Sister put unleaded in diesel tank - quick help needed!
- Thread starter Psymonkee
- Start date
If either are modern engines its very bad mmmkay. High pressure injection is how manufacturers are getting better fuel economy nowadays and you can't get away with dodgy fuel if you are injecting it at 1000psi.
no, petrol will destroy the innards of a diesel pump but diesel will only cause a petrol engine to stop and not run until its flushed. not very bad, just inconvenient.
btw modern diesel pumps (VE etc.) produce far far higher then 1000psi. closer to 40000 if memory serves.
you have to very very careful here..i have had personal experience of this situation twice.
The first time was a few years ago when I was filling up a rover 620 sldi. Empty tank..I put about a quater of a tank of unleaded into it before I realised what I had done..I called the AA and he first asked me if I had started the engine (important to note), because I had'nt he told me it would be ok to fill it to the brim with diesel..run out a quarter of a tank and top with diesel again and repeat about 4 or 5 times. I did this and all was well.
3 weeks ago my wife put about 20 notes of unleaded into her megane scenic dci...she only realised what she had done when the car started to cough and splutter so she pulled over immediatly and turned it off. After talking to the AA they said because the car had been driven and a pure mix of unleaded had been pulled through it would have to be drained and flushed out.
A local garage recovered her and did this. She was told that because the car never actually cut out and she had turned it off herself it had probably saved a lot of damage.
So its not just a question of 'top it up' and it'll be ok....if the car has been turned over with a strong mix of unleaded them it need to be drained and flushed through.
The first time was a few years ago when I was filling up a rover 620 sldi. Empty tank..I put about a quater of a tank of unleaded into it before I realised what I had done..I called the AA and he first asked me if I had started the engine (important to note), because I had'nt he told me it would be ok to fill it to the brim with diesel..run out a quarter of a tank and top with diesel again and repeat about 4 or 5 times. I did this and all was well.
3 weeks ago my wife put about 20 notes of unleaded into her megane scenic dci...she only realised what she had done when the car started to cough and splutter so she pulled over immediatly and turned it off. After talking to the AA they said because the car had been driven and a pure mix of unleaded had been pulled through it would have to be drained and flushed out.
A local garage recovered her and did this. She was told that because the car never actually cut out and she had turned it off herself it had probably saved a lot of damage.
So its not just a question of 'top it up' and it'll be ok....if the car has been turned over with a strong mix of unleaded them it need to be drained and flushed through.
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So its not just a question of 'top it up' and it'll be ok....if the car has been turned over with a strong mix of unleaded them it need to be drained and flushed through.
If you read the OP's post then you'd see he's only put a fivers worth (about a gallon in). Is the tank is brimmed with diesel, it won't be a strong mix for a non-common rail engine.
.if the car has been turned over
I can only assume you didn't read my post thoroughly...the op stated that the tank was empty. At this point IF the car had been turned over it wouldn't have made a difference if it was 5 quid or 500. Fortunatley it appears the op hasn't yet started the car so brimming will probably be ok.
Last edited:
Soldato
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not a fiver's worth if its diluted with a full tank of diesel
my post was not in reply to the OP.
in the OP's case you are correct, but a new fuel filter may be required as even a small amount of petrol can attack the filters waxing.
By my understanding, diesel requires pressure to burn whereas petrol doesn't. So diesel in a petrol engine won't do too much harm, but petrol in a diesel engine will.
That said, if it has only been driven 100 yards, chances are you're okay. It will have been running on the diesel which was already in the engine and the feed from the tank. Get a professional to drain it and you should be okay. Or if you're feeling lucky, brim it with diesel and hope that dilutes the petrol enough.
That said, if it has only been driven 100 yards, chances are you're okay. It will have been running on the diesel which was already in the engine and the feed from the tank. Get a professional to drain it and you should be okay. Or if you're feeling lucky, brim it with diesel and hope that dilutes the petrol enough.
Guess what the veg oil users put in to thin their fuel down??
Petrol.
If it's not a new common rail engine it'll be fine. Diesel engines were origionally designed to run on any old snot you could find. Sure they've come a long way since then, but it's only recently that they've become sensitive enough to notice what is essentially a slightly less viscous fuel.
Petrol.
If it's not a new common rail engine it'll be fine. Diesel engines were origionally designed to run on any old snot you could find. Sure they've come a long way since then, but it's only recently that they've become sensitive enough to notice what is essentially a slightly less viscous fuel.