Petrol in diesel tank

the boss of me

Stupid mistake this morning, my car was half full of diesel and I topped it up. Only problem is I topped it up with unleaded petrol. So what do I do now ? The car is outside my front door and it will start and drive no problem.

Should I drive it to the garage and get the fuel drained out ?

Should I get a tow truck to take it to the garage ?

Should I take it for a long drive and then top it up with diesel ?

Will I damage the engine, injection system , catalytic converter if I do drive it ?

Any help would be much appreciated.......

R.O.R

the boss of me wrote: »

Stupid mistake this morning, my car was half full of diesel and I topped it up. Only problem is I topped it up with unleaded petrol. So what do I do now ? The car is outside my front door and it will start and drive no problem.

Should I drive it to the garage and get the fuel drained out ?

Should I get a tow truck to take it to the garage ?

Should I take it for a long drive and then top it up with diesel ?

Will I damage the engine, injection system , catalytic converter if I do drive it ?

Any help would be much appreciated.......

I'll take option 2 please, just in case.

Diesel lubricates the fuel pump, whereas Petrol has no lubricating properties. You may have a high enough concentration of Diesel in the mix to stop the fuel pump siezing and causing more damage to the rest of the engine. I'd rather be safe than sorry though.

spadder

Did you completely fill the remaining half tank with petrol?
So you have a 50:50 mix of petrol:diesel.

A small amount of petrol won’t damage the engine but that ratio could

Syphon the fuel mix out and fill with fresh diesel

( I don’t need to tell you not to smoke during this)

the boss of me

R.O.R wrote: »

I'll take option 2 please, just in case.

You may have a high enough concentration of Diesel in the mix to stop the fuel pump siezing and causing more damage to the rest of the engine.

I reckon the mix is about 50/50 at the moment, would I get away with that mix ?

barryfitz

How old is your car?

R.O.R

Personally I doubt it, but I'm not a Diesel mechanic.

My friend who is (and sits behind me) said, "DRAIN".

What he really means is, Don't start the engine. Drain the fuel tank and system completely, fill with diesel, prime the system and you should get away without having to replace the engine.

spadder

no, I wouldn't chance that. It might run but as mentioned earlier you could damage the pump.
you can buy a syphon in a good car shop or hardware, you can put the spoilt fuel into your house central heating tank (if you burn kerosene or gas oil) or a recycling centre will take it.

RobbieMc

If you are in any doubt, do not drive the car.
You may do expensive damage to the engine, If you're in the AA or the like, put the car on the road and call them, explain what has happened and get the car to whom ever services it( ring them first so they know your coming)

I know a guy who did something like this in the past to his land rover, luckly we were able to drain the tank and fill up with diesel, no harm.

Good luck,

Rob

Mr. Presentable

The petrol should lie above the diesel in the tank, I think, so not much would get to the pump. I'd keep topping it up with diesel for a few weeks, every time you use a bit, to keep thinning it out. I believe petrol will corrupt the seals in the pump after a while.

the boss of me

barryfitz wrote: »

How old is your car?

Car is only two and a half years , but has 150,000km

you can buy a syphon in a good car shop or hardware

Looks like I am going to have to go down this route. Anyone know where I can buy a decent syphon in Glasnevin, I tried Consort , no luck. Would Woodies have one ??

spadder

you can use a piece of garden hose if you don't mind a little drink of fuel before dinner.

Golferx

nipplenuts wrote: »

The petrol should lie above the diesel in the tank, I think, so not much would get to the pump. I'd keep topping it up with diesel for a few weeks, every time you use a bit, to keep thinning it out. I believe petrol will corrupt the seals in the pump after a while.

In all fairness, without getting personal, this is a ridiculous answer to someone who has a , potentially, serious problem on his hands. (The use of the words "should" and "I think" should you really don't have an idea, doesn't it?)


Should the OP follow this advice he could be looking at some serious repair bills.

How could Petrol lie above diesel ? Both are hydrocarbons and miscible.



To the OP, if you can, empty the tank, then fill to the top with diesel. If you cannot, get a mechanic to do it for you.

the boss of me

Cheers lads , thanks for all the replies......looks like I have a few dirty smelly hours ahead of me...serves me feckin right I suppose :o

Gregor Samsa

nipplenuts wrote: »

The petrol should lie above the diesel in the tank, I think, so not much would get to the pump. I'd keep topping it up with diesel for a few weeks, every time you use a bit, to keep thinning it out. I believe petrol will corrupt the seals in the pump after a while.

If the petrol were to just lie on top of the diesel then how would adding more diesel "thin it out"? It would just put more diesel under the petrol

As it turns out, they do mix, and so the rest of the advice on the thread is probably more appropriate than this.

JohnCleary

Get it drained.

DIY with a hose, remember you have a full tank (Check your car manual to check the capacity of the tank) so try and make sure you've drained the whole tank. a 100:1 mix wont do any damage but a 50:50 will

S.I.R

drain it with a garden hose ( small section ) if only it was the other way around you can stick a drop of petrol in and leave the car/van idling for an hour

RobbieMc

Helfords do a syphon cann't remember the price and they have a store near you.

Rob

Mexicola

I pulled into a petrol station in Mallow only to hear a women at the pump beside me trying to start her car - It sounded bad - I initially thought a belt had snapped or something so seeing as no-one else seemed to be helping her I went over to her and had a word. I asked her if she need help pushing the car over to a parking spot so we could have a look - but she told me immediately she had put petrol in her diesel tank, and that she was just waiting for some mechanic to arrive from the garage next door. So I left to her to it. As I was walking away some chaps arrived and started having a look. I really hope her repair bill isnt big!

biko

A garage should also be able to dispose of the petrol/diesel mix for you.

Matt Simis

Hmm, scarey reading here:

http://www.carpages.co.uk/news/mis-fuelling-29-05-05.asp

Raytown Rocks

I had my brand new Diesel focus filled to the brim with petrol by the garage before I drove it home from the garage.
All the way home the car chugged and spluttered.
Once I got home I tried to re-start the car and it just moaned slightly.
I realised the error of their ways when I had a sniff from the tank.
Had it towed away with 12km on the clock.
Got it back next day, full with diesel and running smoothly, and has been ever since.

Doesnt help your cause as such other than letting you know that if you do drive it it will lead to having to get the car drained anyway and having all the bits and bobs( that is a mechanical term...I swear )cleaned out., but just wanted to pass the story on.

the boss of me

Matt Simis wrote: »

Hmm, scarey reading here:

http://www.carpages.co.uk/news/mis-fuelling-29-05-05.asp

This article scared the s***e out of me and not being able to get past the anti-sipon device fitted in my car , I went to the garage on my bike.

The mechanic wasn't able to help as he was booked out for the week but he gave me the number of a very useful service. These guys come to you and clean out your fuel tank, take the dirty fuel away and get you going again.

The service costs €230 incl VAT so it was an expensive mistake on my part but at least I know I didn't do any further damage by driving it.

The phone number is 085 1214944. I wrote it on the inside of my filler cap cover as a reminder and to stop me making the same stupid mistake again

R.O.R

the boss of me wrote: »

The service costs €230 incl VAT so it was an expensive mistake on my part but at least I know I didn't do any further damage by driving it.

Glad you are sorted. €230 is very reasonable considering the bill you may have faced. A friend of mine used to work for Mondial in the UK on the BMW line. At least once a week a driver was facing a bill of arounf £7,000 for a new engine in 530d, 730d, X5 3.0D etc :eek:

commited

Guy who works for me did the same recently with his 04 130bhp passat TDI. The only thing wrong with it was that it wouldnt start when hot.

He drove it as normal and it's fine now....