oil level

[Berrigan]

If it were my truck I would be concerned also. An engine doesnt just grow oil. There has to be a reason and following this story for the past few months has me really curious as to why. Matkinson6054 I know this might sound like a stupid question but is there any chance someone is adding oil (or any other fluid) without your knowledge?



Lets go through the other possibilities. Fuel-the report says no. Coolant?- I assume that was checked also.



Have you been monitoring all other levels to see if they are dropping? And lastly what about the vacuum pump. It draws air from your vacuum lines and discharges it into the crankcase. Is there any chance some type of liquid is getting into the vacuum lines and being transfered to your crank case? Im going to keep my thinking cap on. There has to be an answer. Bill

 

[matkinson6054]

Well adding oil I find very unlikely. As for other fluids they were all checked in the oil sample. I guess there is a trans. cooler that could be leaking.



I have talked to many mechanics in my area and all of them know me and are trying to help me out too. And they all are baffled when I tell them that it isnt fuel.

 

[tempforce]

i found that my oil level grows, due to the crankcase not completly draining in the first place. it takes overnite to drain completely. then the oil won't grow.

 

[matkinson6054]

Yea everytime i check the oil its in the morning before I start it.



And Sag2 I dont complain about my truck like you think I am. All Ive been doing is asking people I know about it and posting about it here. And Ive got 4200 miles on it now. The check engine light wont go off due to a couple of things according to the dealership. They say they cant delete the code for some reason. And the oil level goes up. Now this makes me wonder if Im having these problems at 4k miles, whats it gonna be like at 40k. Ive just lost all faith in this truck and want to part ways with it. Thats all Im sayin.

 

[tempforce]

if they don't fix the check engine light issue, then they should give you a new truck or your money back

 

[matkinson6054]

Well thats what Im tryin to do right now. I wish I could get a chance to go back to the dealership soon and try to work it out. If we dont see eye to eye on it then Im ready and willing to lemon law it I guess. Hopefully next week I can take it back in and try to work things out.

 

[PLefever]

If you seriously are thinking Lemon Law, research your states requirements, good ol Oklahoma will not allow lemon law over 10k gvw, if they did, I wouldn't have owned a ford as long as I did. , just a thought,

 

[matkinson6054]

Thanks Ive never heard of that. I have done some research and it seems there are no catches like that in the Wisconsin lemon law.

 

[cojhl2]

Crankcase pressure?

What does Crankcase pressure have to do with oil level?



And for that matter, why does any engine have crankcase pressure? surely this can't be right.



It seems to me so long as the Oil Anal says no foreign fluids then the method of checking the oil must be in question.



I would pursue with vigor the check engine light stuff and forget this oil level thing until you get some baseline.

 

[JHumphries]

I believe the problem with crankcase pressure was referring to the vacuum pump venting into the crankcase.
One question about that. If liquid is entering the vacuum lines, wouldn't the vacuum pump fail? Also, the only liquids available are truck fluids, which he said were tested for in the analysis. If it was water, the water would evaporate when the oil got up to temperature wouldn't it?
Just a few thoughts.

 

[cojhl2]

I believe the problem with crankcase pressure was referring to the vacuum pump venting into the crankcase.

One question about that. If liquid is entering the vacuum lines, wouldn't the vacuum pump fail? Also, the only liquids available are truck fluids, which he said were tested for in the analysis. If it was water, the water would evaporate when the oil got up to temperature wouldn't it?

Just a few thoughts.

Water in oil makes it a milky mess after running. Also I saw once on a Cat diesel with antifreeze the engine got gunked up with a black tar looking stuff.



But, either way water in crankcase oil becomes immediately obvious.



But back to pressure, if you check the oil properly, (pull the stick, wipe it off and reinsert) pressure should have no effect on oil level.



Regardless how you check crankcase oil you gotta do it the same way all the time and watch for trends. I check oil as a pretrip and then at each fuel filling. I don't give it time to drain back. But it's the trend I'm looking for.



So far this has been an interesting thread I'm looking forward to future posts.

 

[Berrigan]

I believe the problem with crankcase pressure was referring to the vacuum pump venting into the crankcase.

One question about that. If liquid is entering the vacuum lines, wouldn't the vacuum pump fail? Also, the only liquids available are truck fluids, which he said were tested for in the analysis. If it was water, the water would evaporate when the oil got up to temperature wouldn't it?

Just a few thoughts.

No the vacuum pump wouldnt fail at least right away. It like a wet dry vac sucking on one end and blowing it all into the crankcase. Its bathed in motor oil and spits oil and air into the crankcase. My thought was a leaking vacuum motor near a fluid supply like a center axle disconnect. Could it draw the gear oil out of the axle? The only problem with this idea is sooner or latter the fluid being transfered to the oil will be depleated. Matkinson says the level has been one inch over many times. The only fluid in the truck with enough volume to do that is fuel.



Matkinson have you checked the dipstick and dipstick tube. Make sure the bottom end of the dipstick tube is firmly connected to the block and not slipping up and down. Also check the tee handle on top of the dipstick. Ensure the handle is firmly connected to the dipstick. If it slips in and out it could be letting the dipstick fall deeper into the oil showing a higher level. Also has anyone actually measured the volume of the used oil to determine if it is really overfilled? I know you may have checked all these simple things but I have found that when its not a complex solution its always a simple one. I will post again if I have any more ideas. Bill

 

[matkinson6054]

The dipstick and tube are firm and in place. And as for measuring the amount of oil I dont know. The dealership changed the oil once but I doubt they checked the amount they drained.



This dealership is really loosing my faith. They changed the oil cuz I told them it was an inch over full and they charged me for it. I didnt tell them to change it yet they charged me for it. And about a month ago they said they would call me in a couple days to try and figure out the engine light. Well they never called back. Just seems like they are blowing me off now and ignoring me.

 

[AHarris]

Well I finally got my oil sample back. It took 3 weeks for some reason. But anyway the results were negative for fuel and everything that would be considered a contaminent. So now Im back to square one on this thing.



My dad called his friend the other day who is a cummins mechanic (ag. side of industry) and he said its definitly got to be fuel, and he went off and listed numerous places other than injectors that the fuel could be coming from. So I will call him tomorrow and tell him the results and go from there I guess.



Hopefully within the next day or two I can take it back to dealership and see what I can get done. Im just to the point where I dont want anything to do with this truck anymore.

The oil sample says negative but you think there's still fuel in the oil then get another oil sample from a different company or call the company back and say "are you sure?"



That being said, I'd get the CEL fixed and get yourself out of this truck regardless. Once you lose trust in something, you rarely ever get it back. That's true in trucks, companies, marriages, whatever. Trust is a no deposit no return thing.



Get a different truck.

 

[PLefever]

Try a different dealer, yours sounds like they suck and don't care, alot don't some do, then if you still don't have that warm and fuzzy make a change. I never could get confidence in my F450, traded it at 38k, might make someone a good truck (doubt it) but I didn't trust it to go to the grocery store.

 

[tempforce]

don't worry about the extra oil, that cel is more important. if the dealer won't/can't fix it. then they better give you your money back or a new truck...

 

[cojhl2]

don't worry about the extra oil, that cel is more important. if the dealer won't/can't fix it. then they better give you your money back or a new truck...

I agree, you have some kinda of Heizenberg Uncertainty principle going here. Cut the complications and get that dealer to fix what is obvious!!!!

 

[sag2]

The crankcase pressure comes from the closed crankcase and the lack of a PCV system. There is a crankcase pressure sensor to monitor the pressure, and that is a great tool to let the technician know if the crankcase filter is plugged. The actual pressure is from blow by past the rings. Up until closed system with 6. 7 it vented to the road draft tube. Normal pressure is only a couple inches of water.
I agree that the check engine light needs to be addressed but most likely has nothing to do with the oil level. You dealer sounds lost, and probably needs some help. I can have my contacts get in touch with the tech advisor that covers your dealer to get to the bottom of your CEL. Let me know who your dealer is and the last six digits of your VIN if you need help.

 

[matkinson6054]

Well I talked to my salesman yesterday and he took me to the sales manager. So we all sat down and I told him my problems and that I wasnt happy at all. And he says non of this makes sense and wasnt really beleiving me. But my salesman confirmed that he had seen me in there numerous times and I had the warranty sheets with me. So he said hes gonna track people down and get to the bottom of it, and try to get it fixed.

 

[d6c]

As long as the 6. 7 has been out, if left stock (like mine is), regens occuring WILL cause fuel dilution of the engine oil, period... . Everybody seems to think the 07 model year was terrible and the 10 or 11 model year is so much different and better... good luck with that... LOL BTW, the check engine light problem is serious and needs to be adressed asap, I live in the country and all the dealers are an hour or more away, deal with it.