would it show up on the dip stick?
(I have a camshaft-driven mechanical fuel pump in the side of the block where it would leak into the oil if it were to leak.)
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It can show up on the dipstick by showing more oil in there since last time you checked.
I have seen a few of the cam driven pumps leak out and I can easily smell the gas on the dipstick when this happens.
The oil also feels too thin if I clean the dipstick with my fingers.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's"William R. Watt" wrote:
"William R. Watt" wrote
As a couple of other posters have mentioned, use your nose.
Ian
thanks. I didn't know they would mix. I thought the gasoline would float to the top. :)
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Gas and oil are both petroleum based and will readily mix. Takes a refinery to get them unmixed.
Just heard this one - odd, I've just started searching for an answer for a friend so I'm new to these threads....
Use caution, but another way to tell is to pull the dipstick, walk an appropriate distance away, and hold a match just above it. Any gas in the oil and the dipstick will catch on fire.
Disclaimer: I've never had a suspicion of gas in my oil, and I've never tried this 'trick'. I take no responsibility for anybody's use of this suggestion.
v/r
Michael Kress
Forget the nose or the dipstick, try a $20 lab test instead:
--- Bror Jace
"Bror Jace" wrote
Oh yeah...we do that all the time in our shop....send an oil sample out to check for fuel in the oil when we have a perfectly fine instrument stuck in the middle of our face. You sound like a lot of tech's in our shop....coolant leak staring you right in the face....but they have to install dye and use a black light to figure it out. The 5 senses we were given actually can do a "lot" of diagnosis when it comes to automotive repair.
Ian
laff :)
I remember when the mechanical fuel pump failed on the '75 mav when I was in HS. My dad took it in, first mechanic declared the engine dead. Then they had an "old timer" look at it who said 'fuel pump'. They replaced the fuel pump. (I has suspected the fuel pump but I was just learning stuff at this time and wasn't sure, and the damn pump passed the only test I knew how to give it) Knowing that the first guy to look at it was an idiot, when my parents brought it home I insisted on changing the oil. (after learning more about this failure mode) The oil that came out was thin and smelled of gasoline. Didn't need more than two fingers (test viscosity) and a nose. No lab test required.
As others have mentioned, you can smell it. Also, gas won't stay in oil that is fully up to the engine's normal running temperature. Its volatile and boils off. If your car is normally used for short trips in a cold climate and you then go on a long trip, check the oil level after the first couple of hundred miles. If there was a lot of gas in your oil the level may have taken a sudden drop.
Why bother? Everyone has a nose on their face and a lot of people already have a lighter in their pocket...
nate
Not sure how much gas has to be in the oil before ytou can smell it, but those lab tests of oil samples are very informative and the cost is quite reasonable as far as diagnostics are concerned. $20US? If that's gonna break ya', you probably don't have enough money to even own a car.
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