Hey guys. I wanted to share this story because its kinda funny and I also need some input on it. For starters my truck is a 92 2.3l 2wd 5 Speed and the definition of a beater. Now onto the story...

My Ranger was running really really crappy today. It was acting like it was running out of gas (fuel gauge inoperative) so I put some in it and it still was running like crap and getting worse and worse, to the point of it nearly shutting off, so I checked the oil and it was really low, barely any on the dipstick. The oil light never turned on for some reason and none of the gauges work so I didn't know. I saw some 10w30 valvoline my dad had sitting out so I dipped my finger in to make sure it was oil and it looked okay, so I put about 2.5 or 3 quarts of it in. Ran waaay better but was burning oil pretty bad. I figured I just added too much so I waited a minute with it idling to see if it stopped. It stopped mostly so I went to the store about a 1/4 mile up the road and as I was turning in i looked in the mirror and there was a big trail of smoke behind me, I pulled into the store and when I shut it off it smoked like CRAZY. It was coming in through the freaking air vents even. I thought something was seriously wrong but it started right back up and smoked bad still. Everyone both inside and out of the store was staring haha.

I went back to the house and smelled the oil I put in it and im pretty sure I pu​​​​t an oil gas mix in it lmao. I had to go to my buddies who lives roughly 4 miles away so we could bag some corn, I drove out there since he had a nice garage I could use to work on it but was easy on the truck on the way there. It ran fine just smoked bad. When I shut it off it did the same thing. Blew more smoke out than my buddies tuned diesel when you dog it out in a high gear.

After we bagged I got some 15w40 Rotella like I usually run in it, drained the old out and changed it but didn't get a new filter since I was super tight on cash. It ran fine and quit smoking but it feels like its getting hot quicker than usual and I am starting to think there's something wrong. Im gonna pull the lower hose and drain the cooling system and refill it with a 50/50 mix like it calls for then bleed it to see if it does any better, it probably has needed it for a while anyway.

Anyone here that's somehow done this before? Can anyone here speculate the possible damage (if any) from doing this? My theories are worst case scenario theories...cracked block, warped head, head gasket, or something that may be caused from excessive heat. I am hoping it just needs to circulate the rest of that mix out and then it will do better. Its not getting ridiculously hot, and has always ran somewhat hot, but it just seems off. I had been running it harder than usual before adding that stupid 2 stroke crap to it, so that would explain why its been burning oil. It also leaks it a little but not much. I just haven't drove it enough after changing it to tell what's going on and I plan on running it a bit tomorrow to test it after I give it some coolant. I have a feeling if this was something other than a 2.3 Lima it would have been toast back when it was barely running due to low oil, but luckily these little engines are soldiers. Thanks guys. I also was going to post a pic of the crazy smoke but imgur is giving me issues. I will try again tomorrow. Any help is appreciated.

 

If you did not remove change the filter which still contained the fuel mixture you still have fuel in the engine.

You need to change the oil and filter, let it run for 5 minutes then change the oil and filter again.

Only then you will know how badly you may have damaged the engine.

Fuel even a little in the engine oil reduces the lubrication properties of the oil and increases friction which causes heat and will damage your engine.

 

Okay. I can't really afford a double oil change right now because that would make 3 oil changes in 2 days and oil isn't cheap, but I will drain it out again, change the filter and put new in and hope its okay. I knew I needed to change the filter but just didn't want to spend the money on it since I still had a little while to go before my next oil change. I really wish the gauges worked as I have to go off looks and feel to tell if its hot rather than being able to look and for sure tell. It seems a bit worse than usual but not extreme so I hope it's not bad. I appreciate the response and I'll try that here later today and let you know how it goes. Thanks.

 

Dude oil is cheap... I mean come on. Valvoline high mileage 5w30 from Walmart is $17 for a gallon and a FL400 filter is $3. $20 to change the oil and have it right.
Why would you chance such a large amount via your engine vs $20?


-Nigel