Petrol in oil

[Combehatter]

Hi,

I did an oil change at the weekend and noticed that the old oil had a slight smell if petrol.

Just checked the oil level and the dipstick oil smells I petrol too.

Any ideas? I'm not getting any smoke and it seems to be running fine as normal.

Ta

[Combehatter]

Oh, it's a 1.9 dg btw -1986

[Smosh]

as a guess, I would say it is running rich and you have bad piston rings. This would push the unburned fuel and gases into the crankcase.

Make sure you change your Oil if it smells petrolly!!!!

[Combehatter]

Bugger! I had the carb tuned a couple of weeks ago so I know the mix is bang on - no smell of petrol when driving now!

I was worried about it being the rings but it drives fine and there is no smoke or anything from the exhaust. From research I have seen that the fuel pump can leak straight into the crankcase. I think I'll have to get a compression test done first to see if it's the rings. If not (I really hope not) then I may try changing the pump.

[CovKid]

Could be the pump yes although petrol is an invasive smell and it could be easy to mistake a smell coming from somewhere else in the engine bay when sniffing the dipstick. Have a really good check round for any fuel leaks and if lines are old, fit new ones. Also, make sure (with engine hatch up and engine running) that theres not a minor petrol leak you hadn't noticed before that is dripping down and working its way around the engine casing. Sniffing the rear vents after a short run will also highlight any petrol leaks.

[Smosh]

If you have had the carb tuned and the mixture is bang on, it probably isnt that! Also, I didnt know the fuel pump leaked straight through, but that could make a lot of sense.

[kevtherev]

Fuel pump diaphragm
Or as cov kid says leaky fuel lines

[Combehatter]

Cheers, I got a load of fuel line at the weekend with the intention of changing them all anyway. Only reason I didn't is because I asked for a load more fuel hose clips and they gave me jubilee clips (I didn't look in the bag!). They are being returned for the proper job this week.

I'm pretty sure it's in the oil though as I still have the old oil and it does smell. However the engine was running really rich until I had the carb tuned so it could be a hang over from then.

Is there anyway to check the fuel pump other than just replacing it? Can the diaphragm be changed or is it a sealed unit?

Thanks for the help, I love this bus (our first) but would be screwed without this forum!

[ghost123uk]

I'll vote for fuel pump too. I just looked on ebay and pumps seem to be around £35 new but there is a repair kit listed..........................................at.........................£35

My mate blew the engine up on his Cortina, he fitted a re-con unit in, and 200 miles later that went bang, he had a knackered fuel pump (that he had re-used) that was diluting the oil with petrol. Expensive mistake (this was 40 years ago btw)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aside = You often here folk saying they have had their (Peirburgh 2Ex) carbs "tuned" You cannot do any "tuning" of the mixture on these carbs (other than tickover for CO) as they are fixed jet carbs. I wonder how much these places charge for "tuning" a 2E I suppose "tuning" could mean "repairing" as in enrichment set up, pull downs, etc. imho of course

[Combehatter]

It's a local fella I used - been working on dubs for years. He took out the flat spot I had (something to do with the accelerator pump) got the co to around 2.5 and said any lower would have had it running badly. He also got the idle set properly, all in all it drives a lot better now and doesn't stink (so bad) of petrol when it starts first thing. He also checked the timing for me, cost me £30 which I thought was good for the way it came out running!

Looks like a new pump is the way to go then!

[ghost123uk]

It's a local fella I used - been working on dubs for years. He took out the flat spot I had (something to do with the accelerator pump) got the co to around 2.5 and said any lower would have had it running badly. He also got the idle set properly, all in all it drives a lot better now and doesn't stink (so bad) of petrol when it starts first thing. He also checked the timing for me, cost me £30 which I thought was good for the way it came out running!

Ah, understood, that sounds ok then

[T25Convert]

Hi,

Had this on a type 1 beatle engine - the oil used to top it self up on longer runs!

The pump is held on with two 13mm nuts, so very easy to remove. Whip it off (leave the lines connected for now).

If the exposed lever on the base of the pump is gently dripping fuel then you've solved it in one! If not, try operating the lever on the base with your thumb to get the fuel moving through - this may highlight a leak.

If it looks like the original pump I would be inclined to change it (and the push rod) anyway, as they do wear out. If you do buy one, avoid GSF pump and rod as you'll be doing it again in 6 months time when the new ones had it!

Good luck with it,

Alex

[Combehatter]

I have just whipped the pump off and found a couple of things.

1) The bottom of the pump and the push rod stinks of petrol and there was fuel in the spacer.
2) No grease at all in the spacer voids
3) There is a hole at the bottom of the pump where the pushrod meets the pump in what looks like a diaphram or gasket - is this right as I can't find a pic of the bottom of the pump anywhere?
4) The pushrod measures 99mm - new pushrod as well?

Right, I am going to order a new pump (and probably a pushrod as they are only £4!).

When all changed should I flush the engine to get the spoilt oil/petrol out? If so do I use an engine flush or cheap oil?

Thanks for your help guys!

[kevtherev]

3) There is a hole at the bottom of the pump where the pushrod meets the pump in what looks like a diaphram or gasket - is this right

yes, that's where it leaks from

When all changed should I flush the engine to get the spoilt oil/petrol out? If so do I use an engine flush or cheap oil?

Lidl,asda..etc oil

[Combehatter]

Thanks Kev!

Now to go and waste what was good oil! Bah!