Diesel running on super

Submitted: Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 13:46
ThreadID: 5824 Views:2006 Replies:10 FollowUps:2
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Beleive it or not my other half put $25 worth of super petrol in my diesel hilux. To say im not a happy man right now would be a pretty accurate description but what can you do. My question to anyone who might know is if i siphon as much out as i can and fill the whole tank up with diesel. Will this damage my engine. And if it will what has to be done? Tank flushed, filter changed etc. Luckily she realised before she drove off so the veheicle hasnt been started. Thanks for any help in advance.
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Reply By: diamond (bendigo) - Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 14:14

Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 14:14
not to sure about petrol in diesel but many years ago i got a little impatient waiting to fill up and drove into the next available bay and with out noticing i filled the petrol b2000 up with diesel.drained it out and all was finenew job coming so no fraser this time:-((
AnswerID: 24266

Reply By: Member - Topcat - Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 14:37

Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 14:37
Hi Bud, all you need to do is drain your tank & flush your fuel lines & filters, replenish with diesel & bleed the system of the petrol including the injection pump & injector lines. Petrol will not damage your engine because it has not the hydraulic properties of diesel so if it got as far as your injection pump it doesn't get any further because the pump cannot pump it to the injectors & the engine just stops running is though it has run out of fuel. You may have to crank the donk over a few times to get the fuel to the injectors. If you just loosen a few of the lines on the injectors, crank over the engine & look for signs of diesel at the loosened injector caps, retighten then crank over a few more times till the engine starts. It may run rough for a few minutes until it gets rid of any air left in the lines. Hope this helps. CheersHave Wheels Will Travel
AnswerID: 24267

Follow Up By: Browny - Sunday, Jul 06, 2003 at 14:33

Sunday, Jul 06, 2003 at 14:33
TC,
If as Bud says, the engine hasn't been started, surely theres no need to go to all the trouble of bleeding the entire fuel system? Just drain the tank and start again.

Browny
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FollowupID: 16366

Follow Up By: Member - Topcat - Sunday, Jul 06, 2003 at 20:16

Sunday, Jul 06, 2003 at 20:16
Hi Browny, I agree, there is no need to flush the whole system if the mistake has been realised before the engine is started: but I did come across an incident a few years back where a mate of mine wondered why his diesel stopped suddenly & couldn't restart it. He found he had filled his tank with petrol by mistake and ran for a few kms until it stopped. That's what we had to do to get it running again. Cheers.Have Wheels Will Travel
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FollowupID: 16374

Reply By: Andrew - Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 15:57

Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 15:57
Did that at Rainbow Beach just to top up before going to Frazer Island. I put $20 of petrol into my HJ60. I didn't start the 4wd when I realised. Had to tow it away to nearest workshop, drain all fuel from tank - 90l then refuel.
Later found out that this was common happening on that petrol station as the
fuel pumps were not marked clearly and easily mistaken.
AnswerID: 24270

Reply By: David N. - Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 17:15

Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 17:15
My uncle put nearly half a tank of super in his GQ diesel a few years ago. He drove it quite some distance and was wondering why it was running rough/smoking/gutless. After he realised what he'd done, the tank was drained and the vehicle ONLY did another 200,000 odd kays before it was traded in on a new one.... it was still running fine!
AnswerID: 24273

Reply By: Kev - (Cairns,QLD) - Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 17:25

Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 17:25
Doesn't the injector pump use the diesel as a lubricant ?

If so id think it could cause damage if left in the system.
AnswerID: 24274

Reply By: Simon - Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 21:31

Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 21:31
I was led to beleive that petrol wont ignite just by compresion, so if you put it in a diesel it will only ignite after the diesel has ignited causing the cylinder to fire twice per power stroke.(no more power just rough running)
Prolonged use of petrol in diesel causes premature engine wear but a small amount left in the tank shouldnt hurt once only.
This was explained to me by a diesel mechanic mate of mine when I told him I used to tip a gallon of petrol into my diesel cruiser every time I filled up.(a trick an old truckie told me "to make em go better")
AnswerID: 24288

Reply By: Eric - Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 22:08

Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 22:08
Bud.

Don't panic Bud, it will be ok, any thing under 50/50 mixture will not harm the motor, some diesel mechanics add petrol to diesel as a lazy way of cleaning the injectors,the petrol will cause the motor to run hot and this burns the carbon of the injectors, there is a well known diesel aditive for cleaning injectors and it is just un leaded with a colour added and priced at aprox $50/litre.SO just fill your tank with diesel and drive home, Eric.
AnswerID: 24291

Reply By: zigglemeister - Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 23:48

Saturday, Jul 05, 2003 at 23:48
Bud,

I'm chuckling at this because a few years ago my brother did the same thing in his Rocky - I had a fun evening driving out to where he was and helping him to drain the tank. We found that the diesel floated on top of the petrol in the tank, so the petrol drained out the drain plug first and after a while the consistency changed and we could tell we now had mostly diesel. So I'd leave the car sit a bit, then drain it till you get the colour change, then go fill it with diesel after that.

Tim Z
AnswerID: 24300

Reply By: Hardy - Monday, Jul 07, 2003 at 09:32

Monday, Jul 07, 2003 at 09:32
I'm sad to say I put 40 odd litres of unleaded in in my 90L Hj60 (diesel landcruizer) giving me a 50/50 mix. I realised what I had done and spent five minutes deciding what the pros and cons where of driving home to drain it. After driving home and draining found no problems. Engine ran just fine. I have herd somewhere that diesel filters can be damaged by petrol?? Cheers Hardy
AnswerID: 24384

Reply By: Bud - Monday, Jul 07, 2003 at 11:29

Monday, Jul 07, 2003 at 11:29
Thanks for all the replies.
Drained the tank at the servo filled up with the right stuff and I've driven 350 km since. No Worries whatsoever. My missus is now banned from driving my ute unsupervised, but she did clean and polish it 'cos she felt so bad, so maybe im being a bit harsh.

thanks again
AnswerID: 24388

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