I've Got Fuel In My Oil

[ozz]

hi all,

I had probs starting my engine 2.0 pinto the timing was way out and a needle valve on bike carbs was stuck. As a result i pumped alot of fuel through the carbs and out of the breather trying to start it. It did start and i ran it for about 15 mins in total getting the timing sorted.

 

Today i took off the oil catch tank there's about 1/4 litre of petrol smelling oil in it which is a bit thinner (less viscous) than new oil.

 

What damage to the engine can i have done and how do i check?

 

Thanks

Andrew

[Guest dinger]

you shouldnt of done any damage, I used to run my race car (peugeot 205) with such high fuel pressure it would dilute the oil, although I changed the oil after every meeting I'd say the engine had done atleast 600 miles on full throttle with no ill effects,

 

The pinto runs very little oil upto the top so would expect big ends to fail first, so if it is not knocking I wouldnt worry. in exteme cases the fuel may soften valve seals and crank seal, but would be very unlucky to do so.

 

And i would assume that if it was left in there it would evaporate out,

[thespannerman]

Seen this before when I worked in the motorbike trade. Gravity fed fuel tank, tap left on, sticking floats. Just drain and refill with fresh oil. In worst case senario could cause hydrolic lock under piston, but you say yours has vented to the catch tank. SPANNER

[Guest mower man]

Hi 1 change the oil!

 

2change the filter !

3 let the sump drain as long as possible !

4 sort out the non start / over fueling problem ![ while the sump is draining ]

 

5 Refill with correctgrade/amount of oil

6 run up to normal operating temp

Pinto 's need 15/40 ideally ,depending how much fuel get's in you can b------s a crank in minutes ,an oil pump in seconds !! only my opinion [ from 40 years on the tools ] regards mower man

[ibrooks]

Got to agree with Mowerman on this one - petrol is a very good degreaser and will wash all the lovely oil out of the bearings in very short order. Change the oil and filter quick smart and possibly even run a can of that cheap 20w50 you can buy in the supermarkets straight through the engine as a bit of a flush (sump plug out with the drain can underneath and pour it in the filler cap as fast as you can without it overflowing).

 

We often see this in the Minis as the fuel pump is positioned such that when (yes when) the diaphram goes porous you end up with fuel in the sump. How much damage is done depends on how much petrol got in there and how long it was run for with the mix.

 

Iain

[Grizzly]

Pintos were designed for 20w/50.

I wouldn't run with anything thinner.

[Guest mower man]

Hi Grizzly is correct I stand corrected 20/50 in the summer and I run 15/40 thro the winter as a slight aid to starting a tip I picked up from a Ford tech some years ago mower man

[Snapperpaul]

I trashed an expensive 2.1 this way, bore wash and big ends, didn't sound bad but oil pressure just went down and down even though i changed oil to 20w50.

Get those carbs setup or swap them out for a Pinto carb until you can.

[ozz]

Thanks for all the replies,

 

I have compared the oil from the sump running down on a sheet of glass relative to new oil and its about twice as fast so thats not good.

 

I have now changed the oil and filter. Then I tried to turn the engine over by hand then panicked because it would not turn! but its ok it was in gear (I've now begun to doubt my abilities but in my defence it was very cold.)

 

Re-starting will have to wait because i've got the loom in bits at the moment, I will also put some more cam lube on before I start it again.

 

I think I sorted out the over fueling and timing before starting to tidy up the electrics so fingers crossed.

 

Happy Christmas.

 

Andrew