as i am retired and live only 500 metres from our supermarket and a kilometer from our small main street, short cold trips are the norm. once a fortnight my wife and i will go for a drive in the country and have a break from the house. i also change the oil more frequently than the service requires. i must be doing something right as my last vehicle lasted 20 years (over 200,000km) without a single engine hiccup.
The leader of the opposition does lots of short trips in the diesel Santa Fe. We simply do the intermediate 6mth/7,500km (whichever comes first) service. Cheap and easy.
I wish I had seen this report two years ago (2019). Fuel levels increased, turbo seals broke, glow plug tips burnt and pieces of it dropped on top of the cylinder and scrapped them on their way down. There was a serious blow-by car lost power and yeah it was that bad. I have learnt my lesson.
John, yours is the most complete video explaining oil dilution. Many GDI engines experience some measure of oil dilution, and what you’ve said is spot on regarding taking longer trips to cure it.
@@jamesplotkin4674 This has nothing to do with general fuel economy and has everything to do with engines running super rich when cold (and may also be related to non-ideal internal clearances when cold ---remember thermal expansion). It happens in all gasoline engines regardless of whether they are carbureted, port fuel injected, throttle body fuel injected, or gasoline direct injected, because they all have a mechanical or electronic choke. GDI engines may be worst in this regard but this was happening way before GDI came about. No heat engine is thermodynamically efficient when its super cold for several reasons. One is that there is thicker lubricant to pump around. But the other main reasons involve the ideas that more fuel is needed to ensure no stalling and also heat loss. Some gas turbine makers for example put insulation around the engine such that heat is not lost to the outside. In a gas turbine or a piston engine, we compress the working fluid which causes adiabatic heating and when the engine is cold, more of that heat energy is lost to the cold metal more which means more fuel must be burned to get the working fluid up to the firing temperature (which is the temperature before expansion). Heat is turned into mechanical energy during expansion. This is how all heat engines work whether a steam turbine, gas turbine, gasoline engine, diesel engine.
@@jamesplotkin4674 GDI engines make the problem worse given common scenarios. With the injector directly above the piston in a GDI engine, there is more chance of fuel getting into the oil when the engine is sub-ideal temperature. As John mentioned, the most common causes are multiple short-trip runs when nothing gets up into the ideal thermal window for the majority of the trip.
I agree with the advice here and everything said. The only thing I can think of that may be a faulty part if the 2nd test comes back the same or worse is your PCV. If the PCV is blocked or not opening it can stop crankcase evaporation that helps remove water and fuel from being recycled back into your intake manifold and then being burnt of in the combustion process.
@@craigquann A slight correction, the PCV valve is only open during vacume on the intake manifold. On forced induction cars the PCV remains closed under boost. Ventilation hoses from the top of crank case will always be breathing (the ones you would connect a catch can to) and one usually runs back to the intake before the throttle body or turbo. A PCV valve is not required for normal engine functioning but recommended.
@@craigquann Most have a "Fresh Air Supply" after the MAF sensor and before the Throttle Valve that won't allow that. Blowby should be very small. Around .2 or .3 SCFM(V6) maybe a little more on a V8.
Dead on, I found no one really knows how to test a PCV System. The balloon or a piece of paper over the dipstick tube isn't good enough. I found Acura/Honda, Toyota, BMW, Volvo and I'm sure others are running such low vac on their PCV System it's almost turned off. I always heard it should be 1 to 3"Hg and they run -.2 to -.8"H2O with Volvo at -5.H2O. Have you noticed almost all OE's are having an oil consumption issue these days? It's a slow problem and the engines are sludged up so it must be the customers fault. Use a HVAC Manometer for $30 bucks and you'll see what's going on. We've been building engines for a hundred years. Oils are far better than 20 years ago but we have OCI's of 40 years ago. I fixed my Acura MDX and TL, oil stays cleaner longer and 0 oil consumption on my MDX I was told it would be.
Many people fail to realise that "harsh operating conditions" includes higher rates of cold starts. Commuting itself is hell on earth for oils. They think it's just heavy loads or racing.
I had the same report come back on my Mazda 6 with the GD 2.5L Skyactive engine. The oil had a tad under 11,000km on it and yet had 5.9% fuel in the oil. A caveat, we got the oil checked in late July which is also a contributing factor. All of the other parameters of the oil analysis (TBN, contaminants, additives, etc) came back pretty well close to the specs of brand new oil. The only astericks was the fuel dilution. Following the results we ran the car with a bi-directional full system diagnostic scanner and checked any mechanical defects such as fuel pump (pressure) and the injectors, ignition, compression, etc. The issue? There was none. The injectors were within 0.1% The suspected issue. 11,000km compromised of 85% less than 10km trips - twice per day. Hence, the engine has been running at below ideal temperature for about 9,000km of the 11,000km on the oil. I did the test because I knew I had not done a single freeway trip in the last two months on the oil in the depths of winter. Hence, I wanted to know what the worse-case scenario was on the oil. One freeway trip per week sitting on 100kph for an hour would solve about 90% of dilution issues.
Daily driving 4km per trip to and from work in my Prius C and sent my oil to the lab - came back with 9% fuel dilution and 1% water, which was a bit of a yikes
Just a quick note John I don’t know about Lexus but when my Commodore had a injector poop itself aside from the light backfiring I also had the drivetrain warning and engine light come on several times. As a matter of course I changed the whole set of injectors which fixed the problem. Using a OBD2 scan tool should also help you with a better diagnosis as sometimes your car’s computer can store pending faults.
Hi John and all who commented. Your video, very informative. Thank you. I have an issue with my 2000 Toyota Landcruiser Prado 3L KZ-te Turbo Diesel engine. I regularly service my Prado since owing it over past 8 years until it mysteriously speed away from me recently. After the event, I have discovered my Prado have excessive diesel in the oil sump which I believe caused the ‘Run Away Diesel’. After experiencing the out of control motor vehicle, my mechanic friend suggests injectors need replacing. I took his advice and replaced 4x remanufactured Injectors with new genuine Denso Nozzles and all relevant washers. While at it, I serviced the Electric Spill Control Valve and the Return Fuel Line as well, thoroughly drained the contaminated oil, then put in new oil filter and fresh oil of course. After test driving over the past days all is working fine, but the oil sump is contains large amount diesel again. No sign of diesel leakage from the injectors nor injector pump and all the fuel lines etc… that I could see. At present it seems to run fine, does not overheat nor does not blow any black or white smoke at all, no loss of engine performance, the exhaust fume have a slight smell but no sign of leakage or sign of bad rings. I have not test for run away yet as I think I would happen again. I got the injectors from a reputable Diesel Pump and Injectors Specialists who tested my old sets and said they are working ok which I am now concerned about my Prado. I don’t know any other way how diesel could get into and mix with the engine oil. Just wondering if you or fans on your youtube channel could shed light on my vehicle's issue. Thanks in advance. I will do cylinders compression test soon as as I get the test kit and keep you updated. Thuan
Same exact with me, Diesel Captiva was extremely reliable then ever since my new 2-3ks a day trips it started facing serious issues. With DPF needing to be cleaned every month or some shi and Oil and diesel mixed. Found out by everyone that it's super dangerous to run Any diesel vehicle that way. Petrols are more suitable to run that way. Such a headache. Investing in a petrol 1L engine now
Not sure if this will apply to your car, but I had the same issue on my BMW 730d and it turned out to be the Bosch high pressure fuel pump leaking diesel into the oil sump 👍🏻 replaced the high pressure fuel pump now the issue is fixed.
You've probably never heard this but aircraft in America operating in cold envrionments used to inject fuel into the oil on purpose to thin the oil out in very cold temperatures. Doesn't happen these days since oil technology improved
I'm seriously considering getting an o, normally I'd not stomach the sales pitch but you don't suffocate the story, straight shot, no excessive talk. It's a flash light, it's good, just get one.
The delivery was absolutely fine! No issues at all. Love it. Totally agree with your recommendation. I used to do that with my previous car as it was just too and from work driving.
Dealerships get paperwork from the manufacturer for new vehicles telling them of faults and how to fix them. They sell you a shiny new vehicle not telling you that anything is wrong, only if you return the vehicle will they fix it under warranty
Doesn't a DPF regen 'over fuel' an engine, will that dilute your oil? I am not aware when mine regens, so cannot tell if that has happened on a 'nice run'.
The exhaust going out the back tail pipe is not dealt with the catalytic converter. The catalytic converter is nowhere near hot enough to deal with the rich exhaust on startup and warm up. Its not until the engine is fully warmed up to operating temperature and the catalytic converter is up to temperature that the catalytic converter will do its job properly and deal with the emissions. By the way , the choke actually enriches the mixture not leans it out
@@bogged2theeyeballs695 for those who listened to this video instead of watching it, all they would have heard at 6:05 is a ding. Ofc regular viewers know that this ding means John has put something on the screen, and would have put two and two together in their own heads (I know my first thought when hearing the ding is "John must've corrected himself on-screen").
Good information and suggestions here. My WRX has had the oil and filter changed 4 times since March 2020. I send samples just prior to each o/f change and the results were 5% fuel/water contamination as the car has only done 1700Klm since March 2020. It is now due for its o/f change but last weekend after we were finally let free (Victorian) I drove it 270Klm (135Klm round trip) to Phillip Island. When I came back I sent off a sample and just yesterday the report was less than .5% contamination.
Yeah I sent the oil off to be tested in my mums Datsun and it came back 50% urine my brother had been pissing into the oil filler cap because it has a overheating problem he said would help it stay cool.
I’m here in Louisiana and I just discovered your channel and I think it is awesome. Have a brand new Corvette Z06. I smelled gas in the oil… it freaked me out at first but after watching your videos, this explains it. Thank you!
The dealer has checked everything on my z06. I take the car out always 2hrs i make sure shes always at 190 or above because the new 2023 z06 run cold and still have the the gas in oil issue. I Had the car since jan 1st and changed the oil 3x already.
@@c8miamicarclub So have you narrowed down the issue(s) with your Fuel Dilution problem? Have a 2014 GMC Terrain (with GDI 2.4L Ecotec) myself which is a model known to have Fuel Dilution issues (apparently 1 reason being an over aggressive High Pressure Fuel Pump)... I changed my Oil at 3000 miles/8 months and had excessive Fuel Dilution, throwing off basically everything else and requiring an Oil Change... For my next Change I've been doing longer runs, avoiding needless idling, and crossing my fingers it was just too little driving/stop and go, short trips.
@@lgoamity All these symptoms are pointing to the PCV System. Many OE's have them turned down so much they aren't working properly. Hook a Manometer to the dipstick tube running Hot/Idle. Find out what the factory specs are. I found Honda has been doing this for decades. 2010 MDX that had an oil consumption recall. I avoided it by running synthetic but the low vac system was still there. I gutted the OE PCV valve and mounted a Catch Can and external PCV valve and tested several. I use a GM V8 valve to get the profile I wanted with a restriction on the Fresh Air inlet. I burn no oil at 2908XX miles in a 1k mile test, it stays cleaner much longer, basically all the symptoms of a failed/plugged PCV Valve disappear. Short OCI's, Dark oil quick after change, burning oil, possible detonation(oil has an octane of 40), oil leaks. It had -.2 to -.8"H2O, now I have -1. to -3."Hg through normal daily operation. OE's are no longer worried about how long your car lasts after warranty. Water and Fuel molecules are lite and want to be pulled out of the heavy oil molecules @ 210*F. Blowby is 70% fuel HC's pushed into the ring pack then pushed into the crankcase at combustion. The fuel in the ring pack can't be burnt and ends up in the oil. An engine should be cleaner on the inside than the outside, that's what tipped me off to the real issue looking at the varnish buildup and tracing it to the bottom of the pistons. Higher vacuum eliminates all these issues. Again a $30 HVAC Manometer is cheap to really see what these OE's are doing. Retired mechanic
@@robertjackson7590 I drew a sample on my current OCI (I'm now a bit over 3500 miles/6 months) @ 2000 miles and the Oil Dilution is down significantly. Analysis/Recommendation suggests that I might get 4-5K miles on this interval. Considering the low TBN, Viscosity, and the "OK" (lover then 2%, but 1.3% is still High in my Book for Oil Dilution)... Rather keep the change intervals short for now
@@lgoamity The TBN is a good focus point. Mobil 1 is a good synthetic comparable to Amsoil by most but M1 is a Group III syn that can be made by Hydrocracking Natural Gas. Not a 100% syn compared to the Amsoil Signature oil that's Group IV and PAO based true syn. If there's something wrong with the fuel system by all means fix that but if you hook a Manometer to the crankcase and find low vacuum when setup to OE specs I'd get the vacuum to the 1-3"Hg and your issues will disappear. On my test after 1K miles I emptied 2 tbsps. of tar Black oil out of my CC. The CC was as hot as the engine by touch(meaning it was circulating blowby out) and no signs of fuel or moisture. The engine oil looked new bc I changed it before the trip. Now any CC oil is cleaning up as if I've cleared the engine of the carbon/soot and it's not making it anymore. Interesting watching the dynamics change the inside of the engine. I concluded the Blowby at the oil control ring was so hot that any oil moving past it was burning dark then moves into the rest of the crankcase. If left alone this slow burn would eventually carbon stick the ring and become one of the oil consuming problem engines. Petro oil cokes at 300, syn around 400 so this area must be about 350-375*F. Carbon in Blowby is sticky and wants to stick to the oil ring and it creates a high pressure at the ring. With vacuum it pulls it out and disperses it into the oil not allowing time for it to overheat and darken. Didn't mean to drag this out and everyone is use to the one line zingers in the comment section but this is what I see happening.
Thanks for the video. I have a 2018 Honda CRV with a 1.5L turbo with 140k on it. It has always had an oil dilution problem. It does not matter short trips or long, day trips or marathons, hot or cold. I change the oil often. I put in 3.6L to spec. It shows 1/2 way between Low and High on the dip. Within 800K or so it has risen 1/8" above full and stays there. Draw your own conclusions. Oh yes, no problems yet, touch wood.
@@danielbarry5547Change it every 3000 miles if short trips mostly. If you are mixed short with some regular highway driving do every 4000 miles. Only highway 5000 miles. Now if you have this 1.5 turbo what will help the most is using 91 octane fuel minimum 93 is best but 91 is minimum. It almost completely eliminates the fuel dilution problem it becomes virtually equal to a non direct injection vehicle that runs slightly rich from factory.
I saw a u tube video a few weeks ago where the guy ( I think he might have been a mechanic) bumped up his oil from 0w - 20w, to 5w - 30w. He said the thicker oil COMPLETELY solved his very bad oil dilution problem on his Honda Accord 1.5T. I am thinking about trying that on my 2020 Honda 1.5T with 30k miles BUT BUT BUT I am wondering if that might create another problem. Of course maybe any newly created problem MIGHT BE LESS of a problem. What do think?
Short tripping is a terrible thing to do to your engine. If you can't make an excuse, and you really don't need one, to take a long trip to nowhere once in a while, then change your oil more frequently. Manufacturers recommendation is typically not frequent enough in any case
Owner's manuals are usually quite clear about that: x kms or y months, whichever comes first. If you do 'severe' driving, halve it. What is severe? Towing, heat, short distances. If for example your interval is 30,000kms/1 year, whichever comes first. Then doing only 2,000kms a year, simply means you'll have to get an oil change every 2,000kms. And if those 2,000 are mostly short trips, well then you have to halve it: an oil change every 1,000kms. However, a lot of drivers interpret it the opposite, more convenient way: oh look, a year has passed, but only 2k driven. I can still go another 28k no problem.
Another great informative video John and off script is totally cool dude. Thanks for the reminder to adapt our oil changes to most of our new driving habits with this whole COVID thing. Here in Canada, now with temperatures starting to dive below 0c (-10c as I type or +14 Fahrenheit) my short 5 minute drives to work are death to my cars oil.
Bottom line is his car is not being driven long enough With enough frequency to allow the engine and the oil to remain hot enough for a sufficient period of time to facilitate evaporation of the the unburnt fuel from the sump oil. Therefore fuel buildup in oil Therefore 3% on the test….. Nothing wrong with the car completely normal. And that’s that……… DUUUUDE
I started doing the six month / 7,500km servicing on my Paj Sport after Berrima diesels explained the same to me regarding short trips and oil condition. A relatively small extra service cost but well worth it as it is a long term investment. I'm in Sydney so I used the trek to give a good freeway run also.
I owned a Pajero 2.8 diesel that had a problem with the injection pump seal. It was leaking diesel into the sump so that over a few months the diesel loss caused a substantial rise in 'oil' level. Symptom was hard starting because the pump battled to build pressure. Only fix was a seal replacement.
Curious that 3% fuel dilution was mentioned with it almost being time for the next service date on that vehicle. September 16th, my 2019 hybrid was taken in for its scheduled “6 month” service change. Previous changes (from the dealership) have added more oil than required, so I made sure to check the level when I picked it up… once again it was over full. After two days, and 32km of city driving, I picked up an extractor and pulled out enough to bring it down to where it should be. However… the oil I pulled out…. BLACK!!! I can’t explain black oil after a “change”, and being driven only 32km. So yes, I too sent a sample to be tested… fuel was 3.31%, Ti 20ppm, Si 24ppm. For comparison I sent fresh oil as a base sample for reference. And again, last week, the level of “oil” has risen. So… would the 2 hour drive fix black oil?
And here I was expecting a dingo-piss creek reference during your oLight plug. I agree, oLight markets some decent flashlights and I have also bought some of their Lithium Ion batteries that have proved to be quite reliable.
Thanks John. I guessed that it might be short journeys which had caused the slightly elevated level of oil dilution. I do like the prescribed treatment too - take a camera, enjoy that what we've been missing 👍
Another way of diagnosing this problem is to check oil level before and after the 2 hour drive. I found mine had dropped a lot after my drive and the oil also had stopped smelling as much like fuel
Another interesting episode young John👍. Mate i like seeing the Fatcave from a different angle mate & can't wait for more episodes about it & what you get up to in there meaning DIY stuff 🍻.
Srangely enough, I have had excellent service from my cars since my 1969 HT through various Chryslers, Fords, Nissans, Toyotas,and Mitsubishis, including a powershit Ford. None of them have given trouble. I just dropped them off at the garage when the services were due. Other than that they were all good. I never remember being stranded anywhere. One of the Chryslers used to oil up plugs but it had over 300,000miles.
DPF AND CATALIC CONVERTERS when clogged send signals to the ECU to start regeneration ( literally pumping more fuel into the injectors and combustion chambers), in addition to driving at high revs unburnt fuel blow down into engine oil through piston seals.
El salam alaikom Watching this video before buying the new honda accord ( 2.0 turbo ) Alot of people told me take care of this problem Thank you for the very educating video 🔥🌹
Ive been in the reliability space for many years and you never act on one oil sample result alone, and you wouldn’t normally act too drastically on one without supporting electronic data, visual data, or known experience either
At the stoichiometric mixture (where all oxygen and fuel is consumed) the EGT is highest - we call it peak EGT. As the misture richens or leans - from Peak EGT, the EGT falls.
Your 1st sentence was great! You sounded educated and knowledgeable. Almost engineer class. And then your 2nd sentence, you just shot yourself in the foot, went down in flames. Just another YT me too commenter
@@philmenzies2477 ruclips.net/video/dvCJGnDdFxA/видео.html leaning an engine in flight. A cylinder is a cylinder, aircraft or lawnmower, petrol or diesel. All operate on the same principle. That's why I;m allowed to operate $200,000 turbocharged Lycoming IO-540's.
I have this issue on a 2009 BMW 320d because i changed my commute from 40 mins each way to 5 mins. I found my oil level would rise to just above full after a few trips. Doing some google searching I found a Mercedes technical briefing that shows this is a problem for their deisel engines and results in fuel diltution of the oil., when you don't drive sufficient distances to heat up the who engine and exhaust system. It is sorted by long drives that heat the systems up enough to do DPF regen and that burns out the deisel in the exhaust system. Has been working on mine for over a year now. It is apparently worse on modern engines which are direct injection based on the info i've turned up on the topic.
Thanks for the great video John. I have got a 2017 Hyundai Elantra 1.6 CRDI (diesel). My daily routine is usually 24 km (to work and back) and I use 5w-30 Shell engine oil. Recently I got upset by knowing that there is fuel dilution in the engine. It indicates a much higher oil level than the "sign-F" on the dipstick. (even when the engine is cold). When there is heavy traffic the engine detonates very badly. (on low speed, when you make a full stop and then start to drive, it detonates). I am taking it to the service as soon as the service is open after the holiday, and will see what happens. Thanks!
What is the power tool on the far right (your left?) Maybe it's just me but from what I can see the only thing I can think of is its a Nipple Polisher! :O ;) :)
The biggest problem with fuel dilution of the oil is that the lubricant film is compromised and wear is accelerated. One way to protect against accelerated wear is to bond a permanent lubricant film to the metal #XcelPlus 🙂
We have known the location of the North and South poles for ages, but the East Pole and West Pole are still elusive. Our intrepid adventurer has plenty of opportunity for making a literally land-breaking discovery.
My truck has this issue oil smells like gas so I changed it the new oil still smells like gas. I checked and all injectors are working engine runs fine no idea what's causing it. Exhaust has no gas smell from running rich.
I am looking at the Mercedes OM654 engined cars and have found a large number have failures around 120000 miles. The cause is failed Regen of the DPF injecting diesel into the exhaust side of the engine diluting the oil. Modern diesels are designed to fail as i have been told other manufacturers do this too. So maybe 5000 mile service intervals in modern diesels.
My 2015 supercharged Kawasaki 310 jet ski will get blow by & pump fuel into the oil & pressurize the bottom end if I get into it before the rings expand. It has a semi dry sump & catch can but can still suffer badly if WOT is applied before it gets warm & the rings expand.
Well explained and clear message.thanks John. My car has had little use for best part of 18 months now,not good for the battery and electrics either.Long trips still not possible with border restrictions and much less income to do so. At least it is port injection. You need to spell check: Dulution!
Sir john...can you help me please..i live in Malaysia,here...a lot of triton owner claiming everytime they check their engine oil level,most of them had a low level engine oil...and when they take their car to service center for further inspection,the answer from the SC is - ITS NORMAL...just want to ask you..is it really normal?because other brand ute in my country didnt had this problem..thank you in advance sir
Friend of mine there 2009 Chevy Suburban is down with fuel in the oil and it won’t run. They had a mobile mechanic come out and he said it’s a bad piston ring. I’m wondering if he’s wrong and just trying to get money. Help please.
I know my Hybrid Auris oil level is rising along the time since the change. Not a surprise, when I drive in the city, half of the time on electricity only, so the ICE is not even reaching its normal operating temperature. I did change the oil after 6 months (normal interval is 12 months / 15k km). But now due to Covid and work-from-home I'm not driving much, like 4k km per year so I don't bother with more frequent oil changes. I wonder if I need the car at all...
It is a late model Toyota, V6, so it likely have 2 injection systems. If the direct injector leak fuel after shut down, some will end up in the oil. If you take a long drive and the oil heat up to about 190F ? + temperature , the fuel mixed with it will evaporate and the PCV (crankcase vent) system will collect it , into the engine to be burnt. There is a lot of pressure in those direct injection system and not much fuel volume , so I can say you likely not see this problem again after a long drive, unless you wait a couple of weeks later to take the sample, if you have a leaky injector. Note I said OIL temperature, it got little to do with glycol coolant temperature. I feel Toyota violated the KISS rule with their latest designs and I will avoid buying one. Just like the 1980s repeating itself, you will save a little fuel, but you will not save any money. I believe 2 decades ago, engineers already plucked all the low hanging fruit for fuel economy, and reached the point of diminishing return. The fuel saving is not worth the trouble.
Direct injection is more efficient, however, port injection helps to wash the back of the valves. Toyota run this double system to give the best of both worlds.
Have you heard of something called fuel trim? No need for long drive to test injectors just plug obd scanner and check your cars short and long term fuel trim.
I've had cars that get used a handful of times a year over short and long distance and I just changed the oil and filter every 3 months. (They didn't have cheap engine's) Cheap insurance.
I have a 5.0 Mercury cougar 2001 an I am trying to get it running but I drained all the oil out and it was almost all gas what do I do in what could be causing it
Hi John, love your work as always. On a similar but mostly different topic, how do you feel about changing the oil in, “sealed for life”, gearboxes and diff cases? Ultimately I guess it depends on the definition of, “life”, in this context. Would you take it mean the literal life of the car, or an arbitrary number of years or kilometers?
My 2022 camry first owner when I did my first oil change it stink of fuel. How often would you change it if it was your car and you wanna keep it as long as possible?
Hi John, now that we can't buy new cars, are you able to compare various cars and SUV's please. Such as a CX9 Azami 2020 or 2021 vs the 2021 Kia Sorento GT Line diesel? The Skoda Kodiaq RS etc
Spot on advice there JC especially in regards to the follow up sample. For a part of my day job I work with analysing oil samples and if something looks out of wack a second sample is always the first course of action. Your also dead right in regards to the lab copy and paste comments, the lab our work uses process's a couple of thousand samples a day with just one or two people adding the comments.
Most good vehicle manufacturers use a seperate injector to clean the dpf. Other manufacturers like Isuzu use the older cheaper method of injecting diesel fuel into the cylinders on the exhaust stroke, thus sending unburnt fuel into the dpf on regen, causing it to burn at a high temperature to burn off the deposits... But this method causes excessive oil dilution long term, Isuzu know this and their solution was a longer dipstick mark 🤦🏻♂️, further up the dipstick, to show if it goes past a certain mark it won't be covered under warranty if you have issues... Don't take my word for it, look in the Dmax manual and you will see for yourself... Great work Isuzu...
Yes I do lot's of short trips and change oil at 8000kms without fail. Side note J.C, Wakefield park was a horrible little track because of the bumps and patchy bitumen, has it changed?
To take away all the confusion. Learn to change you own oil and filter, it really isn't rocket surgery. Change the oil and filter every 5000km or 3000miles, regardless of everything. If it is an engine made by a good manufacturer, the engine will probable outlast the car.
Yes, my 2018 civic is terrible in winter. The oil level goes up approximately a liter on the dipstick. Note that I live in Canada, were it goes down to -35 oC regularly in winter. My short trips to work and back still allow the engine to reach normal operating temperature. No dilution issue in summer.
Spot on. Now, let’s see the video where you blamed Honda for poor engine design. You clearly know how engines work, but you only use that knowledge when it suits you. This was when the internet went mad in the colder parts of the world and the cars took longer to get to optimal operating temperature. But no, it was Honda’s fault.
I usually drive my car until exactly operating temperature, then im done with whatever I had to do. :D I thought tho it was enough with like...operating temperatue, go drive like 40-50min after that, and do some high rpms when its warm, isnt that true? You really need to drive like 2h etc?
John, always good content. Sort of parallel question - relates to motor-bikes rather than cars - but still ICE. I have two BMW R1200s (one GS and the other GSA). I have a shagged back and neurosurgeon says it's not getting any better. The bikes have only been ridden may be 500kms since last serivce (including oil change) but that was 2.5 - 3 years ago - since garaged & have been ever hopeful to get back on them. It's not going to happen - so sale time. Given the time without running, should I drain and replace oil before firing them up again (just thinking of possible condensation contamination) Breaks my heart to sell them, but sometimes reality finally hits. Regards
Engines like to get hot every now and then to clear all the crap out. Me and the wife swap cars as my commute is 40 minutes fast highway each way, and I take hers at least once a week to keep it happy.
Great advice John, as usual. We’ve always changed oil in our cars more often than the manufacturers recommendation and it’s kept the engine in good condition now that the Kms are racking up fairly high. Looking forward to the review tomorrow, always a good view and informative. Keep well mate.
as i am retired and live only 500 metres from our supermarket and a kilometer from our small main street, short cold trips are the norm. once a fortnight my wife and i will go for a drive in the country and have a break from the house. i also change the oil more frequently than the service requires. i must be doing something right as my last vehicle lasted 20 years (over 200,000km) without a single engine hiccup.
The leader of the opposition does lots of short trips in the diesel Santa Fe.
We simply do the intermediate 6mth/7,500km (whichever comes first) service.
Cheap and easy.
I wish I had seen this report two years ago (2019). Fuel levels increased, turbo seals broke, glow plug tips burnt and pieces of it dropped on top of the cylinder and scrapped them on their way down. There was a serious blow-by car lost power and yeah it was that bad.
I have learnt my lesson.
John, yours is the most complete video explaining oil dilution. Many GDI engines experience some measure of oil dilution, and what you’ve said is spot on regarding taking longer trips to cure it.
With GDI engines getting much better fuel efficiency, I'd have thought dilution wasn't as big a problem.
@@jamesplotkin4674 This has nothing to do with general fuel economy and has everything to do with engines running super rich when cold (and may also be related to non-ideal internal clearances when cold ---remember thermal expansion). It happens in all gasoline engines regardless of whether they are carbureted, port fuel injected, throttle body fuel injected, or gasoline direct injected, because they all have a mechanical or electronic choke. GDI engines may be worst in this regard but this was happening way before GDI came about. No heat engine is thermodynamically efficient when its super cold for several reasons. One is that there is thicker lubricant to pump around. But the other main reasons involve the ideas that more fuel is needed to ensure no stalling and also heat loss. Some gas turbine makers for example put insulation around the engine such that heat is not lost to the outside. In a gas turbine or a piston engine, we compress the working fluid which causes adiabatic heating and when the engine is cold, more of that heat energy is lost to the cold metal more which means more fuel must be burned to get the working fluid up to the firing temperature (which is the temperature before expansion). Heat is turned into mechanical energy during expansion. This is how all heat engines work whether a steam turbine, gas turbine, gasoline engine, diesel engine.
@@jamesplotkin4674 GDI engines make the problem worse given common scenarios. With the injector directly above the piston in a GDI engine, there is more chance of fuel getting into the oil when the engine is sub-ideal temperature. As John mentioned, the most common causes are multiple short-trip runs when nothing gets up into the ideal thermal window for the majority of the trip.
I agree with the advice here and everything said. The only thing I can think of that may be a faulty part if the 2nd test comes back the same or worse is your PCV. If the PCV is blocked or not opening it can stop crankcase evaporation that helps remove water and fuel from being recycled back into your intake manifold and then being burnt of in the combustion process.
If your PCV valve is blocked, you'd have blown seals and major oil leaks from the pressurized air in the crankcase.
@@craigquann A slight correction, the PCV valve is only open during vacume on the intake manifold. On forced induction cars the PCV remains closed under boost. Ventilation hoses from the top of crank case will always be breathing (the ones you would connect a catch can to) and one usually runs back to the intake before the throttle body or turbo.
A PCV valve is not required for normal engine functioning but recommended.
@@craigquann Most have a "Fresh Air Supply" after the MAF sensor and before the Throttle Valve that won't allow that. Blowby should be very small. Around .2 or .3 SCFM(V6) maybe a little more on a V8.
Dead on, I found no one really knows how to test a PCV System. The balloon or a piece of paper over the dipstick tube isn't good enough. I found Acura/Honda, Toyota, BMW, Volvo and I'm sure others are running such low vac on their PCV System it's almost turned off. I always heard it should be 1 to 3"Hg and they run -.2 to -.8"H2O with Volvo at -5.H2O. Have you noticed almost all OE's are having an oil consumption issue these days? It's a slow problem and the engines are sludged up so it must be the customers fault.
Use a HVAC Manometer for $30 bucks and you'll see what's going on. We've been building engines for a hundred years. Oils are far better than 20 years ago but we have OCI's of 40 years ago. I fixed my Acura MDX and TL, oil stays cleaner longer and 0 oil consumption on my MDX I was told it would be.
@robertjackson7590 not always true. Depends on the System
Many people fail to realise that "harsh operating conditions" includes higher rates of cold starts. Commuting itself is hell on earth for oils. They think it's just heavy loads or racing.
John I recently bought myself a Olight Seeker 3 Pro and I’m quite pleased with it. Thanks for recommending the company!👍
I had the same report come back on my Mazda 6 with the GD 2.5L Skyactive engine. The oil had a tad under 11,000km on it and yet had 5.9% fuel in the oil. A caveat, we got the oil checked in late July which is also a contributing factor.
All of the other parameters of the oil analysis (TBN, contaminants, additives, etc) came back pretty well close to the specs of brand new oil. The only astericks was the fuel dilution.
Following the results we ran the car with a bi-directional full system diagnostic scanner and checked any mechanical defects such as fuel pump (pressure) and the injectors, ignition, compression, etc. The issue? There was none. The injectors were within 0.1%
The suspected issue. 11,000km compromised of 85% less than 10km trips - twice per day. Hence, the engine has been running at below ideal temperature for about 9,000km of the 11,000km on the oil.
I did the test because I knew I had not done a single freeway trip in the last two months on the oil in the depths of winter. Hence, I wanted to know what the worse-case scenario was on the oil.
One freeway trip per week sitting on 100kph for an hour would solve about 90% of dilution issues.
Daily driving 4km per trip to and from work in my Prius C and sent my oil to the lab - came back with 9% fuel dilution and 1% water, which was a bit of a yikes
Just a quick note John I don’t know about Lexus but when my Commodore had a injector poop itself aside from the light backfiring I also had the drivetrain warning and engine light come on several times. As a matter of course I changed the whole set of injectors which fixed the problem. Using a OBD2 scan tool should also help you with a better diagnosis as sometimes your car’s computer can store pending faults.
I've heard faults need to become a certain level of disfunction before the MIL comes on.
Hi John and all who commented.
Your video, very informative. Thank you.
I have an issue with my 2000 Toyota Landcruiser Prado 3L KZ-te Turbo Diesel engine.
I regularly service my Prado since owing it over past 8 years until it mysteriously speed away from me recently.
After the event, I have discovered my Prado have excessive diesel in the oil sump which I believe caused the ‘Run Away Diesel’.
After experiencing the out of control motor vehicle, my mechanic friend suggests injectors need replacing.
I took his advice and replaced 4x remanufactured Injectors with new genuine Denso Nozzles and all relevant washers.
While at it, I serviced the Electric Spill Control Valve and the Return Fuel Line as well, thoroughly drained the contaminated oil, then put in new oil filter and fresh oil of course.
After test driving over the past days all is working fine, but the oil sump is contains large amount diesel again.
No sign of diesel leakage from the injectors nor injector pump and all the fuel lines etc… that I could see.
At present it seems to run fine, does not overheat nor does not blow any black or white smoke at all, no loss of engine performance, the exhaust fume have a slight smell but no sign of leakage or sign of bad rings. I have not test for run away yet as I think I would happen again.
I got the injectors from a reputable Diesel Pump and Injectors Specialists who tested my old sets and said they are working ok which I am now concerned about my Prado.
I don’t know any other way how diesel could get into and mix with the engine oil.
Just wondering if you or fans on your youtube channel could shed light on my vehicle's issue.
Thanks in advance.
I will do cylinders compression test soon as as I get the test kit and keep you updated.
Thuan
Same exact with me, Diesel Captiva was extremely reliable then ever since my new 2-3ks a day trips it started facing serious issues. With DPF needing to be cleaned every month or some shi and Oil and diesel mixed. Found out by everyone that it's super dangerous to run Any diesel vehicle that way. Petrols are more suitable to run that way. Such a headache. Investing in a petrol 1L engine now
Not sure if this will apply to your car, but I had the same issue on my BMW 730d and it turned out to be the Bosch high pressure fuel pump leaking diesel into the oil sump 👍🏻 replaced the high pressure fuel pump now the issue is fixed.
You've probably never heard this but aircraft in America operating in cold envrionments used to inject fuel into the oil on purpose to thin the oil out in very cold temperatures. Doesn't happen these days since oil technology improved
I'm seriously considering getting an o, normally I'd not stomach the sales pitch but you don't suffocate the story, straight shot, no excessive talk. It's a flash light, it's good, just get one.
Oil levels taken before and after the trip could also show a drop in oil levels on return due to the impurities burning out from the long run.
If the diluents are only 3% (180cc) you wont see them on the dipstick as an increase or notice that they have gone.
The delivery was absolutely fine! No issues at all. Love it. Totally agree with your recommendation. I used to do that with my previous car as it was just too and from work driving.
Dealerships get paperwork from the manufacturer for new vehicles telling them of faults and how to fix them. They sell you a shiny new vehicle not telling you that anything is wrong, only if you return the vehicle will they fix it under warranty
Factually accurate. Any perceived pho pars-absolutely forgiven.
Doesn't a DPF regen 'over fuel' an engine, will that dilute your oil? I am not aware when mine regens, so cannot tell if that has happened on a 'nice run'.
I had the same problem with my 2019 Mazda 6 2.2d during lockdown but it got serviced now I do a 20 mile trip one way has now solved the problem.
The exhaust going out the back tail pipe is not dealt with the catalytic converter.
The catalytic converter is nowhere near hot enough to deal with the rich exhaust on startup and warm up.
Its not until the engine is fully warmed up to operating temperature and the catalytic converter is up to temperature that the catalytic converter will do its job properly and deal with the emissions.
By the way , the choke actually enriches the mixture not leans it out
In regards to the choke, everyone makes mistakes, that's why JC corrected his error during editing (at 6.05 in this video).
@@bogged2theeyeballs695 for those who listened to this video instead of watching it, all they would have heard at 6:05 is a ding. Ofc regular viewers know that this ding means John has put something on the screen, and would have put two and two together in their own heads (I know my first thought when hearing the ding is "John must've corrected himself on-screen").
Good information and suggestions here. My WRX has had the oil and filter changed 4 times since March 2020. I send samples just prior to each o/f change and the results were 5% fuel/water contamination as the car has only done 1700Klm since March 2020. It is now due for its o/f change but last weekend after we were finally let free (Victorian) I drove it 270Klm (135Klm round trip) to Phillip Island. When I came back I sent off a sample and just yesterday the report was less than .5% contamination.
Yeah I sent the oil off to be tested in my mums Datsun and it came back 50% urine my brother had been pissing into the oil filler cap because it has a overheating problem he said would help it stay cool.
@@grimreaper6112 Well said mate
I’m here in Louisiana and I just discovered your channel and I think it is awesome. Have a brand new Corvette Z06. I smelled gas in the oil… it freaked me out at first but after watching your videos, this explains it. Thank you!
The dealer has checked everything on my z06. I take the car out always 2hrs i make sure shes always at 190 or above because the new 2023 z06 run cold and still have the the gas in oil issue. I Had the car since jan 1st and changed the oil 3x already.
@@c8miamicarclub So have you narrowed down the issue(s) with your Fuel Dilution problem? Have a 2014 GMC Terrain (with GDI 2.4L Ecotec) myself which is a model known to have Fuel Dilution issues (apparently 1 reason being an over aggressive High Pressure Fuel Pump)... I changed my Oil at 3000 miles/8 months and had excessive Fuel Dilution, throwing off basically everything else and requiring an Oil Change... For my next Change I've been doing longer runs, avoiding needless idling, and crossing my fingers it was just too little driving/stop and go, short trips.
@@lgoamity All these symptoms are pointing to the PCV System. Many OE's have them turned down so much they aren't working properly. Hook a Manometer to the dipstick tube running Hot/Idle. Find out what the factory specs are. I found Honda has been doing this for decades. 2010 MDX that had an oil consumption recall. I avoided it by running synthetic but the low vac system was still there. I gutted the OE PCV valve and mounted a Catch Can and external PCV valve and tested several. I use a GM V8 valve to get the profile I wanted with a restriction on the Fresh Air inlet.
I burn no oil at 2908XX miles in a 1k mile test, it stays cleaner much longer, basically all the symptoms of a failed/plugged PCV Valve disappear. Short OCI's, Dark oil quick after change, burning oil, possible detonation(oil has an octane of 40), oil leaks. It had -.2 to -.8"H2O, now I have -1. to -3."Hg through normal daily operation. OE's are no longer worried about how long your car lasts after warranty.
Water and Fuel molecules are lite and want to be pulled out of the heavy oil molecules @ 210*F. Blowby is 70% fuel HC's pushed into the ring pack then pushed into the crankcase at combustion. The fuel in the ring pack can't be burnt and ends up in the oil.
An engine should be cleaner on the inside than the outside, that's what tipped me off to the real issue looking at the varnish buildup and tracing it to the bottom of the pistons. Higher vacuum eliminates all these issues. Again a $30 HVAC Manometer is cheap to really see what these OE's are doing. Retired mechanic
@@robertjackson7590 I drew a sample on my current OCI (I'm now a bit over 3500 miles/6 months) @ 2000 miles and the Oil Dilution is down significantly. Analysis/Recommendation suggests that I might get 4-5K miles on this interval. Considering the low TBN, Viscosity, and the "OK" (lover then 2%, but 1.3% is still High in my Book for Oil Dilution)... Rather keep the change intervals short for now
@@lgoamity The TBN is a good focus point. Mobil 1 is a good synthetic comparable to Amsoil by most but M1 is a Group III syn that can be made by Hydrocracking Natural Gas. Not a 100% syn compared to the Amsoil Signature oil that's Group IV and PAO based true syn.
If there's something wrong with the fuel system by all means fix that but if you hook a Manometer to the crankcase and find low vacuum when setup to OE specs I'd get the vacuum to the 1-3"Hg and your issues will disappear.
On my test after 1K miles I emptied 2 tbsps. of tar Black oil out of my CC. The CC was as hot as the engine by touch(meaning it was circulating blowby out) and no signs of fuel or moisture. The engine oil looked new bc I changed it before the trip. Now any CC oil is cleaning up as if I've cleared the engine of the carbon/soot and it's not making it anymore. Interesting watching the dynamics change the inside of the engine.
I concluded the Blowby at the oil control ring was so hot that any oil moving past it was burning dark then moves into the rest of the crankcase.
If left alone this slow burn would eventually carbon stick the ring and become one of the oil consuming problem engines. Petro oil cokes at 300, syn around 400 so this area must be about 350-375*F.
Carbon in Blowby is sticky and wants to stick to the oil ring and it creates a high pressure at the ring. With vacuum it pulls it out and disperses it into the oil not allowing time for it to overheat and darken. Didn't mean to drag this out and everyone is use to the one line zingers in the comment section but this is what I see happening.
Thanks for the video. I have a 2018 Honda CRV with a 1.5L turbo with 140k on it. It has always had an oil dilution problem. It does not matter short trips or long, day trips or marathons, hot or cold. I change the oil often. I put in 3.6L to spec. It shows 1/2 way between Low and High on the dip. Within 800K or so it has risen 1/8" above full and stays there. Draw your own conclusions. Oh yes, no problems yet, touch wood.
How often u change the oil?
@@danielbarry5547Change it every 3000 miles if short trips mostly. If you are mixed short with some regular highway driving do every 4000 miles. Only highway 5000 miles. Now if you have this 1.5 turbo what will help the most is using 91 octane fuel minimum 93 is best but 91 is minimum. It almost completely eliminates the fuel dilution problem it becomes virtually equal to a non direct injection vehicle that runs slightly rich from factory.
Can gasoline dilution of the oil be reduced by going up a grade weight? Say from 5w-30 to 10w30? Does the thicker oil seal the cylinder better?
no. the wash during cold start still pulls oil off the cylinder wall and runs past the gap in the rings regardless the viscosity of the oil
I saw a u tube video a few weeks ago where the guy ( I think he might have been a mechanic) bumped up his oil from 0w - 20w, to 5w - 30w. He said the thicker oil COMPLETELY solved his very bad oil dilution problem on his Honda Accord 1.5T. I am thinking about trying that on my 2020 Honda 1.5T with 30k miles BUT BUT BUT I am wondering if that might create another problem. Of course maybe any newly created problem MIGHT BE LESS of a problem. What do think?
Short tripping is a terrible thing to do to your engine. If you can't make an excuse, and you really don't need one, to take a long trip to nowhere once in a while, then change your oil more frequently. Manufacturers recommendation is typically not frequent enough in any case
Owner's manuals are usually quite clear about that: x kms or y months, whichever comes first. If you do 'severe' driving, halve it. What is severe? Towing, heat, short distances.
If for example your interval is 30,000kms/1 year, whichever comes first. Then doing only 2,000kms a year, simply means you'll have to get an oil change every 2,000kms. And if those 2,000 are mostly short trips, well then you have to halve it: an oil change every 1,000kms.
However, a lot of drivers interpret it the opposite, more convenient way: oh look, a year has passed, but only 2k driven. I can still go another 28k no problem.
Enjoyed this video. Hope you enjoy the test drive.
Another great informative video John and off script is totally cool dude. Thanks for the reminder to adapt our oil changes to most of our new driving habits with this whole COVID thing. Here in Canada, now with temperatures starting to dive below 0c (-10c as I type or +14 Fahrenheit) my short 5 minute drives to work are death to my cars oil.
Bottom line is his car is not being driven long enough With enough frequency to allow the engine and the oil to remain hot enough for a sufficient period of time to facilitate evaporation of the the unburnt fuel from the sump oil.
Therefore fuel buildup in oil
Therefore 3% on the test…..
Nothing wrong with the car completely normal.
And that’s that……… DUUUUDE
I started doing the six month / 7,500km servicing on my Paj Sport after Berrima diesels explained the same to me regarding short trips and oil condition. A relatively small extra service cost but well worth it as it is a long term investment. I'm in Sydney so I used the trek to give a good freeway run also.
At that rate with those kind of result why not change the oil every 3 minths
I owned a Pajero 2.8 diesel that had a problem with the injection pump seal. It was leaking diesel into the sump so that over a few months the diesel loss caused a substantial rise in 'oil' level. Symptom was hard starting because the pump battled to build pressure. Only fix was a seal replacement.
Amazes me how much John knows and how well he could explain it to us. Well done John, an ocean of knowledge 👏
Curious that 3% fuel dilution was mentioned with it almost being time for the next service date on that vehicle. September 16th, my 2019 hybrid was taken in for its scheduled “6 month” service change. Previous changes (from the dealership) have added more oil than required, so I made sure to check the level when I picked it up… once again it was over full. After two days, and 32km of city driving, I picked up an extractor and pulled out enough to bring it down to where it should be. However… the oil I pulled out…. BLACK!!! I can’t explain black oil after a “change”, and being driven only 32km. So yes, I too sent a sample to be tested… fuel was 3.31%, Ti 20ppm, Si 24ppm. For comparison I sent fresh oil as a base sample for reference. And again, last week, the level of “oil” has risen. So… would the 2 hour drive fix black oil?
And here I was expecting a dingo-piss creek reference during your oLight plug. I agree, oLight markets some decent flashlights and I have also bought some of their Lithium Ion batteries that have proved to be quite reliable.
Thanks John. I guessed that it might be short journeys which had caused the slightly elevated level of oil dilution. I do like the prescribed treatment too - take a camera, enjoy that what we've been missing 👍
Another way of diagnosing this problem is to check oil level before and after the 2 hour drive.
I found mine had dropped a lot after my drive and the oil also had stopped smelling as much like fuel
Another interesting episode young John👍.
Mate i like seeing the Fatcave from a different angle mate & can't wait for more episodes about it & what you get up to in there meaning DIY stuff 🍻.
Srangely enough, I have had excellent service from my cars since my 1969 HT through various Chryslers, Fords, Nissans, Toyotas,and Mitsubishis, including a powershit Ford. None of them have given trouble. I just dropped them off at the garage when the services were due. Other than that they were all good. I never remember being stranded anywhere. One of the Chryslers used to oil up plugs but it had over 300,000miles.
DPF AND CATALIC CONVERTERS when clogged send signals to the ECU to start regeneration ( literally pumping more fuel into the injectors and combustion chambers), in addition to driving at high revs unburnt fuel blow down into engine oil through piston seals.
El salam alaikom
Watching this video before buying the new honda accord ( 2.0 turbo )
Alot of people told me take care of this problem
Thank you for the very educating video 🔥🌹
Ive been in the reliability space for many years and you never act on one oil sample result alone, and you wouldn’t normally act too drastically on one without supporting electronic data, visual data, or known experience either
Most manufacturers recommend 6 monthly oil changes for severe driving conditions such as manly short distance driving in traffic.
I have my oil changed on half the service recommended is this a good thing to do ?.
At the stoichiometric mixture (where all oxygen and fuel is consumed) the EGT is highest - we call it peak EGT. As the misture richens or leans - from Peak EGT, the EGT falls.
Your 1st sentence was great! You sounded educated and knowledgeable. Almost engineer class. And then your 2nd sentence, you just shot yourself in the foot, went down in flames. Just another YT me too commenter
@@philmenzies2477 ruclips.net/video/dvCJGnDdFxA/видео.html leaning an engine in flight. A cylinder is a cylinder, aircraft or lawnmower, petrol or diesel. All operate on the same principle. That's why I;m allowed to operate $200,000 turbocharged Lycoming IO-540's.
" it blows down there " Yessss.
Great video, confirmed what I thought. Get it really warm every now an then.
I have this issue on a 2009 BMW 320d because i changed my commute from 40 mins each way to 5 mins. I found my oil level would rise to just above full after a few trips. Doing some google searching I found a Mercedes technical briefing that shows this is a problem for their deisel engines and results in fuel diltution of the oil., when you don't drive sufficient distances to heat up the who engine and exhaust system. It is sorted by long drives that heat the systems up enough to do DPF regen and that burns out the deisel in the exhaust system. Has been working on mine for over a year now. It is apparently worse on modern engines which are direct injection based on the info i've turned up on the topic.
Great advice. My oil level seems a bit higher and yes, only short trips so now I’ll do a long ride every so often, Thanks
As soon as he balled up the note and threw it across the room, I hit like.
Thanks for the great video John. I have got a 2017 Hyundai Elantra 1.6 CRDI (diesel). My daily routine is usually 24 km (to work and back) and I use 5w-30 Shell engine oil. Recently I got upset by knowing that there is fuel dilution in the engine. It indicates a much higher oil level than the "sign-F" on the dipstick. (even when the engine is cold). When there is heavy traffic the engine detonates very badly. (on low speed, when you make a full stop and then start to drive, it detonates). I am taking it to the service as soon as the service is open after the holiday, and will see what happens. Thanks!
What is the power tool on the far right (your left?) Maybe it's just me but from what I can see the only thing I can think of is its a Nipple Polisher! :O ;) :)
In case your NOT kidding, it's a bandsaw for cutting metal.
Hello OED, I have a new word for you: Dulution - N. 1. watering something down to make it less shiny.
Another entertaining and informative show,you have excelled again Mr Cadogan 😎
A good lesson learned: take oil samples right after time under load, and never before.
The biggest problem with fuel dilution of the oil is that the lubricant film is compromised and wear is accelerated.
One way to protect against accelerated wear is to bond a permanent lubricant film to the metal #XcelPlus
🙂
Another well laid out perspective & it's nice to see there are no Dislikes - Well done mate 😜😜😜😜
We have known the location of the North and South poles for ages, but the East Pole and West Pole are still elusive. Our intrepid adventurer has plenty of opportunity for making a literally land-breaking discovery.
My truck has this issue oil smells like gas so I changed it the new oil still smells like gas. I checked and all injectors are working engine runs fine no idea what's causing it. Exhaust has no gas smell from running rich.
Which engine do you have?
@@User-q6x3b1997 f150 4.6 l v8.
I am looking at the Mercedes OM654 engined cars and have found a large number have failures around 120000 miles. The cause is failed Regen of the DPF injecting diesel into the exhaust side of the engine diluting the oil. Modern diesels are designed to fail as i have been told other manufacturers do this too. So maybe 5000 mile service intervals in modern diesels.
My 2015 supercharged Kawasaki 310 jet ski will get blow by & pump fuel into the oil & pressurize the bottom end if I get into it before the rings expand. It has a semi dry sump & catch can but can still suffer badly if WOT is applied before it gets warm & the rings expand.
4% in my Toyota rav 4 hybrid at 3k oil change,but its still new at 9k,will analyze again at 12k.
Now I find this an interesting topic..
fantastic video - best explanation on oil dilution i have watching to date - cheers john
Well explained and clear message.thanks John. My car has had little use for best part of 18 months now,not good for the battery and electrics either.Long trips still not possible with border restrictions and much less income to do so. At least it is port injection. You need to spell check: Dulution!
Happy test drive, JC 👍🏻
I have a group of people trying to recommend upping the viscosity ….
I don’t agree with them at all
Thank you very much John I'm already planning my country jaunt and re-test!
Egggggggggcellent!
Dulution deletion demanded
Sir john...can you help me please..i live in Malaysia,here...a lot of triton owner claiming everytime they check their engine oil level,most of them had a low level engine oil...and when they take their car to service center for further inspection,the answer from the SC is - ITS NORMAL...just want to ask you..is it really normal?because other brand ute in my country didnt had this problem..thank you in advance sir
Friend of mine there 2009 Chevy Suburban is down with fuel in the oil and it won’t run. They had a mobile mechanic come out and he said it’s a bad piston ring. I’m wondering if he’s wrong and just trying to get money. Help please.
I know my Hybrid Auris oil level is rising along the time since the change. Not a surprise, when I drive in the city, half of the time on electricity only, so the ICE is not even reaching its normal operating temperature. I did change the oil after 6 months (normal interval is 12 months / 15k km). But now due to Covid and work-from-home I'm not driving much, like 4k km per year so I don't bother with more frequent oil changes. I wonder if I need the car at all...
It is a late model Toyota, V6, so it likely have 2 injection systems. If the direct injector leak fuel after shut down, some will end up in the oil. If you take a long drive and the oil heat up to about 190F ? + temperature , the fuel mixed with it will evaporate and the PCV (crankcase vent) system will collect it , into the engine to be burnt. There is a lot of pressure in those direct injection system and not much fuel volume , so I can say you likely not see this problem again after a long drive, unless you wait a couple of weeks later to take the sample, if you have a leaky injector. Note I said OIL temperature, it got little to do with glycol coolant temperature. I feel Toyota violated the KISS rule with their latest designs and I will avoid buying one. Just like the 1980s repeating itself, you will save a little fuel, but you will not save any money. I believe 2 decades ago, engineers already plucked all the low hanging fruit for fuel economy, and reached the point of diminishing return. The fuel saving is not worth the trouble.
Direct injection is more efficient, however, port injection helps to wash the back of the valves.
Toyota run this double system to give the best of both worlds.
Won't the computer throw a code from the wideband if an injector is consistently overfuelling?
I am doing city driving less than 5km each trip. Now my warning light throw up at only 4500 km travel since last service.
12 month intervals for City slickers pretty good for bore scoring.
Have you heard of something called fuel trim? No need for long drive to test injectors just plug obd scanner and check your cars short and long term fuel trim.
I've had cars that get used a handful of times a year over short and long distance and I just changed the oil and filter every 3 months. (They didn't have cheap engine's) Cheap insurance.
I have a 5.0 Mercury cougar 2001 an I am trying to get it running but I drained all the oil out and it was almost all gas what do I do in what could be causing it
That's why you need Italian tune up at least twice a month..
Hi John, love your work as always. On a similar but mostly different topic, how do you feel about changing the oil in, “sealed for life”, gearboxes and diff cases? Ultimately I guess it depends on the definition of, “life”, in this context. Would you take it mean the literal life of the car, or an arbitrary number of years or kilometers?
Life of the warranty is all the manufacturer cares about
Great info mate from U.S your
always bang on.
I learnt something new, an it was so easy to follow your instructions ,enjoyable thanks digger.
My 2022 camry first owner when I did my first oil change it stink of fuel. How often would you change it if it was your car and you wanna keep it as long as possible?
Hi John, now that we can't buy new cars, are you able to compare various cars and SUV's please. Such as a CX9 Azami 2020 or 2021 vs the 2021 Kia Sorento GT Line diesel? The Skoda Kodiaq RS etc
Spot on advice there JC especially in regards to the follow up sample. For a part of my day job I work with analysing oil samples and if something looks out of wack a second sample is always the first course of action. Your also dead right in regards to the lab copy and paste comments, the lab our work uses process's a couple of thousand samples a day with just one or two people adding the comments.
Most good vehicle manufacturers use a seperate injector to clean the dpf. Other manufacturers like Isuzu use the older cheaper method of injecting diesel fuel into the cylinders on the exhaust stroke, thus sending unburnt fuel into the dpf on regen, causing it to burn at a high temperature to burn off the deposits... But this method causes excessive oil dilution long term, Isuzu know this and their solution was a longer dipstick mark 🤦🏻♂️, further up the dipstick, to show if it goes past a certain mark it won't be covered under warranty if you have issues... Don't take my word for it, look in the Dmax manual and you will see for yourself... Great work Isuzu...
Is a lower viscosity better if doing short trips?
Hey John my Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk is over 8 months since last service but only 4000 km and oil quality specs say 90% good. Should I service?
Yes I do lot's of short trips and change oil at 8000kms without fail. Side note J.C, Wakefield park was a horrible little track because of the bumps and patchy bitumen, has it changed?
To take away all the confusion. Learn to change you own oil and filter, it really isn't rocket surgery.
Change the oil and filter every 5000km or 3000miles, regardless of everything.
If it is an engine made by a good manufacturer, the engine will probable outlast the car.
The Honda 1.5 Litre turbo has a terrible reputation for oil dilution. Maybe they have sorted it now.
Yes, my 2018 civic is terrible in winter. The oil level goes up approximately a liter on the dipstick. Note that I live in Canada, were it goes down to -35 oC regularly in winter. My short trips to work and back still allow the engine to reach normal operating temperature. No dilution issue in summer.
Spot on. Now, let’s see the video where you blamed Honda for poor engine design. You clearly know how engines work, but you only use that knowledge when it suits you.
This was when the internet went mad in the colder parts of the world and the cars took longer to get to optimal operating temperature. But no, it was Honda’s fault.
You're getting confused with Scotty Kilmer and his video about the design flaw in the 1.5 Earth Dreams engine that causes excessive oil dilution.
@@TheKnobCalledTone. no sir. John actually mention the pseudo issue a couple of times more as a depreciative joke.
honda 1.5turbo has this problem from2017 onward. large screwup, not much can be done but change oil often
Wish Honda would give you another choice of a naturally aspirated engine. I am not going to spend all the extra money on the higher octane.
Look forward to your test on the new Ranger… Not that I want one.. Just that I enjoy the way you don’t hold back… 🍻
I usually drive my car until exactly operating temperature, then im done with whatever I had to do. :D I thought tho it was enough with like...operating temperatue, go drive like 40-50min after that, and do some high rpms when its warm, isnt that true? You really need to drive like 2h etc?
Thanks!
Hi John, do modern vehicles still use chokes? Or with fuel injection (more specifically direct injection, can the computer compensate?
With electronic controls, it's now known as fuel enrichment, determined by environmental conditions. Modern engines warm up quickly.
I dare say a choke is not much use without a carburettor, and modern cars have fuel injectors, not carburettors.
Could running a hotter spark plug help burn the unburnt fuel in the cylinder for instance a car with nothing but short trips on it
Short answer: no.
John, always good content.
Sort of parallel question - relates to motor-bikes rather than cars - but still ICE.
I have two BMW R1200s (one GS and the other GSA). I have a shagged back and neurosurgeon says it's not getting any better. The bikes have only been ridden may be 500kms since last serivce (including oil change) but that was 2.5 - 3 years ago - since garaged & have been ever hopeful to get back on them. It's not going to happen - so sale time. Given the time without running, should I drain and replace oil before firing them up again (just thinking of possible condensation contamination)
Breaks my heart to sell them, but sometimes reality finally hits. Regards
Engines like to get hot every now and then to clear all the crap out.
Me and the wife swap cars as my commute is 40 minutes fast highway each way, and I take hers at least once a week to keep it happy.
Great advice John, as usual. We’ve always changed oil in our cars more often than the manufacturers recommendation and it’s kept the engine in good condition now that the Kms are racking up fairly high.
Looking forward to the review tomorrow, always a good view and informative. Keep well mate.