I have an oil change tomorrow so last night I was curious to see what the state of it was.

I took the dipstick out and I found the oil smelled a lot like gas. I have 94 octane here and it's a pretty identifiable smell so I noticed right away.

Could this be the tune is too rich? Or something else...?

 

Has there been a pretty dramatic loss of power?

If an engine is not firing on one cylinder the gas will wash past the piston seals into the oil pan...

But in a four banger you would really feel it (so i don't think that is it).

If close to an oil change interval - change it and sniff after refilling and again at 500 miles after the oil change to see if it persists...

 

Will do! Thanks for the advice.

Just as a side note, if in the even one cylinder is not firing (which I doubt but just for arguments sake) what are the typical causes? Spark plug, busted piston, etc...? I would just like to know in case I still smell the gas at 500 miles. At least I know a few things to look for.

 

As Veronica mentioned, if it was one cylinder not firing, you'd really feel it in a 4 banger. I've had a cracked insulator on a spark plug before (on a Honda Civic and on an Audi A4) and you could feel it chug and miss, much more dramatically than on a 6 or 8 cylinder (noting that it'd still be very noticeable on those too).

According to these guys, it's normal
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...-from-dipstick

Then again, having a crappily wired car is normal to VDubphiles too (ex-junky myself)

 

I would not worry. If you change your oil a regular intervals, inspect your spark plugs often and they come up normal then you are fine. Going by smell alone isnt enough. The smell of gas in oil is not uncommon.

If you are still looking sleep over it take it to a mechanic you trust and have them look it over.

Ultimately you can opt to send your oil out for analysis to see how much fuel is in your oil.

 

Great advice!

I guess ultimately, I'm more curious to know if the fact I can smell gas in the oil (on the dipstick) is something pertaining to my tune. Possibly running rich?

 

Normal for turbocharged mitsus.

 

Thanks Bryan!