[Dredd]

My '93 4.3LX is getting gas in the oil - 160hrs - Electric fuel pump

On the second outing of the season the engine stalled a couple times, bad enough that it fell off plane, it didn't run rough just literally stalled clear out then came back alive but if I was easy on the throttle it ran alright so I got back to the ramp asap. That was still using up the gas that was in the tank during hibernation which was treated with Sta-bil, the first outing she ran just fine. So that's the prologue.

I noticed:
The oil level was up, really dark in color, felt too thin - Smelled like gas
There were two small pools of oil on the intake manifold
There was a little more oil than normal around the crankcase vents on the valve covers
The spark arrestor was oily (I just blamed the last 3 items on the thin oil)

So I:
Changed the oil/filter
Checked the compression - thought maybe I was getting washdown - Compression is 150-155 on all cylinders, thankfully
Changed the plugs - A couple were a little oily but the rest all looked to have normal wear

I wasn't sure where to go from there so I dumped in some carb cleaner (maybe the float valve is sticking?), took it out and ran it for about an hour while closely monitoring the oil level. It didn't come up, no new pools of oil anywhere or anything abnormal. I took it out again and ran it for closer to two hours and now the oil is up quite a bit again, but not dark in color at all. Also, she ran just fine the whole time.

From here, I'll start by changing the oil again. Then, the easiest thing I can think to check is, run it until warm and make sure the choke is opening all the way. I'm stuck on the idea that it's getting too much fuel and it's washing down the cylinder walls.

Any advice or thoughts will be much appreciated!

[jgreen]

Hi Dredd, let me throw my .02 in, first guess is bad float, maybe cracked over the winter. Second guess is bad fuel pressure regulator. Did you have any work done over the off season?

[Dredd]

Thanks Jay - No engine work was done over the off season.
I'm looking into how to check the fuel pressure and fuel pressure regulator now. There's no petcock in the line anywhere, as far as I can tell.

[jgreen]

Hi Dredd, The manual doesn't show a regulator for carbed engines. To check the pressure you need to install an adapter in the line to attach a guage. Good luck let us know what you find.

[Jimh23]

I agree with Jgreen on the float being the problem.

[Dredd]

I checked the floats, they were fine, so I put in new needles and seats. I hated breaking the factory paint seal on the screw heads to take off the carb. :-| I guess I'm sentimental.
I got to run her for two hours yesterday and the oil level still looks good. I camped in a pup tent at the lake in 40mph wind gusts last night and was hoping to run for a couple more hours today but I conceded to the 30+mph north wind and came home.
Thanks again for the opinions guys. I hope it's whipped. I'll be keeping a close eye on it for a while longer.


For those of you who get to boat this weekend, here are some pics of what my local spot looks like today to help you appreciate your time out!





There was a bow rider beached at a camp site out there. I hope he doesn't need to trailer it any time soon.