Sister put unleaded in diesel tank - quick help needed!

Psymonkee · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:21

My sister has just put a fivers worth of unleaded into the tank of her Y reg diesel focus. The tank was empty previously.

What's the damage likely to be? Can we just fill it to the brim with diesel?

Thanks

stokecity_m · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:23

OUCH

you will have to have the engine cleaned out.

hawker1986 · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:23

I think it will need to be drained, I would call out the AA or whoever you are with, dont turn it on! That said ive never done this so Im not 100%, but that would be my advice.

Hawker

Hatter The Mad · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:24

Call the AA, it has to be drained.

Psymonkee · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:24

more info - 5 litres, 60 litre tank been moved from pump to end of forecourt.

knip · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:26

Psymonkee said:
more info - 5 litres, 60 litre tank been moved from pump to end of forecourt.

She drove it?
Eeeek!

If the engine has been started then its going to be expensive to fix sorry!

Phil W · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:28

I thought *some* petrol in a diesel car was ok?

Surely £5 of petrol and the rest brimmed with diesel should be ok?

Could be wrong but i thought Petrol in a Diesel car was ok, but not the other way around?

Phil W · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:30

Can I dilute the petrol with diesel?

Diluting contaminated fuel may be possible on older cars that lack the fine, high-pressure diesel injection systems of modern diesels. However, this is a high-risk move which could result in the destruction of your engine.

It may be possible to dilute a proportion of petrol to diesel under 10% in such cars, though there´s no guarantee this will work. Your car may run roughly for a while and you may risk long-term damage that is not immediately apparent.

Beans on toast Dave · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:31

i remember i put 50p worth of petrol in my diesel once, it drove a hell of a lot better for some reason. I would not be wanting to try £5 worth tho

Hatter The Mad · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:35

Phil W said:
I thought *some* petrol in a diesel car was ok?

Surely £5 of petrol and the rest brimmed with diesel should be ok?

Could be wrong but i thought Petrol in a Diesel car was ok, but not the other way around?

Is it worth the risk?

Janesy B · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:35

My driving instructor put a tenners worth of petrol in a diesel Corsa and it seemed to be ok once it burnt it all off. But a tank full of unleaded is going to cause problems.

Phil W · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:43

Janesy B said:
My driving instructor put a tenners worth of petrol in a diesel Corsa and it seemed to be ok once it burnt it all off. But a tank full of unleaded is going to cause problems.

Small tank at £5 worth

JUMPURS · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:55

knip said:
She drove it?
Eeeek!

If the engine has been started then its going to be expensive to fix sorry!

Not going 100 yards i doubt, depending on the definition in the OP's empty, there would still be a couple of litres diesel going from the tank to the engine, so i don't think that is anything to panic about.

But i would get the tank drained.

Kappa · 20 Jun 2009 at 20:55

Otherwise, you sure its a 60l tank? didnt know they were that big in the focus! If so, i'm quite sure you can just top it all the way up with Diesel, but if its been driven......oooo

wassap · 20 Jun 2009 at 21:13

Its a 50l tank in the ST,Im guessing its the same in the lesser models.

wez130 · 20 Jun 2009 at 21:40

FWIW, my missus put about the same amount of unleaded in my mondeo TDCI, she realised her error and phoned me straight away, i phoned my mate who works for ford as a service manager, he told me to brim it with diesel and it should be fine, she did and it ran perfectly normal. This was a 2003 mondeo, take what you will from that but i accept no responsibility

Perywinkle · 20 Jun 2009 at 21:43

Done this with the work van before, filled it up with diesel and it never missed a beat.
My dad has done it twice in his transit too, though in his case he brimmed it with unleaded the nub

On both ocasions all it needed was the tank draining and refilling with diesel, a bit of white smoke later and it was fine.
Ignore the doomsayers, they obviously know sweet F A

MagicBoy · 20 Jun 2009 at 21:54

I thought Fords had a funky fuel filler that stopped you sticking the wrong pump nozzle in.

If it's common rail it needs draining. Older DI engines are usually OK if it's diluted enough. Modern common rail/PD engines petrol contamination is likely to wreck the injectors - costs £500+ to replace.

Kappa · 20 Jun 2009 at 22:02

MagicBoy said:
I thought Fords had a funky fuel filler that stopped you sticking the wrong pump nozzle in.

I believe that feature only came in on the latest models

Avalon · 20 Jun 2009 at 22:27

If it was the other way round (diesel in a petrol) then you could brim it and drive it, it'd be fine after a bit of smoke and rough starting/running but petrol in a diesel should be drained. It's not that expensive to have it done properly and to the end of the forecourt will be absolutely fine. I've seen them driven till they die and not need anything more than draining but it's your call.