Petrol In A Diesel, 2007 1.8 Tdci

[isx600]

Hello,

Did the unthinkable, had a 1/4 tank, went to fill up and put 5 liters of petrol in the tank, I decided to fill it up which was 33 litres of diesel so the mixture is not too bad and I am well aware of the horror stories! The tank I believe is 53 litres so it's about 12% petrol.

Would like to hear from those that have done something similar? Plan is to top up at 3/4 tank and then at 1/2 a tank...

So many times I've seen people getting somebody out to flush and I'd think to myself better not do that, trust me it's easily done... Just had the car serviced on Friday so I had been driving a petrol for over a week.

Adam

[salsheikh]

Hi Adam, you will be fine. 5th Gear did a test where they completely drained the tank and let it run on the wrong fuel until it wouldnt work then put the right fuel in and the car ran fine. They did this on both petrol and diesels.

[artscot79]

diesel fuel contains a lubricant that lubricates the high perssure pump in the system.What the petrol does is dry out that pump and as the tolerances are so small in the high pressure pump what will happen eventually is that it will seize and cause further damage especially if driven by a timing chain as most modern diesels are.

But if a motorist who has used petrol all his or her life buys or borrows a new diesel car then uses the wrong nozzle at the filling station, costly damage can be done even before the ignition key has been inserted, because unlocking the doors also energises a diesel's fuel pump.

That puts the fuel under pressure, ready for instant injection into the engine, which is why modern diesels start so quickly. The old-fashioned waiting time for preliminary ignition "warm-up" might appear to have been eliminated, but in reality it has simply been electronically absorbed into pre-driving procedures. It is a clever and convenient development but it comes at a price for the absent-minded.

Petrol wrecks diesel engine lubrication processes and is particularly damaging to a diesel engine's costly, high-pressure fuel pump, which operates at up to 2,050bar (30,000psi). Petrol removes the pump case hardening and if a film of hardened metal disintegrates into swarf it will greatly harm or even wreck an engine's internal organs.

At best, if the engine is not started or perhaps run only very briefly, the fuel tank and its internal pump, fuel lines, main high-pressure pump, fuel injectors and filters will all require removal, clearing and re-installation (which might include some renewal) at a cost of up to £7,000. At worst, several parts will need replacing, even the engine itself, at a potential cost of £12,000, or more for a top executive car.

top gear is good entertainment but what they didnt say was that on pre 2000 cars its okay on modern cars its not

[salsheikh]

well written arthur...

£12k replacement...buy a new ford instead :P

[Mike77]

My dad is a fuel patrol, going out to various cars on a daily basis draining wrong fuel mistakes. To put it into perspective,the RAC have the mobility contract, and as described above, it really is NOT a good thing to mix fuels, especially petrol into a diesel. Mobility will insist that the tank is drained even if half a litre is put in, as the cost implications down the line could be a lot greater than the outlay for a drain and flush. 10% was considered borderline in OLDER diesels,,, but not on the modern ones which run much tighter tolerance's.....

[WillClarkIOM]

I'll second what Salsheikh said, of your car is old you have nothing to lose now 12% doesn't sound like much on the face of it but if your boss told you your wages were getting cut by 12% you would feel the pinch somewhere, you might get lucky, the best thing you can do is keep filling with diesel like you siad as often as poss and hope it just passes through, what year is your car if you don't mind me asking buddy. Please don't come back and say 2011 or around that.

[NorthSussex]

What year did Ford fit the "Easy Fuel System" that prevents the wrong fuel going into the tank? And does it work?

[Nigel S]

Take what they say on Top Gear with a large pinch of salt. I doubt very much if Mr Clarkson will stump up to fix your motor if you follow his "advice" and it proves to be wrong.

Never mix fuel, especially petrol into a diesel car, for the very reasons mentioned.

[artscot79]

as salsheik said buy a new ford lol

[isx600]

Thanks for the responses, it's a 2007, the 1.8 lynx engine is a tough bugger and has been around for a long time so the base engine is pretty robust, the common rail additions is another story. My guess is worst case it's pump and injectors. If it was newer than '07 I would have got the tank drained. Most of my diesel tech buddies have told me just run it and keep topping up (fuel lady said the same). A buddie with an '07 Astra did the same, he put a fair bit more than I did and it's still running strong.

I was told as long as I don't stress the engine I might just get away with it, petrol does go bang sooner...

It's a gamble for me, watch this space!

[artscot79]

perhaps add a diesel additive to the tank might help as theres some extra lube in it the lynx is pretty bullet proof so take it easy and all may be well its a hit and miss game some are lucky some are not

when i worked in a petrol station a woman came in from the vw garage next door with a vw phaeton that had been ordered and was putting some fuel in it before the customer came to collect it and accidentally stuck £50 of diesel into a petrol v8 engine then realised what she had done the dealer manager was not happy needless to say i never saw her again after that

[isx600]

I did think about adding an additive but might just make the mixture worse as the petrol is definitely going to do some cleaning and not enough everyday experience to support me doing so. It's an easy mistake and I hope none of you reading do this. I did read somewhere that somebody suggested Shell V-power for the extra lubricity, might just do that.

[Stoney871]

Strangely enough, while in the military we were told by our MT officer to put some petrol in diesel Land Rovers in extreme cold weather to stop the diesel turning to jelly.

This was in -20c and below though.

Another option was to light a fire under the fuel tanks!

[k13r4n]

What year did Ford fit the "Easy Fuel System" that prevents the wrong fuel going into the tank? And does it work?

i have a 10plate titanium 1.6tdci and i have the easy fuel in as stardard and from what i have heard you can only use a diesel nozzle as the valve wont open with a petrol or vice versa with a petrol car but i really dont wanna try a petrol one just in case.

[Andy H Dibley]

Whoever made the comment about petrol stripping the hardening of a pump is talking rubbish.

Sorry, 10+ years in engineering and I have never heard such a thing. For a material to be hardened you have to follow strict heating procedures and in the case of case hardening additional carbon content being added to the material. Petrol cannot remove this.

You may be right in it effecting the seals and o-rings dependant on the chemical make up of the material used and its ability to resist petrol break down.

[Steven33]

Whoever made the comment about petrol stripping the hardening of a pump is talking rubbish.

Sorry, 10+ years in engineering and I have never heard such a thing. For a material to be hardened you have to follow strict heating procedures and in the case of case hardening additional carbon content being added to the material. Petrol cannot remove this.

You may be right in it effecting the seals and o-rings dependant on the chemical make up of the material used and its ability to resist petrol break down.

I'll back you up on this, as a materials chemist and an aerospace engineer (9 years at uni for 2 different degrees and a PhD) and years working in a steel treatment plant hardening metals, petrol cannot 'strip' the hardening. Hardening involved immersing the steel component in a cyanide bath until the carbon and nitrogen atoms in the salts infuse into the top few mm of the steel, it is not a separate layer, rather it changes the chemical composition of the steel itself (how deep depending on the treatment process- longer it is immersed the further into the component the carbon/nitrogen atoms will infuse). You cannot simply just take them back out again with petrol (or any solvent for that matter). Agreed it could have an effect on seals, V-power might be a good idea or some other kind of additive. Perhaps it would be a good idea to run BG44K cleaner through the system? always seems to get good reviews..

[salsheikh]

mines an 08 plate and that too has the ford easy fuel thing. i suppose you could add 2 stroke oil to make sure the pump etc is lubed? i do this on mine and its been fine and is quieter than before.

[isx600]

I've got one word for Shell V-Power, fantastic! Yes it costs more and the fuel economy gain if any will not off set the cost but now with half a tank of this magic stuff, throttle response is evident, the engine is a hell of a lot smoother, the sewing machine I used to drive is long gone, I drove with no music tonight, sheer enjoyment. I've updated the other post I opened when I first got this car about an engine rattle that concerned me!

Filled up last Sunday at 3/4 tank, 16 litres and again tonight 3/4 tank,13 litres. The smoothness of the engine was only noticed after this evening's fill up and a few miles down the motorway!

I've done a fair bit of research on misfueling a diesel with petrol and less than 5 litres seems to be acceptable in my opinion to carry on topping up with diesel but i wouldn't risk it again. My advise to anyone that puts petrol in the tank by mistake, get it drained and be done with it, peace of mind, forget the embarrassment these things happen!. It has been absolute torture feathering the throttle and taking it easy. If you decide to do what I have done and carry on driving, keep topping up, drive gently and I highly recommend Shell V-Power diesel.