wrong fuel

[terry@yarmouth]

hello everyone, just to let you know what an idiot I am, specially for posting this on here. but this afternoon I stuck £40.00 of petrol into my diesel merc. e280 cdi. now that's bad enough till you realise the price of having it removed £180.00, but that does include a fuel additive and £20.00 of diesel.so please pay attention at the pumps and not feel gutted like I do at the moment. question is will there be any long term damage ? chap who done the job reckons no, but im not so sure ?

 

[renault12ts]

I suspect the guy who did the job knows more than most on here...so if I say no long term effects (no long term effects) will you believe me or anyone else?

Best get a full strip down of the fuel system at a dealer to be sure.

 

[Dieselman]

As long as it was removed before driving, it will be OK.

 

[terry@yarmouth]

done about 200 yards, then realised what a **** id been and turned it off, needless to say the people coming out of the local supermarket where non to pleased. blocked off one lane. called fuel doctor. very quick and very professional. still painful though.

 

[panason1c]

I would say that no damage will have occurred if you only drove a couple of hundred yards, bear in mind also, that there would already be a certain amount of diesel still inside your tank and the lengthy fuel system so the petrol would not have immediately reached the high pressure pump, and any that eventually did would not have done damage due to the short engine running time, therefore, I would not be concerned about possible damage, based on what you posted.

 

[MDC250]

Think it's less harmful to misfuel this way round rather than Derv into petrol engine. As one reply says the guy who does this for a living has suggested it will be OK, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you it will

It happens more than you'd think. I used to work at a Tesco petrol station when at Uni and know people who still work there and they say it happens as much as it used to.

 

[E270 Owner]

Big business in my area.

AA & RAC charge around £130 to evac and refill with approx 25 litres diesel.

I have recovered too many too remember petrol into diesel breakdowns, and have never had problems I know of with damage to any components after purging, refilling, changing the fuel filter.

I recently asked one of the RAC guys if he had any problems with the later diesel systems with petrol in them, we both agreed that the fuel systems are so sensitive that the engine usually cuts out before any permanent damage is done.

There will always be exceptions but none I have ever come across in 25 years.

 

[Dieselman]

Think it's less harmful to misfuel this way round rather than Derv into petrol engine.

Definitely the opposite is the worst case.

 

[MDC250]

Definitely the opposite is the worst case.

It's early for me...just to clarify you are agreeing it is worse to fuel diesel into a petrol tank or are you saying worse to put petrol into diesel tank?!

I've been told petrol into diesel tank so long as small amounts for want of a better explanation 'thins' the diesel and car will run rough? That was assuming say putting less than 1/4 tank into otherwise largely full fuel tank.

 

[nigel cross]

I try and be doubly careful, as I have both a diesel and a petrol car.

 

[kth286]

just confirms my view that running a diesel car is even more expensive than many people think.

 

[E270 Owner]

It's early for me...just to clarify you are agreeing it is worse to fuel diesel into a petrol tank or are you saying worse to put petrol into diesel tank?!

I've been told petrol into diesel tank so long as small amounts for want of a better explanation 'thins' the diesel and car will run rough? That was assuming say putting less than 1/4 tank into otherwise largely full fuel tank.

You will have problems with diesel into petrol due to pump nozzle sizes.

Petrol will make diesel run rough depending on amount that's been mixed, not all petrol can be removed on a misfuelling, but can be thinned down by fully filling the tank.

just confirms my view that running a diesel car is even more expensive than many people think.

Have you actually read this thread ?












.

 

[RBYCC]

In the USA there have been modifications to prevent this.

Some Euro builds are now being manufactured with this feature or being retrofitted under recalls.

Volkswagen TDI diesel to get modifications to prevent gasoline misfueling - Autoweek

"On its new North American diesel models, BMW is introducing a system that will prevent a gas nozzle from being inserted in the diesel filler neck. BMW calls the system the Incorrect Fuelling Protection System . The filler neck in these diesel models has a locking system that only a standard diesel filler nozzle can release. An unleaded gasoline nozzle with its smaller diameter cannot make the connection to open the filler flap."

Porsche and Audi also doing the same but not Merc.

After market devices also available:
Order Your Solodiesel now - SoloDiesel -- Misfuelling Prevention Cap)

 

[E270 Owner]

Probably the only way..... ^^

Even when the pumps used to go

"Bong......... Warning diesel fuel selected"

People were still misfuelling












.

 

[Stratman]

Having put petrol in my diseasel I have tried both the SoloDiesel and the Fuel Angel.

The Solo is more convenient because it replaces the filler cap and so it isn't necessary to remove it at refuelling time. Mine leaked a little around the O ring seal when filling up, causing the need to mop up in the filler cap well. It works on the principle that the correct filler nozzle will open the sprung claws across the orifice but the smaller petrol one will get caught on small hooks on the ends of the claws and not open them.

The Fuel Angel also replaces the original filler cap with its own bright orange one. It needs to be removed to fill up. It works by having a suspended 'inner filler nozzle' with appropriate cutouts in the mounting system fitted into your filler tube with the simple tool provided in the kit. A Diesel nozzle will fit the cutouts, a petrol one won't.

I'm currently using the Fuel Angel because I don't like the drips from the Solo. I keep staring at the ground as I walk around, looking for a thicker O ring which may cure the drips. I'd prefer to use the Solo for its convenience, but the dripping is a deal breaker for me.

 

[merc estate]

Dont think your a fool a few years ago i did it twice with a taxi with nissan engine, it means you have a lot going on in your life, both times drained new filter and additive put in and for years after it was ok. Relax sleep tight at night.

 

[Dieselman]

Think it's less harmful to misfuel this way round rather than Derv into petrol engine.

Definitely the opposite is the worst case.

It's early for me...just to clarify you are agreeing it is worse to fuel diesel into a petrol tank or are you saying worse to put petrol into diesel tank?!

You said it was worse to put diesel into a petrol engined car, I said it's definitely worse the opposite way round.


Putting diesel into a petrol will stop the engine, putting petrol into a Common rail diesel will ruin the pump and injectors...and possibly hole a piston.

 

[kth286]

It's all about lubrication qualities of the fuel.

Petrol has none so the fine tolerance diesel pump will likely destroy
very quickly.

Diesel has got lubrication, so will not destroy the petrol engine.

 

[MarriedBlonde]

I made did the same thing a little while ago, mum was diagnosed with breast cancer and was in for an op, took much much longer than expected, wifes car had been driven into and I had been driving a petrol loaner. Got the ML back, driving back from the hospital filled it with £100 of vpower. Drove off without giving it a second thought. It started to mis fire and pop and bang. Thought I had blown the engine. Stopped, pullled over, tried to restart it. Then I could smell something odd. Got out sniffed and then slowly realised. Checked th receipt.

Anyway got recovered home, a company came out the next day to drain the system, clean the fule lines, relube the system etc. I listened as he tried to start it.

Breathed a sigh of relieve as he managed to get it running. Took about 200 miles of hard driving to stop it misifring and banging about.

About 20 journeys later and it started on the button and ran fine.

 

[terry@yarmouth]

thanks for all the replies, been using it for four days now and pleased to say its running as sweet as a nut. don't know if its me or wishful thinking. but seems to start a lot easier and doing more to the gallon. then again it could be the additive that was put in after the drain ?anyway thanks again for all the helpful advice.