wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - boxer
We have had a disaster tonight in that the wrong fuel has been put into our ford galaxy 1.9 tdi.

Does anyone know if this is a diy job to get it back to life or will I be at the mercy of a garage.

Unfortunately, the car was driven 700 yards before it gave up completely.

Boxer
wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - Aprilia
Depends on your DIY abilities. Needs draining and flushing through to remove all petrol from the pipes and injectors. Not a trivial job.
wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - boxer
Thanks for that Aprilia

Talk me through it.

Remove fuel tank or just disconnect hoses and drain?

Obviously replace fuel filter

Will it be ok to just let any petrol gravity drain from disconnected hoses?

Once emptied and refilled shall i just crank the engine to get the new diesel through the system?

Anything else you can think of?

Regards

Boxer
wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - Aprilia
You will probably need to drop tank to get it all out (I assume you put a lot of petrol in - i.e. more than 10% of tank capacity).

Fuel filter will need changing out.

Lines can be gravity drained.

The awkward bit is opening the fuel lines in the engine compartment and making sure all petrol is flushed out. Its a PD engine so best try to get as much petrol out as possible before trying to start it. I think you should be OK though, they are not as fraught as CR engines.
wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - boxer
Thanks for that, things are starting to look a bit brighter now thanks to you.

I've been away for the past 20 mins with my head stuck in the Haynes manual!

I thought to reduce the work I would syphon the tank after removing the sender unit which is quite easy to get to. When the tank is virtually empty I am hoping that when it is refilled any small amount left will evevtually work it's way out.

I will open as many fuel line unions in the engine bay as i can to get rid of as much fuel as I can and as you say, replace the fuel filter.

Yes you are right, a whopping 50 litres went in!! so my first job will be to search out enough containers to empty the fuel into and then dispose of it safely. I shall be sure to disconncet hte battery before starting any work!

What do you think about taking the injectors out? I suppose it's a must really again to release any trapped fuel. Will they just drain of fuel when I remove them or is there some way of blowing them througH?

I appreciate your help.

Regards

Boxer

wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - bell boy
i agree with everything, but leave the injectors alone.When job done buy good quality fuel for a few weeks if not from now on.
--
\"a little man in a big world/\"
wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - boxer
I am surprised you say leave injectors alone but I'll take your advice - perhaps you're thinking just disconnect fuel line to injectors and drain?

Cheers Oldman
wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - 659FBE
As long as you get nearly all of the petrol out of the tank and then fill it with derv, this is not a great problem. I would add 5% self-mixing 2 stroke oil to the new fuel filter before fitting in order to maintain fuel system lubrication, but leave the high pressure system strictly alone. The probability of dirt ingress and/or leaks is high, and will cause grief.

Prepare for a rough, smoky start-up.

659.
wrong fuel put into ford galaxy 1.9 tdi - boxer
Thanks to all you guys who helped to give me the confidence to rectify our fuel error.

I am pleased to say that all's well that ends well in that I spent the morning completely emptying the tank via the sender unit and replaced the fuel filter and drained the pipes. Quite a fair sized job in all.

With the tanked refilled it was fingers crossed time. What a job I had to get the car to fire! in fact the cars own battery after a few non productive cranks gave up the ghost so with the assistance of an auxillary battery and a bit more cranking away she went - EURIKA!!!

I then took the car for a good 5 mile run and blasted the fuel through and it now appears to be running as sweet as a nut.

The only downside is the drop of diesel i spilt in the cab getting the sender unit out - it will probably stink for months!!!

So here's proof that it is not all doom and gloom with a mis fuel - or very costly - if you get the right advice - I reckon about £110 including the 4 - 25ltr jerry cans!

All i've got to do now is dispose safely of the old mixed fuel - what a waste.

Here to you all

Thanks


Boxer