My beloved just put some diesel in her Mazda, and while waiting for the tow truck, we got to wondering if topping up the tank with petrol (which would dilute it more than 2:1) would be survivable. One garage man says it would, and the other says definitely not! I think it would be OK, but I'd get into awful trouble if I was wrong...
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I know that one way round (petrol into a diesel car or vice versa) is OK-ish, while the other is a big no-no.
I can't remember which is which though....
The one that's OK is sometimes done deliberately in very cold weather to stop whatever the correct fuel type is from icing up.
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On the other hand, even if yours is the rigth way round, 2:1 isn't really very diluted. I don't think I'd have risked it even of I'd known that was right.
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Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Not a good idea.
Go to forum search, and type 'petrol diesel' in the subject line. This will give you 21 pages of search results of people who have done this before.
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"type 'petrol diesel' in the subject line"
Thanks - I did this after the initial panic, although most of the mistakes seem to have been the other way round, presumably from people who were used to petrol but had switched to diesel. The majority of messages are about the diesel vs. petrol debate, which will doubtless run and run. I didn't like diesel much before, but I'm completely off the fence now!
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Oops! :-(
Sorry to hear it.
An uncle of mine recently did this with his SAAB 9000, and even though the ratio was more dilute than in your case (4 petrol : 1 diesel), the engine still wouldn't run. Draining the tank and flushing the line was necessary. Not difficult, just time consuming and messy.
Adding petrol to diesel (ie the other way round to your problem) is okay up to a certain percentage, and can be used in extreme cold to lower the point at which the diesel refuses to flow.
Good luck with resolution.
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SWMBO did the same thing with her MX-5, I spoke to a couple of folk and the answer was unless you can dilute to 10:1 or more don't try running the engine.
Because the diesel doesn't burn, the cat will have to deal with it, you could spike the cat which means a new cat before your next MOT.
I drained and refilled the tank, bled the system and it started within a couple of seconds - I then took it out for a blast (any excuse) to get clean the cat.
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Its really not too difficult to drain down. Don't run it at 2:1 !!!
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"Its really not too difficult to drain down"
But the tow's expensive!
"Don't run it at 2:1!!"
I bow to your knowledge on this, A, but what would say was a reasonable ratio? We haven't got a cat, and I do have childhood memories of people who used to stretch their petrol with paraffin at anything up to 50:50! Mind you, engines were simpler then, and decokes were normal...
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"what would say" = "what would you say" Doh!
Actually, I suspect that we did the right thing, as even after draining and reintroduction of petrol into the tank (no engine movement at all while the diesel was present) she spluttered a bit and pinked like mad until we filled the tank. Just as well I wasn't driving, then (although of course I'd never have the wrong fuel in - ahem!)
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"SWMBO did the same thing with her MX-5"
Very comforting - I've been instructed not to dine out on this too much, but it's not going to be easy... :-)
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Many thanks to all for the amazingly prompt response (as ever). If it had been me, I think I might have risked it, but it would have been a bigger problem if it then hadn't run. I'd forgotten about the cat element, as ours hasn't got one, but that probably explains the garage man who was so definite, as he probably thought it had.
I'll go off and do a proper search now... :-)
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Deisel into a petrol car is not good at any ratio, certainly not 2:1.
I'd hate to put a safe ratio estimate as you requested, but I would think maybe 100:1 might be ok.
If this ever happens, (say after 1/2 litre)the cost of filling the tank with petrol is going to be quite a lot - in the vain hope that the car will run ok, if it doesn't run ok - you will have just poured 40 pounds down the drain! (unless you have a diesel car it could go in)
If this does ever happen, if you are a D.I.Y'er the best thing to do is phone a friend and get towed home, drain the tank, and get towed again to a petrol station for a fill up - putting in 5 litres is not going to be a good idea to get you to the petrol station.
My dad did it to his diesel car, the RAC (he was a member) would not tow him to his home - only to a garage, they said because it would have to be drained professionally or they would have no part in it. I had to come and tow him home. We drained the tank, towed the car to fill it up, and it was fine. He used the mixture (about 3petrol to 1 diesel) in 3 litre fill-ups over the next 12 months.
He said he'd cancell his RAC membership but he never did.
When you said you were "off the fence now" did you mean you now like diesel cars because they can cope with a bit of petrol? or you don't like diesels because if it wasn't for the existance of diesels this wouldn't have happened.
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was kev_is_here
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"or you don't like diesels"
Correct, especially now! I've made a number of fairly negative contributions to the petrol/diesel debate on here in the past, some tongue-in-cheek, admittedly, but I really hate the smell (both burned and unburned), I don't like the engine characteristics, and, as a motorcyclist, I risk my neck every time someone sloshes it onto a roundabout.
Incidentally, I gather from the three garages involved in today's events (the car was on its way to be MOT'd, which was why my dear girl was in a rush in the first place) that this is a regular event, so why on earth don't the pump makers identify the diesel pumps a bit more clearly? I know this is post-event wisdom, but it wouldn't be too difficult to standardise on, say, a different shape of nozzle or handle, so you have an instant reminder that you are dealing with something different.
Personally, I'm for banning the stuff, but I appreciate that might inconvenience some of you... :-)
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.... that this is a regular event, so why on earth don't the pump makers identify the diesel pumps a bit more clearly? I know this is post-event wisdom, but it wouldn't be too difficult to standardise on, say, a different shape of nozzle or handle, so you have an instant reminder that you are dealing with something different.
A posting a while back gave a link to just such a solution to that problem.
It included an oval pump spout for one of the fuels.
It would involve a lot of changes to pumps and cars in the UK but then a visit to Europe might mean no pump fits.
We cannot even get the suppliers to make the hoses a standard colour. Most but not all seem to have red, black and green hoses.I am just changing over to unleaded from LRP so it is nice not to search for a red hose.
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"oval pump spout"
That does rather conjure up the 'shape sorter' toys for toddlers! Matching nozzle shapes and filler holes would sort it all instantly, but getting the bureaucrats to agree is another matter...
BTW, it was good to meet you at the Ace, Henry. Sorry we didn't get more of a chance to chat.
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>>J Bonington Jagworth BTW, it was good to meet you at the Ace, Henry. Sorry we didn't get more of a chance to chat.
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Sorry I could not stay longer. I had to join the scrum at IKEA as it was a combined trip.
It was good to meet some of the faces behind the postings.
Maybe at some future meet.
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did this in France last easter and expected a horrendous bill but was pleasantly surprised. yer man extracted the diesel and took it away (nice 50 euro bonus) then billed me for a mere 108 euros for the job. Refilled with petrol and went on me way. I would expect to get stung for a few hundred on a UK motorway at a weekend but apparently the french have fixed charges which they must apply - no room for cowboys (or garcons de vache...)
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