Having already driven 50 miles on what is, realistically, 15% petrol and 85% diesel and a load of Millers, is it at this late stage worth having the system drained, cleaned and bled? I am away for a few days and can put the car in to be fettled if it was a worthwhile option. The cost of what I am thinking of is a great deal less than a pump and 4 injectors. Comments welcomed, especially from our resident guru - Screwloose! What do you think about the extra engine oil in the fuel BTW, Screwloose? Migh damage the particulate filter methinks
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 26/02/2008 at 21:24
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Even though the official line with common rail diesels is NO petrol at all I'm not so convinced that on one occasion a teeny weeny amount added in error will actually cause the pump to fail. It certainly will if you make a regular habit of it, or run it on neat petrol for any time at all.
I once attended an Audi A4 where the lady had put 85p worth of unleaded in her diesel. The dealer told her that she must have the tank drained, and would cost several hundred pounds. I said the other option was to top it right up and drive on, but explained that there was always the slightest of chances that it might become a problem later on, since the dealer was adamant that it should be drained, but it was a risk she would have to take. No prizes for guessing which option she took.
I went out to her again about a year later and she recognised me. She said that the car had been fine, and had never so much as coughed since she put the wrong fuel in.......
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AS
Personally; I'd drain it. It's not just a pump and injectors; there's all the lines, filter, tank-pump, tank, fuel rail etc. to be replaced too. £3000s worth.
I've been using cheap oil for years [it has to be cheap - the good stuff won't burn] but I'm warming to the benefits of ashless 2-stroke oil now.
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Screwloose you are talking about some oil to add to the fuel, right? Could this, if done, wreck the particulate filter or impair its function in any way? I am off line for a few days so peace will reign!
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AS
Yes; road-side drain-outs. You can never get the last couple of litres out; so I've often added half a gallon of cheap oil to neutralize it.
Cheap oil burns just like diesel; now, with the advent of DPFs, I can see the ash and lubricity advantages of 2-stroke oil.
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Senior citizen known to me has been running a TDCi focus on varying amounts of petrol for the last two years/18,000 miles, stopped twice but removal of petrol mix add fresh diesel and away she goes! petrol recently being cheaper than diesel started the confusion.
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"Ford Focus TDCi.... One careful elderly owner..... Never raced or rallied.... FSH... Beautiful condition.... Bargain...."
Some poor, unsuspecting, mug has got that one coming....
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"Personally; I'd drain it. It's not just a pump and injectors; there's all the lines, filter, tank-pump, tank, fuel rail etc. to be replaced too. £3000s worth.
If it was not something silly like 50% mix then it will be perfectly ok don't listen to these scare stories.
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a 50 percent mix wont be fine the moderm hdi pumps will fail and cost a fortune plus damage to the injectors when it does, but about a fiver in u may get away with aslong as u keep diluting it with diesel the l200 one is great but they are a good old fashioned diesel unless it was d i d
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Thanks for reminding me again NEVER to buy a s/h diesel!
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"50 percent mix wont be fine the moderm hdi pumps will fail and cost a fortune plus damage to the injectors when it does, but about a fiver in u may get away with aslong as u keep diluting it with diesel the l200 one is great but they are a good old fashioned diesel unless it was d i d "
Read what I posted.
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Guys,
I had a peugeot 307 HDi 110
Was rushing to go on Holiday to Centre Parcs, and managed to 'TOTALLY BRIM' the the tank with petrol ! it was running on fumes prior to filling, and didn't even realise !!! drove about 1/2 mile from the petrol station, and the car died ! Ooops.
so i called my mate, he towed me home, as i was in a rush to get away i left the car on the drive, when i returned i still didn't realise what i'd done, until i looked at the fuel receipt ...Petrol!
asked at local Pug dealer what to do ?
I was told, they would drain the tank, and replace the fuel pump, filter, and injectors, as they would all be damaged..... the bills was ASTRONOMICAL !!!
So i frigged the fuel pump (removed the cap on the tank under the back seat) to make it run independently.
popped the fuel feed in pipe off the fuel filter, and drained all of the fuel into a big plastic barrel.
replaced the fuel filter.
filled the tank with 20 ltrs of diesel, and Hey presto. It worked just fine, with no noticeable damage to anything.
Car lasted for a further 20thousand miles.... until i sold it on.
Edited by Pugugly on 09/03/2008 at 14:57
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Why did you sell it ?
Did you notice any deteriation as a result of the petrol fill incident ?
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My sister in law put about 20 litres of petrol in her X reg Mercedes 320 diesel. She rang me from the petrol station to ask what to do. As a total sceptic Re the scare stories on this subject i told her to fill it to the brim with diesel and drive on. She did and 4 years later has had NO problem. I think these scare stories are simply false propaganda put about by main dealers trying to extort money. I notice that in all the posts so far, there is nobody who says that after driving on they have actually had a problem. That seems to speak for itself.
Richard
PS I know it's old, but my dad's 1976 diesel Peugeot 504 instruction manual SUGGESTED putting up to 1/3 kerosene OR PETROL in the tank in winter. I KNOW it's old, but still, being allowed to run on 1/3 petrol throughout the winter is a hell of a difference from a 1 off mistake on a modern engine.
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A 1976 diesel would survive almost anything fuelwise. An X reg Merc might not have a high pressure/common rail system - I don't know. I have now done 400 trouble free miles since the incident which started this thread so I think I have been lucky. I think most people might be too embarassed to admit that they have misfuelled and then had the engine pack up as well. It can be financially verious serious, particularly if you want to maintain the dealer warranty. It will be voided, re the engine, unless you have a shed load of fuel system components changed.
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Can you imagine how many company cars, 3 Series, A4, Mondeo etc etc this must happen to, and many are probably driven until they stop?
In my last company some people (the girls mainly, surprisingly enough) did it several times. We called out the breakdown company, had the tanks drained and refilled then carried on. I'm not aware of any issues in the 90K miles we typically kept cars for.
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I think Bill Payer has said it all. As a matter if interest it's not only girls. I half filled my petrol Audi 200 turbo with diesel. The car just kept on working, however not brilliantly and I took it in to the dealer. it was only then that i realised my mistake. They drained the tank. A couple of thousand miles later the turbo wastegate stuck shut. (ie the turbo kept forcing air in regardless.) It was very quick, but I traded it in just in case. Not sure, but the diesel could have been responsible.
Richard
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RT
You can refuse to believe it if you want to; it still happens. As I said previously; it all depends on the mix, the wear on the pump and how far it was driven.
I've seen numerous cases of pump failure follow mis-fuelling. As they're very expensive to fix - you remember them.
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How did you manage to get diesel into a petrol? The nozzle doesn't fit SFAIK!
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Presumably an Audi 200 would have been old enough to have the pre-unleaded full size filler which a diesel nozzle would fit easily?
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