started running really rich fuel mixture and dropping oil right out of the tailpipe any ideas

 

It would help if we knew a little more about your van like what size motor, how many miles, what you use your van for...ect.

 

I'm sorry I'm kind of new to this internet Forum thing keep trying to post a reply and it won't seem to let me. The motors is a 460 with a e4od transmission. I bought it in January and put almost 30,000 miles on it myself since then. It's fuel injection and that's what throws me I've never dealt with it before

 

I am more familiar with the small block engines but want to ask some more questions in case someone else reads this and knows more about the 460.

1- Is this just a E350 van or something heavier like a camper?

2- How many miles are on the odometer? I know the 90 model vans only go to 99,999 and roll over to 0 again so it could be over 100,000 miles.

3- Are you sure it is oil?

4- How long has it been doing this, miles, days?

5- before it started running rich, would it smoke when you first start the engine and then the smoke go away?

6- Is it smoking all the time now?

7- What color is the smoke coming out the exhaust?

8- How much oil was the engine using "before" you noticed this problem?

9- How much oil is the engine using now?

10- how much oil is dripping out?

11- place a piece of cardboard and place it under the end of the tail pipe and see how much drips out. If you have a helper or can prop the cardboard up, try revving the engine up and see if it sprays out onto the cardboard and let us know how much comes out and let us know if it is thick are watery?

12- Have you checked the oil for signs of water in the oil? Mikey color?

13- have you checked the water in the radiator for signs of oil in the coolant?

14- how is the engine running besides dripping oil and running rich? any knocks or rattles, loss of power, pinging especially going up hills or when giving it gas under a load?

15- any else you can think of to tell us about the engine or van,, maybe history?

16- any check engine lights?

17- do you think it just started all at once or possibly that it developed over tine and you just now noticed it?

I have to run for now but answer as much of this as you can to help us diagnose what might be going on.

When i get back if no one else has replied I can give you some ideas on what tests to perform.

If a lot of oil is going out the exhaust it can clog the catalytic converters and 02 sensor causing it to run rich.

 

Without having the answers yet to any of the questions i am going to recommend a couple of things you should check... Again there are some 460 guys here in the forum and perhaps some of them will chime in..

Something i forgot to ask in the last post. on the small blocks they have a breather box with the air filter in it.. If you have one, remove the filter and see if there is oil inside of the box.

You could have a combination of things going on but lets start simple first and diagnose some..

Check the PCV valve, hoses, and ports they connect to and see if any of the PCV system is clogged. The PCV system can cause the engine to burn excess oil and use excess gas. Not sure if it can cause oil out the tail pipe unless maybe your valve steem seals are really bad.

I understand that it is really hard to change the spark plugs on a 460 because that is a big engine crammed in a small space. There are a couple of tests you may wind up doing like a compression test and a cylinder leak down test but you will need the spark plugs out and have to access each spark plug hole to thread the hoses into them. So lets start out with a couple fo other basic tests.

First you need to read the codes even if there is no check engine light on.

Second I would use a vacuum gauge and see what the results are. I don't know if you can get one as a loaner tool from a auto parts store. If you have a Harbor Freight store near by they have a decent kit fairly cheap. $12.99 and area good tool to have around.
https://www.harborfreight.com/fuel-p...ter-62637.html

If you have never used a vacuum gauge here are a couple of sites that cover the basics of what you can learn about your engine with a vacuum gauge.

Greg's Engine & Machine.... Engine Testing with a Vacuum Gauge
Technical Articles: Engine testing with a Vacuum Gauge - at Greg's Engine & Machine

The other links are similar but may have a bit different info that might come in handy.
Quick Tech: How to Read a Vacuum Gauge to Pinpoint Engine Problems
Quick Tech: How to Read a Vacuum Gauge to Pinpoint Engine Problems - OnAllCylinders

Check Your Engine’s Health: With a Vacuum Gauge
Check Your Engine?s Health: With a Vacuum Gauge | Tuner University

 

So step #1 when dealing with EFI is to pull the codes, you can do this without any special tools but a cheap code reader will eliminate mistakes. The device usually suggested is the Equus/Innova 3145 and it is not expensive.

 

FI is actually easier to fix