How much petrol can be put in diesel tank??

sudzs

Can anyone tell me how much petrol you can get away with putting in a deisel car?

It wasn't me (!) but a friend, he put about 30 euros worth of petrol in before realising what he was doing... then to try and limit any damage he filled it up with about 45 euros of diesel and managed to drive it for about 5 minutes till he got home. I seemed ok but anyone able to predict how it'll go in the morning??? ...like a rocket maybe??!!!

AckwelFoley

Petrol in a diesel engine is no harm as far as i know, but the oppsite is more serious.

I may have got that arse ways but i know one way is less harm than the other.

KidCapree

Other way round i believe Snyper. a bit of diesel in a petrol car is good for it, but as for 30 euros worth... that cant be good...

sudzs

LOL!!! You can put a small amount of petrol in a diesel. It's supposed to clean it out and give it a bit of oomph!!

But diesel in a petrol engine is the big no-no!

Just wondering how much you could get away with!

challengemaster

sudzs wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how much petrol you can get away with putting in a deisel car?

It wasn't me (!) but a friend, he put about 30 euros worth of petrol in before realising what he was doing... then to try and limit any damage he filled it up with about 45 euros of diesel and managed to drive it for about 5 minutes till he got home. I seemed ok but anyone able to predict how it'll go in the morning??? ...like a rocket maybe??!!!

like a rocket running on cheese, ie. it won't.. best advice is to call a mechanic and don't turn it on again - don't want to foobar it even more

AckwelFoley

Not 30 squids worth!!!

DonJose

sudzs wrote: »

LOL!!! You can put a small amount of petrol in a diesel. It's supposed to clean it out and give it a bit of oomph!!

Can any mechanics here confirm that this wouldn't damage a diesel.

Cocoon

I'm not a mechanic but i do know that that amount of petrol in a diesel will damage the injector pump and its a very costly repair. You might get away with a fivers worth but defo not €30.

cuddly-cobra

If it's a common-rail diesel, it'll destroy it - what type of car is it?

sudzs

It's blue!

...only joking!!!

It's a Vauxhall... sorry dont know the model but its around 5 or 6 years old.

peasant

30 € worth of petrol vs 45€ worth of diesel ...that's a 2 : 3 mix :eek:

That mix WILL do damage, do not drive the car again, don't even start the engine again.

If it is a modern commonrail diesel, the fuel pump and injectors are by now most likely close to scrap, surprised that it made it five minutes up the road

If it is an older diesel, the whole system still needs immediate cleaning and flushing before permanent damage is done.

Sorry not to have better news.

biko

How does the wrong fuel type affect engines?
Petrol in a diesel engine

Breakdown organisations put the figure of petrol misfuelling at around 150,000 cars a year, with repair bills totalling hundreds of millions of pounds.

Petrol will strip your diesel engine of the lubricant used to keep it ticking over and cause metal components to grate against each other and disintegrate.

This runs the risk of damaging the fuel pump and fuel-injection systems, or wrecking an engine completely if used for a significant amount of time.

To make matters worse pre-ignition systems start fuel pumps in new diesel models when car doors are unlocked. This cuts out the time it takes for new diesel engines to warm up, but means that diesel engines can be ruined by petrol by simply unlocking doors.

The fuel pump and injection systems and filters will likely need to be replaced on new models, while an entire engine could be wrecked beyond repair if it has been run for long enough. Regardless of the extent of the damage, the repair bill could potentially run into thousands of pounds.

Avoiding turning the engine over or stopping as soon as possible is vital to prevent more damage to the engine in these circumstances. A fuel-tank drain could be sufficient in such cases to prevent damage.

This is why it often says "diesel" on the fuel cap.

vibe666

'some' older diesels (approx. pre-97 give or take) will happily run with up to 5% petrol and you may even find that it's recommended by the manufacturer during winter months such older diesel mercs run in a cold climate (scandanavian cold, not Ireland cold). I've read on another forum that it's actually recommeneded in the owners manual for severe minus temps.

newer diesels tho, such as the common rail ones will die pretty quickly if you put anything but diesel from the pump in them.

personally, my 96 Pajero will run on just about anything you ca\n find to put in it, from bio-diesel to veg oil without problems. but i wouldn't recommend it unless you've done a lot of research.

sudzs

Thanks all for the replies!

I think a flushing is in order and fingers crossed it'll be o.k.

The Real B-man

KidCapree wrote: »

Other way round i believe Snyper. a bit of diesel in a petrol car is good for it, but as for 30 euros worth... that cant be good...

How can Diesel be good for a Petrol Car? :rolleyes:

vibe666

sudzs wrote: »

I think a flushing is in order and fingers crossed it'll be o.k.

for future reference, the best course of action is to NOT START THE ENGINE and just have the car towed to a mechanic so they can drain the tank. if it hasn't been started it's a pretty quick & easy fix, but once you start the engine it gets very complicated very quickly and complicated = expensive.

KidCapree

The Real B-man wrote: »

How can Diesel be good for a Petrol Car? :rolleyes:

good call i'd feel foolish right now... but it's hard to look foolish after someone put 30 euro worth of petrol in a diesel

Hifive

This happened to my wifes 2.4 common rail diesel last summer.
"Someone":rolleyes: filled it up with petrol from nearly empty. It stopped in the middle of the road after about 5 minutes. I got it towed to the dealer for a drain and flush and it's been fine ever since, so your friend may be lucky.

netopia789

non it just whant work