# Oil level increasing



## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

At about 14,000 miles I am down to 10% left on my oil life. When filling up the other day I noticed the oil level in the crankcase appears to be above the "FULL" mark on the dipstick.

Any thoughts on this? Do you think the colder weather has fuel washing past the rings during regen and diluting the crankcase oil?


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

On my Cummins it was a bad injector passing fuel into the crankcase but it had around 200K miles when that happened.

Doubt that’s your problem if you have a Gen 2, unless by chance you got a defective injector.


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

Barry Allen said:


> At about 14,000 miles I am down to 10% left on my oil life. When filling up the other day I noticed the oil level in the crankcase appears to be above the "FULL" mark on the dipstick.
> 
> Any thoughts on this? Do you think the colder weather has fuel washing past the rings during regen and diluting the crankcase oil?


If you've got more fluid in crankcase now than when you started you need to get it out now. Regardless of whether it's fuel, or coolant you need to change the oil and get fresh in. 

If you've got so much fuel in it that it raised the oil level you may have a problem. For a quick test drop a few drops of used oil on a paper towel, and watch what happens. The oil will make up the center of puddle, and as it wicks out into the towel, the thinner fuel will travel farther, making an outer ring. If you make a 25mm stain, you'd expect to see an outer ring no more than about 3mm of fuel on oil that wasn't overly fuel diluted. Fuel dilution to some extent is normal as you may know and postulated, but normal or not, of you can gauge it by the dipstick there's too much, you may need to change more frequently

If there's coolant, it's likely in the bottom of the sump, watch closely to what comes out when you remove drain plug. Coolant is obviously a really bad sign.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

it wouldnt wash past during regen, it would wash past during idle


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## Taxman (Aug 10, 2017)

You've checked it since the last oil change and it wasn't above the max line on the dipstick, and now it is?
That sounds like it's worth some money to change it now and have it analyzed to find out what's in the crankcase.


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## plano-doug (Jul 1, 2015)

Taxman said:


> That sounds like it's worth some money to change it now and have it analyzed to find out what's in the crankcase.


Yes. FWIW, O'Reilly's has Wix brand oil analysis kits in the 20-30 dollar range. You put a sample in the furnished container and mail it in. They send you a detailed report. It takes a couple weeks, but, unless one can find a local lab that does this, that's probably as good a turnaround as there is.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/search?q=oil+analysis

HTH.

Doug


.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

plano-doug said:


> Yes. FWIW, O'Reilly's has Wix brand oil analysis kits in the 20-30 dollar range. You put a sample in the furnished container and mail it in. They send you a detailed report. It takes a couple weeks, but, unless one can find a local lab that does this, that's probably as good a turnaround as there is.
> 
> https://www.oreillyauto.com/search?q=oil+analysis
> 
> ...


Oil Analyzer's is pretty quick. Turnaround of like 5 days from the time it goes in the mailbox for me.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

boraz said:


> it wouldnt wash past during regen, it would wash past during idle


I do very little idling of my car. 

I was concerned about regen because that is why there is a 20% limit on biodiesel fuel content. Biodiesel has a much higher temperature that the fuel thoroughly vaporizes and during regen you get the issue that the fuel injected during the exhaust stroke can wash past the rings and contaminate the oil in the sump faster than petroleum diesel does. Regen systems with an injector in the exhaust stream can handle B100 fuel, but the Cruze uses exhaust stroke injection.

I've been a regular user of B11 fuel so it's not even at the 20% limit covered by warranty. I was just thinking the switch to colder weather might have something to do with it.

I should be getting near the next oil change interval in a couple of weeks so I'll consult with the dealership. I will probably ask them to fill the oil sump to about a half-quart low on the dipstick and will monitor it going forward to see if it holds steady or increases.


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

Barry Allen said:


> boraz said:
> 
> 
> > it wouldnt wash past during regen, it would wash past during idle
> ...


Barry, you seem like a smart guy based on what I've seen around here and you're 100% correct on the Regen scenario but....That's an asinine plan though, mate.

If the oil has climbed the dipstick to a level you know it wasn't it before...You require an oil change , period. You need to do it yourself, or have a mechanic you trust do it for you after you've told them why you want it changed, so that they can at least perform the basic visual tests I recommended. And so they can look around and see if they note anything, additionally that oil analysis is Def a good idea, especially one with a quick turn around.

It's probably just fuel dilution...BUT, I don't like to see past about 3-3.5% before changing, and 5% is the point at which most 5w30 will start measurably changing viscocity out of spec. In a 5.3qt system, 5% is about 8oz. 1/2 pint. This is visible on the stick, but it's important to note the stick isn't linear past the full mark. It takes more oil to from full to overfull than from 3/4 to full. You could easily have, 10-16oz or more of fuel in the sump, severely affecting viscocity and lubricity of the lubricant. There's no reason to "wait a couple weeks" unless you just DGAF about the car but I doubt that's the case since you posted here in first place.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Ma v e n said:


> There's no reason to "wait a couple weeks" unless you just DGAF about the car but I doubt that's the case since you posted here in first place.


We had an overnight snow storm where I bunkered at my parents' house (they are elderly so I go there, build a coal fire in the stove, and hang out with them. This morning I checked the oil level at a genuine "cold" level when the car had sat overnight. The oil was only slightly above the top mark, so maybe 2-3mm above what I would consider to be "full". If I remember correctly, the oil was right up to the very top of the "full" mark at the last oil change so it's barely above that now with a "cold" reading. Maybe when I checked it at the last fuel stop I got a couple error readings where I wasn't doing it correctly.

I somewhat partially DGAF while the car is under warranty! If GM is paying to fix it I'll take a new engine out of the deal. But you are right: take care of problems now so there aren't long-term problems.


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## Winfield (Aug 4, 2021)

I've had this same issue, and don't know what the cause is yet. I burned through 2 turbos in a single month with 85k miles. Has anyone else figured out the cause yet?


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## Carminooch (Mar 23, 2018)

Holy cow, I just checked my oil level cold after sitting overnight. I’m way above the top of the “high” mark, whereas maybe 2 months ago I was level. I have an oil change scheduled tomorrow and I’ll raise the issue with them, though I highly doubt anything will come out of it. “Your car makes oil, stock”. Or “it’s normal to be over a quart too high in between oil changes”. I’m sure of it. 

It’s looking like this might be the last oil change I have performed if I have my way with it. I love this car but owning it feels too much like a liability for me. I’m looking to sell it or trade it in at carmax or carvana. It’ll kill me to do so, I just don’t trust Chevy dealerships for service.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

I miss the old days of my RX-7 where it consumed a quart of oil with every tank of fuel. I could just pour a quart of Castrol 20W-50 in it at every fuel up and never had to change the oil - just a new oil filter every 3,000 miles.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Barry Allen said:


> I miss the old days of my RX-7 where it consumed a quart of oil with every tank of fuel. I could just pour a quart of Castrol 20W-50 in it at every fuel up and never had to change the oil - just a new oil filter every 3,000 miles.


My buddy had a 2006 Fusion with the 2.3L that used roughly a quart every _hundred_ miles.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

MP81 said:


> My buddy had a 2006 Fusion with the 2.3L that used roughly a quart every _hundred_ miles.


Wonderful.

A friend of mine owned a Dodge Charger with the 3.5 engine. It's the only engine where Chrysler retroactively revised what they considered to be "acceptable" oil consumption. They spec'd 5W-20 for fuel economy and then, when oil consumption was high in a lot of units (probably all of them), they retroactively reclassified what was "acceptable" in order to refuse to do piston/ring replacements, or to change the spec to 5W-30 oil because that would reduce fuel economy.

My sister bought a Pontiac G6. That was after GM switched from assembling their engines with "matched fit" to building them with anything. GM used to measure the cylinders and have them marked as over or under bore by a couple thousandths of an inch, and then the piston/ring assemblies were matched to the size. At some point around 2004 the bean counters determined that "within spec is within spec" and they changed to assembling the engines with whatever. It used to be that the blocks would come down the line and a guy would take a cylinder that was 0.002 under and stuff it with a piston that was 0.002 under. Instead, they just stuffed pistons in holes to where you could end up with a cylinder that was like 0.003 over and a piston that was like 0.003 under. The gaps in this meant oil consumption problems. My sister's G6 consumed a quart about every 1,000 miles because of this.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

I just actually had the oil changed in my Volt a couple weeks ago (because, at $20, it is the same price for the dealer do it as it is for me...and then I don't have to do it, or deal with the old oil) and the dealer put 0W-20 in it instead of the 5W-20 it says on the cap - based on what I'm seeing, sometime in 2019 or so they switched the recommended oil to that, and then made it retroactive. If I were to guess, it helps just a bit with cold (winter) starts and oil at the valvetrain, specifically because the engine can tend to see very infrequent use (most times, mine will run every 6 weeks for engine maintenance mode, because it hadn't run during that time). Obviously, once it has warmed up, the viscosity is the same.

But yeah, I don't think that's anything like what you described above of trying to cover up a problem, just something they learned as the engine had been out for a few years that they could improve for $0, that I found interesting.


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## 6speedTi (May 18, 2018)

Barry Allen said:


> I miss the old days of my RX-7 where it consumed a quart of oil with every tank of fuel. I could just pour a quart of Castrol 20W-50 in it at every fuel up and never had to change the oil - just a new oil filter every 3,000 miles.


Brought to you by the same people who designed the Chevy Vega.🤣


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

6speedTi said:


> Brought to you by the same people who designed the Chevy Vega.🤣


And that Mitsubishi 3.0 V-6 engine that was in tons of 1990 Chrysler products. I saw all kinds of those cars in my high school parking lot and they all consumed oil.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

MP81 said:


> My buddy had a 2006 Fusion with the 2.3L that used roughly a quart every _hundred_ miles.


both my 98 cherokees burn no oil, only change it once a year


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## Fireworks234 (Jan 4, 2018)

MP81 said:


> My buddy had a 2006 Fusion with the 2.3L that used roughly a quart every _hundred_ miles.


My mom told me the story of her first car, a Mustang II, and she said that she'd go to the gas station to fill up on oil and check the gas. That sucker ate oil and she loved every minute of it lol...first car...something something.


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## Carminooch (Mar 23, 2018)

I’m getting an oil change today and will raise the issue of the car “gaining oil” and see if I can get them to save me an oil sample I can send out for analysis. Can anyone recommend an oil analysis company? I’d like to know how much of my oil is diesel fuel


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## thebac (Jul 29, 2017)

Sounds like an injector is throwing too much fuel.. Do a paper towel test first. Blotch some oil from the dip stick onto a clean paper towel. If the dark dot then gains a lighter tan/yellowish halo, that'll tell you it's fuel in oil. The oil analysis would confirm it, though.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk


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## Carminooch (Mar 23, 2018)

thebac said:


> Sounds like an injector is throwing too much fuel.. Do a paper towel test first. Blotch some oil from the dip stick onto a clean paper towel. If the dark dot then gains a lighter tan/yellowish halo, that'll tell you it's fuel in oil. The oil analysis would confirm it, though.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk


I told them to save some oil so I can send it out for analysis and gave them an empty quart. They “forgot” and drained it anyway. Even tho my oil level sat above the high mark when I checked it cold, almost off the dipstick, they claimed it wasn’t high. Although the oil smelled like raw diesel fuel and was very very watery when I checked it bone cold, they claimed I was wrong.

I don’t really care anymore, I’m gonna trade it in while it runs ok and just get rid of it. I don’t want this car anymore. This is the 5th dealership I’ve tried to find an alliance in and I’ve been shut down everywhere I go. I don’t know why I’ve had such a bad experience all across the board. I think this is the final straw I needed to experience. Off to carvana or carmax it goes, I’m looking for a 2012-2015 tdi golf now


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## oregon_rider (Jul 21, 2017)

For oil analysis - many use blackstone. You can go to their website and they will send you sample bottles - plus envelopes/packaging for shipment.









Blackstone Laboratories


Learn what's going on in your engine with oil analysis. Our free kits are easy to use and we explain the results in plain English!




www.blackstone-labs.com





jeff

p.s. With the oil dilution that can happen during regeneration - I would ignore the "oil minder" and change the oil every 5k miles with a good synthetic - for example, pennzoil platinum Euro-L which can be purchased at Wal-Mart.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

oregon_rider said:


> For oil analysis - many use blackstone. You can go to their website and they will send you sample bottles - plus envelopes/packaging for shipment.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have used Blackstone for several years on all my cars as well as my dad's truck. They will send sample bottles that come in their own shipping container with forms to fill out and make it pretty easy. Also instructions on how to get the ideal sample. They also sell an extractor to take samples between oil changes, but I did not have much success with that on the Cruze (couldn't get the tube down far enough). I have done a couple of Blackstone tests on the Cruze and despite my frequent regens have never had a concerning fuel level come up. I attached the most recent report and you can see the kind of detail you get ... they also write a little summary letting you know what it and isn't concerning.


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## Carminooch (Mar 23, 2018)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> I have used Blackstone for several years on all my cars as well as my dad's truck. They will send sample bottles that come in their own shipping container with forms to fill out and make it pretty easy. Also instructions on how to get the ideal sample. They also sell an extractor to take samples between oil changes, but I did not have much success with that on the Cruze (couldn't get the tube down far enough). I have done a couple of Blackstone tests on the Cruze and despite my frequent regens have never had a concerning fuel level come up. I attached the most recent report and you can see the kind of detail you get ... they also write a little summary letting you know what it and isn't concerning.
> View attachment 293891


That’s so detailed! That’s really awesome. I’m wondering if I have an injector issue causing the fuel to wash into the crank case. The car has a low rpm (think: 1st gear takeoffs) nailing sound. Quite pronounced. Sounds like an old mercedes diesel. It’s more pronounced when the engine is hot. Maybe I’m paranoid? It is a diesel afterall. It’s not my first rodeo. I’ve got a sprinter and I’ve had all sorts of tdi’s and benz diesels. I just wish I had more confidence in dealer support


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## 6speedTi (May 18, 2018)

I've used Blackstone twice. Very good analysis report. I have a BMW motorcycle at 92,000 miles. Runs great and I plan on pulling a oil sample at 100,000 miles.


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