Help please ,petrol into diesel

[DrTris]

Hi,
After driving diesels for years I finally
made the dire mistake of putting in unleaded.
The tank was pretty near empty & I put 11 litres
of unleaded in . I drove home (1/2 a mile) in
ignorance & about an hour later I went to go
out again. It started as usual but then the revs
dipped very briefly. The engine never does anything
but purr like a kitten at idle so it got my
attention - and suddenly I realised what I'd done.
Needless to say I switched it off & it's been like
that since.
I'd be very grateful for any advice. Please
bear in mind I am no mechanic.
Cheers
Tris

 

[DrTris]

Sorry
My car => C200 CDI Classic AUTO SE

Tris

 

[television]

Hello and welcome to the forum,, you do not say what car you have, but if it is a CDI as against diesel, do not drive it and have the tank drained. The only lubrication for the pumps and injectors comes from the diesel fuel itself.

 

[Howard]

Hi mate ,

Did you fill the rest of the tank up with diesel after you realised your mistake ?

 

[television]

Sorry
My car => C200 CDI Classic AUTO SE

Tris

Hi Tris,, have it drained, 5 liters is the max when topped up to full with diesel.

In your case you will take years of life from a very nice car

 

[evdok]

Welcome to the MBclub

Don't panic as the amount you have put in is not huge, just fill the rest in diesel and you should be ok.

 

[television]

Welcome to the MBclub

Don't panic as the amount you have put in is not huge, just fill the rest in diesel and you should be ok.

Its not OK for a CDI, not too bad in a diesel but bad enough

 

[evdok]

I too did the same mistake in a VW 2.5TDI but with £25 just kept filling up with diesel when ever possible, all was ok but then again i might have been one of the lucky one's

 

[television]

I too did the same mistake in a VW 2.5TDI just kept filling up with diesel when ever possible, all was OK but then again i might have been one of the lucky one's

On the last 3 diesel seminars I have been to this is the most asked question. there is no definite answer short of dismantling the pumps and injectors, the pumps run at several hundred bars.
5-6 liters is the highest that has ever been said, then immediately fill with 60 liters of diesel

 

[evdok]

I wonder how many cars there are out there that have done the same thing and just filled up thinking all is fine after all when should one notice the damaged caused..short term....long term?

 

[television]

I wonder how many cars there are out there that have done the same thing and just filled up thinking all is fine after all when should one notice the damaged caused..short term....long term?

I have answered at least 50 post of this nature, if the figures are in the same proportion to MB owners that join forums then if there are 200 MBs where I live, and I am the only one for miles on forums then there must be 1000's of cars out there having done the same thing.

It is a very hard question, even if you buy 10 liters of petrol, the chances are that you had 10 liters of diesel in the tank so that would halve the damage. You also cant drive the car in any way to minimize any damage or wear.

 

[Dieselman]

Television is right, petrol will soon wreck a CDi pump and injectors.

Drain the tank and refill with diesel and maybe some vege oil or diesel lubrication additive.

If you're lucky you've got away with it....but..

 

[aka$h]

As has already been said, Dont be tempted to drive it and see how it goes, that will cost you lots and lots of expense. Have it drained, as far as I know the AA and RAC have mobile units that can come and do this for a charge.

 

[BlackC55]

MB recomend a new pump is fitted if the engine has been run. It is not alway necessary though.

It can cause a whole heap of trouble as the pump can chew itself up and let fine filings into the fuel rail and injectors and even back to the tank.

I have seen it with my own eyes and the cost of repair can be enormous. I would just drain the tank and re-fill with diesel first just to see if you are lucky.

 

[DieselE]

The tank was pretty near empty & I put 11 litres
of unleaded in .

A lot depends on how close to empty "pretty near" is. You could have been running on anything from nearly neat petrol to a fifty/fifty mixture. At least you discovered the problem after a short distance.

As others have said, get the tank drained where it is at the moment. Don't drive it further. Only time will tell if that's your only expense.

Good luck!

 

[glojo]

MB recomend a new pump is fitted if the engine has been run. It is not alway necessary though.

It can cause a whole heap of trouble as the pump can chew itself up and let fine filings into the fuel rail and injectors and even back to the tank.

I have seen it with my own eyes and the cost of repair can be enormous. I would just drain the tank and re-fill with diesel first just to see if you are lucky.

Hi Olly,
I accept a new pump will not be cheap, but in your opinion would it be worth the risk, especially if this pump subsequently destroys itself. Might it be better to bite the bullet and fit a new pump?

I fully accept you are letting us know about the worse case scenario, but reading the first post it would appear a certain amount of petrol has gone through the fuel system! This will probably have now caused undectable damage. There might be a choice of either sell or repair, but what hard luck on any prospective buyer.

regards
John

 

[oldcro]

What a stupid thing to do!

Oh! wait a minute. I managed to fill my citroen BX petrol with diesel. drove 1/2 mile and ground to a coughing and spluttering halt. Happened to be outside the citroen garage who rectified my blunder over night and had no further problems with the car.

Next, being aware of such stupid errors I managed to fill my Audi A4 1.9TDi with petrol (at the same filling station I migh add) and this time I got 4 miles before rattling to a stop. This time I was near work and the mechanical dept fixed it. No further problems with the Audi.

Thankfully that filling station does not sell LPG so with luck my C320CDi should be safer from my thoughtless blunders.

Forgot to add the total repair bill for both was £39. None of this £thousands for us Shelties.

 

[glojo]

Oh! wait a minute. I managed to fill my citroen BX petrol with diesel. drove 1/2 mile and ground to a coughing and spluttering halt.

Usually the car lets everyone know what a plonker the driver has been (A cloud of smoke and hi-ho Silver)

Regards
John

 

[television]

During the fuel rationing I used to empty road side lamps into my car,, a bit smokey and lots of pinking, but it worked

 

[DansSlk]

This happened to one of the techs at work.

He removed the injectors and the rail and purged them as best he could, did the same thing with the fuel lines.

After he drained the tank he rigged the pump to dump all the fresh diesel he was putting in into a tank and left it run for a few day's sampling everything every now and then, once he was satisfied the pump was not spitting it's innards out it was re-connected to the fuel system and the car has been fine.

Certainly a DIY job but not very practical for the average driver still it was a lot cheaper than a new pump.