# deisel instead of petrol



## annetony (May 1, 2005)

Tony went to Morrisons to put petrol in after dropping me off at work, he put Diesel in instead of petrol. He didn't notice till the van started running rough on the way home throwing out lots of smoke and spluttering, :? he rang his brother who is a mechanic and after he asked him if he had put diesel in by mistake 8O Tony walked back to Morrisons to check 8O   he had, so we are now off the road till the Mechanic comes round tomorrow to sort it out I was lucky I didn't have to walk home from work :evil: , I suppose he isn't the first one to do it  

Anne


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## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

annetony said:


> Tony went to Morrisons to put petrol in after dropping me off at work, he put Diesel in instead of petrol


Oh dear. Better than putting petrol in a diesel engine though (not that it helps you....).

Dougie.


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## 106916 (Sep 8, 2007)

asprn said:


> annetony said:
> 
> 
> > Tony went to Morrisons to put petrol in after dropping me off at work, he put Diesel in instead of petrol
> ...


I thought putting petrol in a diesel was less of a problem, as it used to be done with old fuels to stop the diesel solidifying in winter. Whilst diesel in a petrol engine would clog the carb or nowadays the injectors. 
Petrol in diesel is just a matter of syphoning it out , possibly re-priming the fuel pump and filling up with oily stuff again. 
But diesel in petrol 
Mechanics in the know please enlighten 
Vidura :?:


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## WingPete (Jan 29, 2006)

*Still runs*

Some years back, a fire engine (Turntable Ladder) I was driving back from workshops after having a big Gardner 8 litrs petrol engine fitted (original clapped out, this one Ex RAF gennie) when I appreciated the smoke trail behind (this TL had no cab ) , but pressed on through Camberwell to New Cross in a blue haze, behind fortunately, to park in station yard and find out it had been filled with diesel, about 30 gallons.
When workshops guys came, all they did was drain the diesel into cans and refilled with petrol. No harm done at all. The diesel was waste though, so I relieved them of it to put in my diesel car !


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## 106390 (Aug 11, 2007)

*Mistakes !!*

Doubt a couple of Gallons would of done any harm ..... one Winter i thought i best top up my Anti Freeeze ...poured 2 litres into the wrong hole in the dark .. found out i had poured it into my Servo- Brakes 8O ..... It was being drawen into my Cylinder Head ..... Quickly started Engine and ran it for 15 mins with Blue Smoke coming out every where then it ran clear ... and never had any problems :wink: Yet every mechanic i spoke to said my engine should be rebuilt !


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

I think petrol is a problem with the later Euro 3 & 4 Derv engines, but ok with older ones. I suppose the same applies to petrol as well.


Richard...


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## Fatalhud (Mar 3, 2006)

I always thought diesel in a petrol engine was the worse
something to do with the petrol engine not being able to cope with the compression of deisel because of its density
Hope it wasnt to much and hasnt knackered the engine, bent valves and all that


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## 94055 (May 1, 2005)

Ok, 
Voice of experience Nissan Navara td pick-up 2500cc
2006 plate 
Now driving to Stockport, pulled into a Garage I use 1,2 or 3 times a week usually the same pump. This particular morning I went to a different pump, well you guessed it 8O Petrol in Diesel. The worst was I did not notice.
I drove a further 15ish miles, at dinner time I drove 4mls each way. Then I left in the evening, the Navara spluttered a bit as I joined the motorway (did not splutter for long) It seemed to have cleared, then, nothing....engine died, all lights came on the dash 8O I managed to safely get into the hard shoulder. I rang RAC, they arrived :!: . I explained what had happened. He went straight to fuel inlet, smelt it and said you have put petrol in diesel. 
Phew I thought, it is not that bad. Drain out tank, flush injectors and pipework etc.
To cut a long story short, arrived at garage. They did exactly as I thought, once drained they filled it up again and tried to pump it through. Well, zilch, nothing, not a murmur 8O After investigation they found a hole in the fuel pump.
The transportation to a garage closer to home and the yes it will, no it won't, yes it will scenario I will leave for another time.
Well gets to garage at stupid o'clock. Eventually gets home in the wee hours.
Now this is the main reason for bringing this to your attention. As I knew along with others on this thread, You could burn petrol out of diesel engines, that is you could. Now the Diesel acts as a lubricant in the newer engines, sorry do not know when this started 8O 
Now the cost, this was done in a proper Nissan garage. the vehicle is a 2006 after all. Ok are you ready for it? 
Well just to see if you can guess I will put the amount a bit further down the page



































£7,500
8O Yes that is correct, thankfully the Insurance covered it. All I had to pay was £300 excess. Well, believe me It could happen to you and does to a lot. Lesson learnt? Who knows, how did I do it this time?

Steve


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## 101600 (Oct 30, 2006)

A friend did it with a BMW X5 and i was told it cost £14k to fix it 8O


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## 94055 (May 1, 2005)

Hi Rob,
The garage told me I was lucky it was not a BMW.
Did the insurance pay?
I bet a lot of insurance companies would use a get out clause.

Steve


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## 104477 (May 13, 2007)

Had to ring my brother in law(HGV mechanic, retired) the other day when the contracts manager put petrol in the new deisel van for a solution. The first thing he asked was how much diesel was left in tank and how much petrol had been put in? 25% and 75% were the answers." don't drive it " he said because the petrol is more explosive by about a factor of 13, so the engine could possibly blow up. I suspect that poor SandJ's 7.5k was for a new engine!
putting a couple of gallons of petrol in diesel tanks to stop "waxing" was fairly common practice in a really cold winter years ago but modern diesel fuels are supposed to be anti-waxing. The engine was flushed through with diesel after draining the tank and has been okay since.
The problem with diesel in a petrol tank is one of density, the petrol floats on top of the diesel and the diesel clogs all of the fine mesh filters and small bore jets in the carburettor and then will not ignite from the sparkplug. A few revolutions of the engine as it dies and the exhaust valve outlets and exhaust a coated in diesel, the whole lot needs to be stripped down and cleaned but normally no new engine required. Just an expensive labour charge!


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## 94055 (May 1, 2005)

Hi Rob
No new engine, new tank, pipes and injectors. The highest cost was labour. I did not receive full details as the insurance company paid.

Steve


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## 104477 (May 13, 2007)

A very expensive labour charge! New tank? I would have thought it nice and clean after the Petrol enema!


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## annetony (May 1, 2005)

My brother in law sent his mechanic out to sort us out, he came on the way home last night (lives nearby), he pumped all the diesel out of the tank, filled it with petrol and told Tony it would be ok now, cost nil, he wouldn't take anything 8O . Tony took it for a spin and gave it a bit of welly, he said he was embarresed about all the smoke coming out of the back  :wink: but it now seems to be ok, I hope it is as we were supposed to be going away for a week in October. :roll: :roll: 

Anne


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## 104477 (May 13, 2007)

Very pleased all turned out okay. Don't think it will happen again, suspect poor Tony will be muttering a mantra everytime he visits the petrol station! Happy travels.


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Been there done that in France on a hertz hire car  
Old diesels a little petrol was OK in fact some would say beneficial. But on new common rail diesels not so good as petrol can damage seals some where so I'm told. But petrol in diesel not sure if about damage :?: 
Wobby


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## some-where-in-oxford (Apr 18, 2006)

annetony said:


> Tony went to Morrisons to put petrol in after dropping me off at work, he put Diesel in instead of petrol. He didn't notice till the van started running rough on the way home throwing out lots of smoke and spluttering, :? he rang his brother who is a mechanic and after he asked him if he had put diesel in by mistake 8O Tony walked back to Morrisons to check 8O   he had, so we are now off the road till the Mechanic comes round tomorrow to sort it out I was lucky I didn't have to walk home from work :evil: , I suppose he isn't the first one to do it
> 
> Anne


Would this damage the CAT? if its a newer vehicle.


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

I put about 3Ltrs (Three) of petrol in my diesel Rover 75....thinking it wouldn't be a problem I filled up with 50Ltrs of diesel.
I drove off and stopped after about 500 yards (concern was mounting!) in a layby. I phoned the AA and then Rover (RIP) just to confirm that under NO circumstances should the car be started.
Towed to garage....drained the system....1 hour and £75 solved the problem.
Plus, of course, a tankful of diesel.


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