prob or not. Had a couple other people smell it and they all smelled gasoline too.

I drove for 20 miles or so, and I can smell the gas still, but as you've all mentioned the gas smell will be around for a while. At least I can now smell warm motor oil AND gasoline. Since the car is new to me (95K miles to someone else), and running great I guess I'll wait to see how it goes. When the oil cools, I'll closely monitor the oil level to see if it rises. I suppose it would have to leak a lot of gas to see any diff.

My original concern stemmed from how much noise the engine is making -- not just the clacky lifter noise, but a real metalic sound, almost like a light "chug" or a soft grating sound. Sounds better under throttle and I can't hear it in the car at all, but I'm a little concerned. Definitely quieter after the oil change though.

I think the AWD affects the gas mileage, and I was in Vermont where there are lots of hills. MPG reading goes from 99 on the way down to 4 on the way up.

Thanks for all the input!

[Noahkk19]

Sadly I get the oil smells like gas problem too, but my car has way more problems. It's going to be sitting in the shop for a looooong time starting tomorrow. I'll update you with what I learn from the mechanic as they look through all my problems :pizza:

[jbuck]

Sadly I get the oil smells like gas problem too, but my car has way more problems. It's going to be sitting in the shop for a looooong time starting tomorrow. I'll update you with what I learn from the mechanic as they look through all my problems

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I'd appreciate that!

[Free2Drive!]

Hi Everyone.

....'faint smell of gasoline...'in engine oil'.

I also have this malady '93 850 GLT.

Have you checked for this smell with hot engine oil temp or while cold? Check one morning after running the car 2 or 3 minutes.

- If you have a clear smell of neat gas then YES gas IS getting into your oil, possible causes are, poor plugs, leaky injectors, leaking cylinder rings or over rich micture while cold.

- Ticking and long start crank are signs of lower compression at start up. As the motor warms up compression is restored and it is unlikely that gas gets into the oil once the compression is regained.

Remember that some oils contain detergents that can smell similar to gas once warmed up.

I hope this helps

Matt

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[Guest Guest]

Great suggestion. I had previously only checked for gas smell when oil was warm/hot. I just checked it cold -- smells like cold oil, no gas. Started the car and let it idle for 2 mins -- no gas smell. I'm liking that... guess I'll just keep an eye on it.

NoahKK17 -- let me know what your mechanic says.

Thanks, all!

[Noahkk19]

Well report 1 probably has nothing to do with your problem, but my turbo is blown. There's still lots to check on the car still but that's my first problem, time for me to upgrade turbo.

Gas mileage did get worse and worse as turbo started showing more and more problems. If you didn't know my car was running FILTHY rich to the point where I got around 10-13mpg. Will tell more as I learn more

[Guest Guest]

Who had the brick before you?

Perhaps it was on a lot and suffered "lawn mower syndrome" that will put some gas in your oil.

"LMS" that is when you run your white engine brick for a very short time, like moving it to get the lawn mower out. Then it will not start. The conventional wisdom is to crank and crank it with the pedal on the floor, don't let it up. Eventually it will start. One sign of LMS is that your car will actually crank faster than normal because some of the valves are stuck open.

Then it may need an oil change and new plugs.

If you do not let your brick warm up to normal operating temperature every time you start it, eventually you will know what LMS is first hand.