Petrol into diesel

[bredsticz]

Hi all, has anyone here or know anyone that has actually damaged a diesel engine by putting petrol into it?
My dad just rang me asking for adice, he put 18 litres into a nissan quashquai

Looking online and I can't find any actual stories of people wrecking their engine. Just the misfire then worried and cleaned out.
I told him to either get it drained or fill to the brim with diesel and risk it. Its just alot of petrol so it's not like it's only a little bit.
He's made it home ok but wanted to check up on the matter.
A fair few, who claim to be experts, say it'll be fine n its all just scare stories

 

[AppleSei]

It might have been ok 15 years ago but its a pretty big no no nowadays due to the fragility of these common rail diesel engines

Best get it drained asap the longer its in there the more damage to fuel lines, tank etc, it shouldnt have been started in all honesty and definately not driven

Id say the fuel lines need to replaced at very least but theres probably more damage

 

[scout]

As above, if its an old car he may have gotten away with it but if its a modern Diesel engine then there could be damage to the fuel pump, filters and any moving parts as the diesel works as a lubricant and the petrol will dry out the surfaces causing damage. The longer you run it the more damage is incurred.

 

[jenks69]

I know of two dieseld that have been brimmed with petrol and run till they conk out... a Mitsubishi and a Toyota, both had tanks and fuel lines drained run with diesel and injector cleaner both still going strong, the Toyota has since been "petrol'd" again and run till it conked out... both run sweet as

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Diesel has high lubricating properties, petrol doesn't, normally knackers anything mechanical in the fuel system (pumps / injectors) may not be apparent at first, but will in time as they wear prematurely.

 

[Ulpian]

It should have been flushed out immediately. Certainly it should be now. If it was a long - more than two miles - drive home the injectors, pump etc. may we'll be damaged. As said, it wasn't so serious on old Diesel engines, but the new ones are very sophisticated pieces of engineering.

 

[portland_bill]

All the scary stories above are true, so damage could have already occurred. Best action is to get it drained. AA or RAC member? Give them a call.

However, petrol will float on top of diesel. Without running the engine again, remove the fuel cap and leave it for a day or so. A lot of the petrol will evaporate. The remainder will sit on top, but probably cannot be syphoned off as most cars have anti-syphon devices in the filler neck. (Needs to be done on a drive, not left out on the road with the cap off.) Don't be tempted to burn off the fuel vapour! Then brim it with diesel, run until 3/4 full, brim again, and repeat until no petrol smell is apparent from the fuel filler. This will be hassle for days, or weeks, but will minimise the amount of petrol ingested.

 

[The Beard]

It's a good point about petrol evaporating, but it may not be enough, so having the tank drained will probably be the best option. But, if draining isn't the choice made then allowing it to evaporate and top it up with diesel, run it for a while then keep on topping it up to increase the ratio of derv to petrol.

We were seconded to provide some of the security for the G8 when it was held at Gleneagles a few years ago and our mob were given an area of moorland on the perimeter (probably didn't trust them with guns near world leaders) and they were required to take petrol 4X4s, fortunately they were able to dig out some Range Rovers that were shortly to be disposed of. A few months later they were gone.

The reason for petrol engines? Simply if there was a fuel spillage on the moors then most of the petrol would evaporate, whereas diesel would just sink in and contaminate the earth beneath.

 

[bredsticz]

Iv passed it all on. Think he is going to drive it and see how it goes