Gas & Oil

If you are not an automotive mechanic you should find a professional automotive mechanic to solve this fuel in the oil pan problem for you and determine where the fuel is coming from. This is a very dangerous situation and needs professional help.

It is very possible that the reason your car will not start is that the carburetor has malfunctioned and is dumping massive amounts fuel into the engine and it is ending up in the oil pan. The carburetor could have a float that has stuck open or other problems that would cause all of the fuel to be flowing into the engine. If the dip stick has 10� of fuel on it the engine is almost completely filled with fuel!

It is difficult to tell you what to do because you could easily bend a rod if you turn the engine over to check out the problem if the fuel is collecting in a one or more cylinders. You could also have a massive fuel/oil fire. The car should be moved to an open well ventilated area away from your house and other buildings before doing any work on the car.

If you are automotive mechanic, I think my approach would be to take out all of the spark plugs and then completely disable the ignition so that none of the spark plug wires could possibly make a spark. You could do this by removing the all of the ignition wires from the coil. Any spark could cause a massive fire from gas coming out of the spark plug holes. I would dump the oil and replace with new oil and filter first and expect that as soon as you turn over the engine massive amounts fuel will be dumped back into the engine again. Make sure you have a couple of fire extinguishers ready and then turn the engine over just long enough to look down the carburetor to verify that the carburetor is dumping fuel and determine if it is the front float for the primaries or back float for the secondary. A better solution might be to just remove the carburetor and have it repaired because of the possible fire danger in turning the engine over with the spark plugs removed, but at some point the cylinders will need to be cleared of fuel. Fuel could also be coming from and bad fuel pump that is pumping fuel directly into the pan.

You absolutely want to make sure the engine DOES NOT start with the fuel in the oil pan. If you have been turning the engine over a lot the fuel as already gotten into the oil pump and has been pumped though out the engine. After you determine what�s going on with the carburetor and get it fixed you will need to drain out all of the oil and fuel from the pan and change the filter and add new oil. At that point I would turn the engine over by the starter for awhile with the coil disconnected to flush out all of the fuel that has mixed with the oil and then dump the oil again install a new filter and add new oil. The fuel mixed with oil could be in the engine bearings, hydraulic lifters and most likely circulated though out the complete engine.

After you get the engine started I would run it for a few minutes with out any load at an idle to get it warm and then dump the oil, change the filter and add new oil. If the fuel/oil mixture has been pumped into the hydraulic lifters they may clatter some until the fresh oil gets circulated.

Be extremely careful with the oil that you dump out because the fuel mixed with it make it super volatile and you could easily have a massive fire. I can not emphasize how dangerous the fuel is when it is mixed in with the oil.

Again if you are not an automotive mechanic you should find a professional automotive mechanic to solve this fuel in the oil pan problem for you and determine where the fuel is coming from. This is a very dangerous situation and needs professional help.

Thanks for your detailed input Mike. I have not taken a detailed looke in the engine compartment yet, but I also have oil/gas dripping on the floor from one side. The prior owner said that one of the heads may be slightly cracked, and he tried to use engine epoxy to repair it, so I was thinking that may be the problem.

Gas Man,

Mike is right about the fuel pump, for sure. As a matter of fact, I believe this to be the only issue! If the fuel pump diaphram is blown and is pumping into the engine, this would explain the massive fuel in oil. Also, there isn't any fuel pressure going to the carb bowls for starting. There is almost no way a cracked head could let enough fuel/air mixture into the engine to account for the tremendous amount of fuel you describe. If the heads are cracked then you will either have too little or no compression on that cylinder, an oil leak inside or outside or a water leak either showing up in the oil or to the outside. I, personally, would NOT turn the engine over with the fuel in the oil passages. If you haven't already scared the bearings it wouldn't take much to do. Mark the distributor rotor location and pull the distributor. Then after all the fluid mixture is drained and replenished, turn the oil pump shaft with a drill in the rotation of the distributor. I think the size is 5/16"? Anyway, you can see the hex end of the oil pump shaft with a flashlight after the distributor is removed. Make sure you tape the socket on the extension so it wont fall off. Turning the pump over with the drill is the same as turning the engine over with the starter, but instead of causing more damage to the bearings, the oil is circulated on its own and will fall back to the pan thus mixing with your fresh oil. Your carb is probably fine. If the floats were stuck, or the carb was otherwise defective, the gas would just poor into the cylinders through an open valve or out of the exhaust through an open valve, not the crankcase unless you have a crack like the Grand Canyon through one of the oil return passages. After you've flushed the system, as best you can, change the oil and filter once more. You WILL have to run the engine to purge hydrolic lifters of their contaminants. That shouldn't be very much fuel. Instead of pulling the eight spark plug wires or the coil wire, I would pull the 12VDC positive wire from the coil. Coils have a tendency of arching to the path of least resistance. If the coil wire were pulled it could still arch to the nearest ground source within several inches and you're Richard Prior without the buzz. I would use cheap oil and filters for this flushing. After the lifters are cleaned out and you're satisfied with the results, you can replace the oil and filter with your favorite brands. I had this same thing happen to a '71 Triumph GT6 MKIII. It was the fuel pump. It had solid lifters so I didn't have to turn the engine over until it was flushed clean. Good luck! If you think the head IS cracked, change it. Cleveland heads can be found everywhere!

Thanks for all the tips. I am away from home, so can't look at the car right now. But can't understand why I would also have gas/oil mixture dripping on the floor (which is why I suspect cracked head).

There usually isn't much residual oil on top of the heads that doesn't drain through the return gallies and the only other oil would be in the oil pressure gallies and that will surely be limited. I assume the oil pan was nearly full and with a couple of quarts of gas in there too, it would thin down and seep out of the oil pan gasket, front and rear seals. Gas breaks down the viscosity or thickness of the oil and it will find a way out that the oil can not alone. I think when you pull the oil pan plug you'll find it has much more than the usual capacity in there. Be sure to have a big pan under there to catch it all.

Let us know what you find so we'll know if our suggestions were close.

GOOD LUCK!

Agreed. VERY IMPORTANT: do not try to start the engine as it is! It's really easy to get a slight backfire after sitting for a while, and you have enough loose fuel in the pan to level your garage! Even if it doesn't blow, the oil will be so thin that you also risk losing a rod bearing, as super-thinned oil has no load carrying capability. First, drain the pan & dispose of it, then start looking at the carb floats; one is undoubtably not seating & is siphoning fuel. A crack in a head won't affect a non-running engine; fuel shouldn't get out of the carb. Good luck.

My mechanic seems to feel it is related to a carb problem, but for the life of me I can't visualize how so much gas could get down through the engine into the oil pan. I thought these systems (gas & oil) were entirely seperate. I guess I need Engine 101 lessons.

You mention that gas is dripping from one side of the engine, if it's dripping from the left side (as viewed from the rear), I'd take a real close look at the fuel pump! If the diaphram inside it tears, you'll pump fuel into the block (that would also explain your "hard start" problem - not enough fuel pressure. Fuel's a lot thinner than oil, so it could easily be leaking out from the mating surface (I've seen these bolts loosen up over time also). Good luck & keep us posted on your findings!
Paul

If you're anywhere close to Georgia, I would be more than happy to lend a hand for free. Just give me an email and let me know if I can help.

The mechanic I took it to said the carb was dumping gas into the engine, and so did some carb work on it. I drove it yesterday with no explosions, so lets see how it goes. If you don't hear from me again, it doesn't necessarily mean I am dead from any kind of explosion.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.