Petrol in a diesel car??

Salmon

Folks,

My brother has recommended that I put €5-10 of petrol in my diesel car every now and then to 'clean the injectors'. Just wondering if anyone on here has heard of this before and can it do any damage to an engine? Obviously I would be only putting in some petrol whenever I am filling it with diesel, so it wouldnt be getting petrol only, it would be a mix.

* Edit, Meant to say injectors!

stifz

?

$Leon$

I've heard it done alright to clean the engine a bit for NCT or something similar. not sure what sort ratio is ideal. €10 seems alot

kluivert

No dont do this if the car is a modern car its ok in the old diesels

vector

ask him for the fgures in LITRES (static) and not EUROS (variable)
if you are going to try it, then the last thing you want to do is put in too much/too little

Mencius

You do that

alias no.9

People used use petrol as an injector cleaner and to stop the diesel gelling up in really cold weather. Small ammounts wont do an older diesel any harm. Don't use petrol in a modern diesel (TDi PD, HDi, TDCi, DCi, CRDi, JTD, CDTi, etc...) because the pumps run at very fine tolerances and petrol does not have the lubricating qualities of diesel so you could be looking at expensive damage.

MercMad

I've never heard of it and sont see why it would be neccesary either !

Diesel is better for cleaning anyway, petrol may have harmful additives that could leave deposits when burned !

I actually have used 2 stroke oil in my petrol car to lubricate the in-line injection pump !

breanoh

I do it every so often in the charade, €35 to fill tank, I put in between €5 and €10 of petrol and the rest Diesel, The car runs alot better with this mix, and I always do it for long trips. I have done it in all 3 diesels I have had so far, 87 Sunny, 91 jetta and the 90 Charade, haven't ever had a modern Diesel to try it out. But has never given me a problem.

unkel

Petrol is non-lubricating and even small amounts in a modern (common rail) diesel engine will damage the fuel injection system. This would be very expensive to fix

In an older diesel engine, a small amount of petrol in a full tank shouldn't do any damage. It can prevent diesel becoming too "thick" in very cold weather. Not really applicable in Ireland

Mencius wrote:

You do that

Great first post, Mencius. You went through the bother of registering with boards.ie, just to post that. I'm looking forward to your future contributions on this forum :rolleyes:

smash

Well I'm never gonna buy a 2nd hand diesel if this is what people are doing... It's built to take one or the other, I wouldn't mix them.

el tel

Salmon wrote:

Folks,

My brother has recommended that I put €5-10 of petrol in my diesel car every now and then to 'clean the plugs'. Just wondering if anyone on here has heard of this before and can it do any damage to an engine? Obviously I would be only putting in some petrol whenever I am filling it with diesel, so it wouldnt be getting petrol only, it would be a mix.

"Pump Number 5...€40 Diesel and €10 petrol, thanks:) "

I hope he's not referring to the spark plugs

I think wantonly putting petrol in a diesel car nowadays is a bit silly. Back in the days of old when nights were bold people did this to stop the diesel waxing but we have anti-waxing diesel now. If you want to clean out the system then use something like Fairy Liquid :rolleyes: or Redex Diesel Treatment. The latter will be far more effective and won't endanger your fuel pump.

(And you can tell your brother to add two capfuls of Domestos next time he takes a drink of water...it'll clean out his plugs:D )

pclancy

WTF? Ive never heard of this before! I was sure diesal injectors wrecked themsevels trying to compress and ignite petrol? Bloke in work put petrol in a 05 transporter and did €800 worth of damage...surely its madness to do it?

Salmon

el tel wrote:

(And you can tell your brother to add two capfuls of Domestos next time he takes a drink of water...it'll clean out his plugs:D )

Classic!! I'll pass on the message!! Oh just in case anyone was interested he was doin this in a 96 landrover and reckoned it improved the performance of the jeep. Really he was doin this twice a year max so it isnt an ongoing thing!

PhilipFromBosco

If you use the Fairy Liquid, use the Mild Green version.
It keeps my hands soft and cleans my tight jeans.


§ ¶_¶ Now hands that do dishes can feel soft as you face,
§ ¶_¶ with mild green Fairy liquid.

tred

pclancy wrote:

WTF? Ive never heard of this before! I was sure diesal injectors wrecked themsevels trying to compress and ignite petrol? Bloke in work put petrol in a 05 transporter and did €800 worth of damage...surely its madness to do it?

read the post. Its a mix not all petrol. the mix needs to be fine, and i have seen older diesel cars do quiet well in the NCT emmisions test!! Anyone here a Mechanic. I am sure you have heard of it being done. You wouldnt need to do it in a new common rail diesel though. the new injectors are much more accurate and deliver higher fuel pressurs. The Petrol mix could effect this. However as this is a 96 landrover. Id say its the only way of keeping it runnin LOL!

Plums

I'va an older shape 04 astra CDTI and the engine siezed about a month ago, I got a brand spanking new engine fitted after out of warranty arguements ... anyway I put €7 of unleaded into the tank before I realised what I was doin' and then filled it with diesel. The pump attendant said it would do not harm and gave me the NCT emissions story

It still goes well.

RoundyMooney

Far too many expert "brothers" polluting this forum.

babybundy

MercMad wrote:

I actually have used 2 stroke oil in my petrol car to lubricate the in-line injection pump !

why not tie a smoke bomb to the car i can only imagine the smoke coming out

ninty9er

My dad's sprinter takes about €70 diesel every day and a half, he put a tenner petrol in one day before he realised it was petrol and had to get a replacement van sent out and his own towed away

SouperComputer

babybundy wrote:

why not tie a smoke bomb to the car i can only imagine the smoke coming out

Meh, only on castor/mieral based oils running a really rich mixture. Even then it can clear out pretty quickly under load.