Gasoline smell in oil

[shuresh]

Hi there,

I have a Camry 99 4 cylinder with ~200,000 Km on it. I was doing a routine oil level check this evening ad noticed a strong gasoline smell when I removed the oil dip stick. I wonder if this is/is going to be an issue as I have never experienced such strong smell before. I have recently migrated to high mileage oil.

Thanks,
Shuresh

[shuresh]

Experts,

Any thoughts?

[Stillrunning]

Not an expert but you shouldn't be able to detect fuel in the oil. Leaking/dripping injector, piston ring blow-by, rich running. Fuel in oil will reduce the lubricating properties of oil. You can send the injectors out for testing and repairing. Do a compression test. Send oil sample to lab to determine what % fuel in oil.

[shuresh]

Thanks Stillrunning for your points. Any other thoughts? Actually, I have had engine check light on for quite a long time with P0401 code. Can this be related to the the error code?

Thanks,
Shuresh

[Stillrunning]

http://www.obd-codes.com/p0401

If you mean could a p0401 lead to gas in the oil, I doubt it.

[DxElite]

I'm no expert either, but I'm thinking maybe you have excess fuel left in the pistons that's not burning and its seeping into the oil. Engine has high mileage and unless you've changed out the rings, maybe they're letting some gas through when there's fuel sitting in there. Mostly happens on cold starts with short drives before the engine has a chance to fully warm up and you leave the car sitting for an extended time.

You should really consider changing the oil and filter if the gas smell is that strong, gas breaks down lubricating molecules of the oil and bad oil can cause more problems.

Have you done a tune up recently? Might help burn the excess fuel with a simple tune up.

[shuresh]

Thanks everybody for your feedbacks. Sounds like I need to show the car to a professional mechanic.