What you can do when a petrol station fills your car with the wrong fuel

[marbro]

Happened to me once - petrol in a diesel engine. The car simply died about two blocks from the filling station. We towed it back to them, they arranged for a flatbed to take it to a Bosch repair shop. The filling station accepted full responsibility for all costs. Bosch flushed the engine and change the diesel filter. Luckily there was no damage - I had the car for a few years after that without any issues.

Did this once with a generator.

you assume its petrol, it wasnt....
Started to splutter and cough, lots of smoke, then dead....

emptied the tank out, added diesel and boom she went on working.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

so let me ask the noob question, you CAN run a car on the wrong fuel, only it will die,
but then putting the right fuel will restore it to full health.

so do you really need to drain and refill it?

 

[TheChamp]

so let me ask the noob question, you CAN run a car on the wrong fuel, only it will die,
but then putting the right fuel will restore it to full health.

so do you really need to drain and refill it?

He did say the wrong fuel must be properly drained.

And no, it won't always work out the way it did for the Fifth Gear chap.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

He did say the wrong fuel must be properly drained.

And no, it won't always work out the way it did for the Fifth Gear chap.

okay, so why dont auto makers fit a drain valve into petrol tanks?

I mean you get a drain for the engine oil, why not for the Petrol/Diesel tank?

 

[TheChamp]

okay, so why dont auto makers fit a drain valve into petrol tanks?

I mean you get a drain for the engine oil, why not for the Petrol/Diesel tank?

It's unnecessary because the are ways to drain the fuel without it. It will just be a weak spot for failure.

 

[Magnum]

Yep. Should not be too much damage, as long as it is not driven too long. The other way around (petrol in a diesel motor) will be very, very costly.

Wrong. Diesel contains 15% water. Guy I worked with had an old Nissan Sabre GXI he broke 4 pumps before we figured out water causes te fuel filter to swell and shut off the fuel supply to the pump causing it to overheat and destroy it self. That time a pump was like R4K and I told him I'm happy with my old carb cars. They much cheaper to fix.

On new cars diesel in Petrol systems are just as bad as petol in Diesel. There expensive thingys in front that does not like the wrong fuel...

 

[Magnum]

okay, so why dont auto makers fit a drain valve into petrol tanks?

I mean you get a drain for the engine oil, why not for the Petrol/Diesel tank?

It is called a wrench. and you Take everything apart. drop the tank. empty the lines. EVERYTHING! New filters you basically rebuild the whole fuel system.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

It is called a wrench. and you Take everything apart. drop the tank. empty the lines. EVERYTHING! New filters you basically rebuild the whole fuel system.

sounds like a lot of work, but couldnt it be made easier,
fit a drain mast or a point in the fuel line thats the lowest point, and everything can be drained easily.

 

[Magnum]

sounds like a lot of work, but couldnt it be made easier,
fit a drain mast or a point in the fuel line thats the lowest point, and everything can be drained easily.

No you need to drain everything, not a single drop needs to remain. When I took my new car for service, The Dealership was stripping a new SUV Diesel where the guy had put petrol in it's first tank. the guy running the Dealership was not happy. old cars don't care. just keep enough of the right fuel in the tank to keep the car running. 2 tanks later and the wrong fuel is worked out.

 

[pinball wizard]

What would she do without me I ask her

We, get out of the damn car and read what's written inside the fuel flap?

FFS! Grown ass adults, yeah right.

 

[geezer]

Wrong. Diesel contains 15% water.

Diesel and water are totally immiscible and will never totally mix. Any water in the diesel will be at parts per million levels, definitely not 15%. If there's water in the underground diesel tank at the filling station, the water will be at the bottom and the diesel on top with a clear distinction line between the two layers. If you by chance get diesel in your car's fuel tank, the "free water" will be the first to be pumped out and the engine should die immediately. This will not be an intermittent flow of water/diesel blend, rather water first then diesel.

 

[pinball wizard]

so let me ask the noob question, you CAN run a car on the wrong fuel, only it will die,
but then putting the right fuel will restore it to full health.

so do you really need to drain and refill it?

Depends on the car. New ones are a lot less tolerant than older generation engines.

 

[pinball wizard]

Wrong. Diesel contains 15% water.

The internet says please stay away from all things mechanical in future.

By using this method we can determine the water content in diesel fuel in the range of 0.003– 0.100% (m/m). The solubility limit of water in diesel fuel is very low (100 ppm at 40°C [2]) but various additives increase that limit. Nevertheless, water can still be treated as a contamination in fuel.04 Sept 2015

https://www.imeko.org › publications

evaluation of water content in diesel fuel using impedance spectroscopy​

 

[Magnum]

Diesel and water are totally immiscible and will never totally mix. Any water in the diesel will be at parts per million levels, definitely not 15%. If there's water in the underground diesel tank at the filling station, the water will be at the bottom and the diesel on top with a clear distinction line between the two layers. If you by chance get diesel in your car's fuel tank, the "free water" will be the first to be pumped out and the engine should die immediately. This will not be an intermittent flow of water/diesel blend, rather water first then diesel.

sorry not 15%. that is something Else. 1800PPm or 0.1 % What im refering to is the Actual Droplets of water you see sloshing around with the Diesel and petrol in backwater pumping stations where the tanks get rainwater in.

 

[RonSwanson]

Wrong. Diesel contains 15% water.

I know that diesel is hygroscopic, and will attract water when not stored correctly, but I would disagree with 15%. Have you got a source for that?

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Depends on the car. New ones are a lot less tolerant than older generation engines.

why is that, I mean surely it can happen, mistakes can happen,
and after all the development in other areas, why cant they make them tolerant to people being idiots?

 

[pinball wizard]

why is that, I mean surely it can happen, mistakes can happen,
and after all the development in other areas, why cant they make them tolerant to people being idiots?

That's like asking why can't I just install Monterey on a machine designed to take Windows.

Built for purpose.

 

[Magnum]

I know that diesel is hygroscopic, and will attract water when not stored correctly, but I would disagree with 15%. Have you got a source for that?

Hydroscopic abrosbsion is 0.1 % or 1800 PPM depending on the mix of the Fuel. Those amounts are not great for engines but they run relatively Fine. A1 Jet need ablosulute 0% water as they you dont want jet engines freezing up at 40 000 feet... same with Afgas. 0% water.

Garages just have no regulation on water in tanks. and suppliers don't care about water.

 

[Magnum]

why is that, I mean surely it can happen, mistakes can happen,
and after all the development in other areas, why cant they make them tolerant to people being idiots?

you can still fill a car without inserting the Nozzle into the filler mechanism . You just hold the nozzle and pull the lever. I see attandants do it all the time. Never mind the electrostatic discharge when the fuel hits the car.

 

[RonSwanson]

Hygroscopic abrosbsion is 0.1 % or 1800 PPM depending on the mix of the Fuel. Those amounts are not great for engines but they run relatively Fine. A1 Jet need ablosulute 0% water as they you dont want jet engines freezing up at 40 000 feet... same with Afgas. 0% water.

Garages just have no regulation on water in tanks. and suppliers don't care about water.

FTFY

So not 15%, but your source is yourself?