|
wife has put petrol in her vectra 1.9 cdti (150) over half a tank full, how can i remove it without taking it to a garage
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 25/12/2008 at 17:00
|
Firstly do not drive or even start the thing.
2 ways i can think of,
1 if you have access to an old electric fuel pump, you could trace the pipes that come from the tank into the engine compartment, connect the pump to the pipe by using various pieces of rubber pipe to seal the joint and just pump away.
2 lift the rear seat base, you will find a cut out in the carpet, remove that and the plastic cover underneath, this will expose the sender unit.
If you look hard you should see a tapered ring that you will have to tap round with a hammer and chisel but gently and then remove sender unit.
Then insert longish hose to the very base of the tank and carefully get the syphon going.
I would suggest using clear hose as its safer for your lungs, you can see the fuel as it comes.
Obviously doing it this way means raising the car up somehow to enable syphoning action.
You will not get a pipe down the filler neck of a vectra so forget that route.
If you manage to get all but the dregs of the fuel out, then fill the car right up with diesel, add a good dose of millers DPS4 , change the fuel filter for good measure especially if the car has been started.
Best of British to you.
|
the car right up with diesel add a good dose of millers DPS4
Why? It's lubricity you need not some fancy detergent. Add a litre of the cheapest engine oil you can find instead.
|
|
|
|
hi, thanks for your advise, i was told this morning by a vauxhall mech to remove the feed fuel pipe that goes into the filter, stick a length of garden hose to it, into a drum and then just keep turning the ignition on and then off (without starting the engine), this pumps approx half a litre of fuel through at a time until its empty, then i filled it up WITH DIESEL and pumped another litre through , put it back together and it started first time and is running fine, regards steve.
|
Well done Steve, thats handy to know, i know similar ways have worked on various cars, but as the models change the ways of ''tricking'' the system have to change too.
Later Focus is a point in case, i know one chap that has to drain de-fleet vehicles has a special loop wire that he uses to short circuit one particular relay, the previous model being similar to yours apparently.
They tend to use special 2 way fuel pumps that literally suck the fuel from the tank using probably the same connection as you did.
You saved a few quid too..;)
|
|
|
i was told this morning by a vauxhall mech this pumps approx half a litre of fuel through at a time until its empty
And at the same time possibly wrecks the pump as its not being lubricated sufficiently. Hence the earlier suggestion of not even starting the car. The fuel pumps on common rail engines have very fine tolerances and rely on the diesel oil for lubrication.
|
I'm hoping and assuming DD that the method used by the OP only used the primer pump in the tank, would that be equally susceptible to petrol?
I used to keep an old volvo injection primer pump for exactly this sort of problem.
Since our move 6 years ago however i haven't laid eyes on it, its probably under that huge sheet that covers all those indispensable tools that will come in handy one day..assuming i can find them..;)
|
|
I wasn't aware that there was more than one pump.
|
I wasn't aware that there was more than one pump.
And i'm not sure there is on the Vectra C either, i'm just hoping that the car in question has a tank pump to prime the fuel to the injection pump where it will be subject to injection pressures, and that should be after the fuel filter.
Does the vectra have that kind of arrangement, as i would have thought a tank primer pump would only be a standard type of thing to provide the fuel in quantity for the fuel system proper.
Can you hear a tank pump fire up when you turn on the ignition?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You can get the garage to come to you! AA and RAC have dedicated vehicles to deal with the problem and to dispose of the contaminated fuel legally, something which you may find difficult to do.
|
|
|
