Al Duncan Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 EHHHH, She who cant be named has just stuck a tank full of Shells finest Unleaded into the old oil burner and performed the miracle of driving it 15 miles home. Time to own up- who's done it before and how much damage does it cause? 😳 Any advice appreciated as always Cheers Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBerlin Posted November 18, 2002 Share Posted November 18, 2002 Can't tell if damage is done until you get the gas out and the diesel back in. If it starts , runs , doesn't smoke, and sounds OK, it is OK. Make sure to drain and refill the filter(s) also. The remaining gas will dilute quickly. Think about an oil change also. I've seen this before with no damage done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Duncan Posted November 19, 2002 Author Share Posted November 19, 2002 Cheers tom Fingers crossed!!! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 Surely it must have been knocking like mad ? I have seen a couple of cars where this has happened and they could barely run. In theory bent rods are the most likley damage, but neither of the cars I saw actually suffered any damage. The owners were obviously embarrassed though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_pank Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 My mate's dad filled his pride-and-joy 5.5 litre XJ12 up with diesel about 2 weeks after buying it!  I only know that he did it and felt very sheepish and had to spend a lot of money to fix it, don't know what damage was done though! Kermit the frog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Howe Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 ... offering a little comfort, because it's not as bad as my wife. Who some years ago took my XJS, filled it up with diesel (in the village garage), ground to a stop 200 yards further on and walked home. LEaving the garage to repair the problem, which cost £120 plus another tank of fuel. Filled with the success of that happening, a couple of year later, whilst in Hereford. she put petrol in her diesel Citation, stop at a book shop, found the car wouldn't start and had to be trailered away to be pluged into a computer - which of course found there was petrol where diesel should have been. Bless them... and now you know why men go to the pub so often! JH Deliveries by Saffron, the 222bhp yellow Sausage delivery machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joost M Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 It depends on the car. If it is a new Mercedes with a CDI engine the pump will die in a few minutes. If it is an old one there is not much problem. Empty the tank +- half and fill it with diesel. It will drive like a normal diesel car with a better emission! We in Holland have to do am emission test every year. If it is critical with a Diesel we fill the tank with a petrol mix. Afterwards it is much better.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 I did it with a work Astra and it was fine once it had been drained, flushed & the filters changed. I drove it for about 2 miles home, then it wouldnt restart. Cost £160 to get it sorted.  Seems everyone with a diesel has at least almost put the wrong fuel in. You wont do it again though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 Joost, What is the mix ratio you use?   /Steve My racing pics, 7 DIY, race prep. Updated often here Hants (North) and Berkshire area club site here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Ince Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 I put 25 litres of Petrol into a Landcruiser which already had about 35 litres of Diesel. Added another 35 litres of Diesel and off I drove. No problems and it improved the performance! Austin Reynolds got less than a mile when he did the same to his Mercedes CDI last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joost M Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 @Steve, 25% Petrol and 75% Diesel. Afterwards a blast with the Diesel of about 100km. The last time the K-number (They measure the diesel dust) went from 2 to 1! Regards, Joost Edited by - Joost M on 19 Nov 2002 14:25:57 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joost M Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 @Richard, The pump of a CDI can not resist the petrol. You can not even use the pump to empty the tank. Petrol in a CDI is a major problem. Regards, Joost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheds Moderator Posted November 19, 2002 Share Posted November 19, 2002 My Dad did this a while back to a BX 1.9 TD (1990) - fortunately he realised before he had run the engine. No damage resulted. I have heard tricks like Joost's re. mixing petrol and diesel. 28 second burning oil works too, mixed with diesel and petrol, but has the disadvantage of being illegal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simos Posted November 20, 2002 Share Posted November 20, 2002 Perhaps this technical study would be of interest... http://www.up.ac.za/academic/mae/research/design/articles/diesel-lube1.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat Posted November 20, 2002 Share Posted November 20, 2002 The old man filed his new rover diesel with it a couple of weeks back - the AA rescued him and took him to a dealer. £160 to drain the system, change filters, put some diesel in and send him on his way.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted November 21, 2002 Share Posted November 21, 2002 Joost, Just want to clarify this for all diesels... Can the pump resist the 25% / 75% mix on a CDI or is it only POD (Plain Old Diesels) were are talking about here.  /Steve My racing pics, 7 DIY, race prep. Updated often here Hants (North) and Berkshire area club site here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Mupferit Posted November 21, 2002 Share Posted November 21, 2002 It's an old trick in the haulage industry to mix petrol with derv in the winter to avoid the derv waxing out in cold temperatures. I tried it with our own lorries a few years back during a short cold winter period with no apparent ill effects. The ratio in that instance was 10:1Â Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joost M Posted November 21, 2002 Share Posted November 21, 2002 @Steve, I used it in VW Diesels! It is very common to do so. I don't know what a CDI does if you mix it in a 25%-75% mixture. We only did it to pass the test. So that is one tank. So you have the lack of lubrication compensated with a cleaner engine. The best thing you can do is go to your local dealer and ask for the specs of your car. I am sure they have a lot of expierience with people who made that kind of mistakes! Regards, Joost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted November 21, 2002 Share Posted November 21, 2002 Mines a Peugot/Citroen 1.9lt unit, not CDI so I assume it would be fine. /Steve My racing pics, 7 DIY, race prep. Updated often here Hants (North) and Berkshire area club site here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YW Sin Posted November 21, 2002 Share Posted November 21, 2002 I have always thought that petrol in diesel cars are O.K to run but not the other way round. This is something that I have heared from my driving instructor 16 or so years ago. But then I guess cars has changed a lot since so don't trust what I have said above 😬 ~~~ standard 1.7 X-flow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puremalt Posted November 22, 2002 Share Posted November 22, 2002 Have you tried the cheap option of running diesels on i) Heating oil, ii) Chipfat. VAT free! The chipfat option makes the car smell like a fryup apparently... In the hardup Valleys of S. Wales they are all into it. Supposedly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_the_Sparky Posted November 22, 2002 Share Posted November 22, 2002 Only cheap if you don't get caught... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver 21 Posted November 23, 2002 Share Posted November 23, 2002 Now if we are on to talking about bio diesel visit this site it shows you how to convert chip fat into usable diesel, someone at work showed me the sitev a few weeks ago, definately a cottage industry http://www.northwales.org.uk/bio-power/   Graham The not so New Competition Secretary, in fact already jaded 1700 Live Axle X/Flow, new pb at Curb, Loton Park and Shelsley Walsh in 2002  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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