Well yes I have been a bit of a numpty, but will a load of stuff on my mind today I (for teh 1st time ever!) started to fill up with BP unleaded rather than Diesel. After about 5 litres I suddenly realised the mistake.
I paid for the fuel and asked a slightly bewildered what I should do. He said people in the past had done this and what they did was fill up to the brim in Diesel and then keep it topped up for a while.
So I did that filled right up. I reckon the unleaded will be approximately 10% of the total absolutely 15% maximum. I had to drive from there (late for a meeting) and did 10 mile with absolutely no performance, noise, juddering or anything else I can think difference.
Apart from being a numpty, have I done real bad? Should I take any other action or is the suggestion sufficient remedial action?
Don't pillory me I feel stupid enough as it is!
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SWMBO did the same thing in our Grand Scenic 1.9dCi, but in this case it was 7 litres before she realised. Didn't even have to think about it. Had it immediately towed to a local garage who drained the tank and flushed the lines through with clean diesel and filled with fresh fuel. £125, plus £60 worth of diesel. A tenth of the cost of a new injection pump with fitting and coding.
Had it been my old conventional Mondeo TD, I would have done as you did, but no way would I do it on a modern common rail engine. Common rail injection pumps don't like petrol in any quantity as they rely on the lubricating properties of the diesel. You may get away with it, you may not. Only time will tell.
At the very least, I would recommend topping up with diesel every 100 miles or so for the next few months to dilute the petrol as much as possible.
Good luck!
Cheers
DP
Edited by DP on 12/06/2008 at 13:14
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I'd go get some Millers Power Sport 4 or Power Plus Diesel additive ASAP and put a double dose in for lubrication (They sell it at Halfords now apparently).
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Thanks, but what will that do. I have never come across it before
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Put some millers in to clean it thats what the petrol has just done ,just leave it it will be perfectly OK.Before the advent of clean diesel it was commopn to add 10% petrol in winter to stop it waxing up garages make an absolute fortune out of needlessly stripping down and replacing parts when there is absolutely nothing wrong with them.
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Hi again can i clarify are you suggesting adding Millers to help or are you saying the errant unleaded I have put in will do the same job.
I know what millers is now I ahve read up on it . But please answer the above.
Cheers
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Hi again can i clarify are you suggesting adding Millers to help or are you saying the errant unleaded I have put in will do the same job. I know what millers is now I ahve read up on it . But please answer the above.
Millers not only cleans the system (and increases the cetane rating), it also lubricates it, whereas petrol will not. I use Millers mainly for its lubricating qualities with the added bonus of making the engine run quieter and smoother.
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Diesel fuel systems are very different to how they were in those days though, AB. The tolerances of the components are in a completely different league with injection pressures up to four times higher, and with totally different injection technology.
I agree that some garages are opportunistic, but neither do I think modern diesels are anything like as tolerant as old ones. They're certainly not as bombproof in other respects.
Cheers
DP
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Course they are, more robust if anything,most brands of diesel additives are basically petrol you should see some of the diesel that is put into modern cars in shall we say third world countries it would give you shivers but top of the range mercs run no bother.Hes put a few litres of petrol in with loads of diesel like I have said before it will do absolutely no harm but if you want to waste money on products of the dream shelve do it.
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Q
Around about 2 years ago I managed to fill the tank of my Focus 1.6 tdci with petrol.
I drove around for perhaps 25 miles before I called the AA in as the engine was "misfiring" or that's how it felt. I was stunned, I thought I would never be the guy who would do this! So don't feel too bad.
The car was towed & drained etc.
I had a worrying time, for a while but touch wood, some 20 k miles later there appear to be no problems whatsoever. I think if you took action early, as it seems you did, you will have a good chance of getting away with it.
Good luck.
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With common rail injection petrol can have serious consequences. If the fuel pump is damaged due to lack of lubrication and the metal bits get into the common rail system then you may have to replace the low and high-pressure fuel pumps, injectors, fuel rail, line filters and the fuel tank too (worst case). You might get away with it but it might already be too late to avoid some damage. Absolute worst case scenario could be thousands to fix.
If it was me I'd have never started it and got the tank drained etc. But I'm not a gambler.
In the old days diesel was thinned in the winter with petrol but that is no longer advisable. The AA advice is here:
www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuels-and-environmen...l
Edited by rtj70 on 12/06/2008 at 17:10
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Most of the mis-fueling nowadays seem to suggest filling diesel car with petrol.
Can anyone fill petrol car with diesel? Or nozzle design in pumps now prevent pouring diesel in petrol cars completely?
That means petrol car owners are almost protected against mis-fuelling?
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That means petrol car owners are almost protected against mis-fuelling?
Unless they're the customers of a well-known supermarket in Tavistock that had new pumps fitted this week.....
There was, apparently, a slight confusion in the pipework department......
[Apparently; the local Ford dealer has a whole yardful of dead cars awaiting new fuel systems and the complaints queue stretched right down the forecourt this morning.... That's gotta cost!]
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It should not be possible to put a diesel nozzle into the filler of a petrol car - too big. But someone posted on here once their wife had found it didn't fit so held the nozzle in place....
The new Ford system is interesting and with their financial problems you'd have thought they should license it to all companies and charge a few quid.... and get a fair bit more back! But in some countries you need to use the "funnel" because the filler nozzles are the wrong size for the Ford easy-fuel system.
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