# Wrong fuel!!!!



## PILOTEFAN (Jul 19, 2010)

Hi

We have had our Talbot Express Pilote R660 for a few weeks 
Hubs filled up the tank this weekend and we went to Dorchester.
No problems at all, then when we started her up to come home she really struggled and load of black smoke came out.
We drove home with the smell of exhust fumes in the cab not nice.
Booked her into the garage to see what was the matter.
6am this morning hubs wakes me up to tell me he just realised he put petrol in her instead of Diesel !!!
So we checked with the garage and they said it will be OK and either drain the rest of it or keep topping it up with diesel.
We want to drain it out just to be safe but we cant find where you undo the fuel tank to drain it.
Can anyone help.


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## wilse (Aug 10, 2007)

No ideal but could you siphon it out?

w


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## neilbes (Oct 16, 2006)

If you drain it from the fuel pump the system will need bleeding.

I would just siphon most of it out and then brim it with diesel


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

If it's a fairly modern base, the fuel tank won't have a drain plug and possibly the filler neck is designed to prevent siphoning.
You may well have to drain via the pump feed.

Do you know how much diesel was in the tank - how much petrol was added - the size of the tank?

A call to the AA/RAC with those figures and they will tell you at what mix level you need to drain and at what level you can just top up with diesel.


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## PILOTEFAN (Jul 19, 2010)

Siphon it of course !!!!

Thanks, I was so happy that "Cookie" was OK I just couldnt think straight.


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## PILOTEFAN (Jul 19, 2010)

Woops I forgot to say she is an old girl "G" reg

He filled her up and she was half full already we used up half a tank there and back.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

PILOTEFAN said:


> Woops I forgot to say she is an old girl "G" reg
> 
> He filled her up and she was half full already we used up half a tank there and back.


Well I wouldn't drive any further on a 50/50 mix in a diesel engine.

Poke a stick down the filler neck to see if you could get a siphon down there - that would be the easiest and cheapest way out, unless you can find that drain plug which should be obvious if it's there at all.


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## ThursdaysChild (Aug 2, 2008)

Did the same thing whilst rushing for a ferry in France. 
Fortunately, noticed before driving off, and as luck would have it, the filling station had a workshop and mechanic on duty.
Very slowly he managed to extract the petrol from somewhere under the tank, and we rolled it back to the pump for a diesel fill.
2006 Peugeot 2.2, and the filler neck has a grid to prevent a siphoning tube being inserted.
No damage - but we missed the ferry !


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

If you have already driven it that far AND it is now half empty again I would just top it up - go and get the diesel in a drum though if it makes you less worried. It has also been suggested to me that a drop of 2 stroke oil in the mix will help guard against any more wear.

Diesels of that age are far more tolerant of a drop of petrol than modern common rail diesels - in fact it used to be quite common to add up to 10% petrol as a matter of course in winter as an anti waxing agent - but that is not the case these days.


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Stanner said:


> If you have already driven it that far AND it is now half empty again I would just top it up - go and get the diesel in a drum though if it makes you less worried. It has also been suggested to me that a drop of 2 stroke oil in the mix will help guard against any more wear.
> 
> Diesels of that age are far more tolerant of a drop of petrol than modern common rail diesels - in fact it used to be quite common to add up to 10% petrol as a matter of course in winter as an anti waxing agent - but that is not the case these days.


I feel like saying +1 but its not my motor and I might think different in your situation.

How much diesel will it take to fill right up compared to what you have in the tank?.


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

Having driven it that far without any noticeable effect apart from smoke etc, if you cannot drain it, just fill it to the brim with diesel and dont drive it too hard. keep topping it up and it will dilute even further.

Peter


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## hblewett (Jan 28, 2008)

When I did this with a 'old' type diesel engine, I had put 2 gallons in a 13 gallon tank. RAC said no problem if i then filled the rest with diesel. Tha's what I did, and with that mix (about 20% petrol), there wasno noticable difference at all. Maybe that will help in your calculations


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## PILOTEFAN (Jul 19, 2010)

Hi Everyone

Thank you so much for your replies and advice. Glad to see we arent the only ones to do this  

We is going to siphon it off tonight once he buys a can big enough for it all !! We just dont want to take a chance of damaging her anymore. I don't know what we will do with it after but I'll worry about that later perhaps the local dump will take it for us or I might ring our garage to see if they will dispose of it what a waste though.
Oh well it could have been a LOT worse.

Thanks again


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## doug285 (Apr 30, 2008)

PILOTEFAN said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> Thank you so much for your replies and advice. Glad to see we arent the only ones to do this
> 
> ...


As already stated its ok to use a small amount of petrol mixed with the diesel, so I would use it a bit at a time once you know the fuel in the system is all ok.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

doug285 said:


> As already stated its ok to use a small amount of petrol mixed with the diesel, so I would use it a bit at a time once you know the fuel in the system is all ok.


No, no, no, you definitely don't want to do that - just send it to me, I'll dispose of it for you FREE! :wink:


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

PILOTEFAN said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> Thank you so much for your replies and advice. Glad to see we arent the only ones to do this
> 
> ...


Keep it for mixing with your mower fuel.

Ray.


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## Yeti (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi all

If its any consolation I did the same thing with our Sprinter 316 cdi a couple of years ago, 
Topped off with 40 lt of petrol then did 300K fully loaded at 3850Kkg plus towing Smart on a trailer throught the Alps without realising it !!!
All Mercedes did was to remove the fuel tank, flush through with diesel, fill up and send me on my merry way.
Being an engineer I immediately thought of burnt valves, burnt piston crowns, excessive bore wear and luboil consumption, but no. It now has an extra 20,000 on the clock and goes like a train, with no outward signs of damage.
Whilst it must be said that running a diesel engine on a blend is not recommended lol. then a one off occurance may not cause irreparable damage but by heck you won't do it again !!!

best regards

The Yeti


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## PILOTEFAN (Jul 19, 2010)

Hi
Just to update Hubs filled her up with diesel and drove about for a while and she seems nearly back to normal  
Going to drive to the coast tomorrow so we can top up again.

Thank you everyone for your help


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## LynneKen (Jan 19, 2008)

my hubby did the same thing cost £200 for AA to drain and they put £10 worth of diesel in to get you going, worked a treat. The AA have a dedicated service to do this with specially fitted vans and they are very busy, guy reckons one in every three is a mis fill and he had done five that day, so don't feel so bad there are a lot of us about LOL.

Lynne


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

We did the same a couple of years ago with our '91 reg car.

Apparently if the engine had been a modern diesel we might have been replacing the whole thing!

More modern isn't always better.


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## Wupert (Aug 6, 2007)

JWW said:


> We did the same a couple of years ago with our '91 reg car.
> 
> Apparently if the engine had been a modern diesel we might have been replacing the whole thing!
> 
> More modern isn't always better.


To anyone reading this thread

If you have a recent diesel engine do not drive it.

It could cost you big bucks

Call out a rescue service who will drain the tank bleed the system and refill with 10 or so litres so you can drive to the nearest filling station.


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## Seeker (Dec 26, 2005)

Did the same thing on my very first fill-up. I'd stopped by the diesel pump and pulled the black hose out and filled up. It was only when I put it back I noticed that all the hoses were black and I'd filled with unleaded. There ought to be a law on colour coding hoses! Now I check three times before squeezing the trigger!

RAC came out and drained from the fuel pump in the engine compartment. Cost me £110 (5 years ago) plus lost cost of unleaded but was lucky the garage did not throw a wobbly as it's illegal to do it on a garage forecourt - has to be done on approved sites.

Harry


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## Westkirby01 (Jan 25, 2009)

Hey, Good thread.

I joined the wrong fill up brigade 22 years ago, (diesel into petrol) and returned last week (petrol into diesel). Does that make me an Alchamist? So Pilotefan, my old pal. welcome to the weird and wacky world of wonderful Motorhoming.


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## PILOTEFAN (Jul 19, 2010)

Westkirby01 said:


> Hey, Good thread.
> 
> I joined the wrong fill up brigade 22 years ago, (diesel into petrol) and returned last week (petrol into diesel). Does that make me an Alchamist? So Pilotefan, my old pal. welcome to the weird and wacky world of wonderful Motorhoming.


 :lol: 
I am so glad we are not the only ones to do this, funny that a lot of car drivers I told have done the same thing as well.
I seems to be a very common and costly error you would think they would change the nozzles to avoid it happening.


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## vardy (Sep 1, 2006)

I did it to a brand new Chrysler Voyager. My work lease car. Filled it completely up with the wrong fuel, not a clue I'd done it - and it conked out after 1 and a half hours driving.

As soon as it died I had a deja vu moment of realisation and nearly wet myself on the spot.

£4000 to put it right. 8O


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

On different days in the week/month I can drive any of

Car - petrol

Transit - diesel

Transit (same co./colour scheme - petrol and LPG

7.5 ton truck - diesel (that's easy - no petrol trucks)

MH - diesel (and LPG)

DO I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL !!

At least it is not possible to fill a petrol/diesel tank with LPG, is it?
Well, if it has been done the owner probably is not here to tell us!

(Agree nozzles should be consistently colour-coded, if only to identify correct pump when driving onto forecourt)

Geoff


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