Oh dear just put petrol in my diesel van

[caterhamboy]

Put £24 of unleaded in my vauxhall combo 1.3 cdti van tonight, realised my mistake and brimmed up with £45 diesel. Was running late for an appointment 20 miles away so didn't have time to drain it, anyway got to the appointment and back and no problems, if anything seemed to run better. What does the ph massive think, will the engine give up the ghost in the near future or have i got away with it?

[vit4]

Absolutely would not risk it on a modern diesel, in my opinion. Older ones, yeah. Newer ones, I'd be st scared; the prices of components like injectors aren't very wallet-friendly.

[saladdodger]

go to your local chip shop and get their used oil, filter it through a t shirt and por it in your tank daily to thicken the diesel???

[Andyuk911]

I think Petrol will act as a solvent .. You need to find a Vauxhall mechanic to know if you will get away with it ...

[drophead]

I'd drain it straight away if you have a spare time and don't use until you've drained it. Probably hasn't done any help to the engine but if it's not spluttered and died already then you may have just got away from this.

Saying that, i'd definitely get a mechanical minded mate to have a quick look.

[caterhamboy]

Just for the record van in question is a 2005, it's worth about £1000. so any talk of throwing away £69 of fuel is a big no no. having said that, it has just passed its mot so treated it to a oil and filter change, 1st in 40,000 miles.

[blueg33]

I think petrol causes problems with lubrication of the fuel pump and can damage other parts of the fuel system, thats what I was told after I filled my 5 series diesel with petrol. It only went for half a mile before it stopped.

[R12HCO]

It will be fine. Just brim it again tomorrow morning, and brim it again after the days shift (assuming you do alot of miles).

[jsg612]

You don't get a great deal for £24 nowadays so it probably isn't too bad. Last time I used the Petrol Strimmer in the garden, it was £8 to fill a small fuel can.

[Raverbaby]

I did this to an astravan(works) a few years back, put about 30 quids worth of unleaded in.
It ran like a tank for a few 100 miles but soon cleared up after topping it up with diesel regularly.
I maybe should have informed the boss but I had just started with the company and didn't want to be in the bad books

[jagracer]

Keep it filled with diesel even if it means topping up every 50 to 100 miles depending on it's consumption.

[CampDavid]

You can get £70s worth of fuel in a Corsa.

The world is fked

[caterhamboy]

Will keep brimming it, will be interesting to see if all the scaremongering is true about pumps, fuel line, new filters etc.

[J-Skid]

Depends on how much diesel was in the tank before the fill. If you had a bit then you should be fine.

Keep it topped up and you should be fine. I did this to my A170 CDI and got away with it. Had 1/4 diesel, 12 or so litres of petrol, brimmed with diesel. 70,000 miles later no issues.

[66comanche]

vit4 said:

Absolutely would not risk it on a modern diesel, in my opinion. Older ones, yeah. Newer ones, I'd be st scared; the prices of components like injectors aren't very wallet-friendly.

This old chestnut. Surprised you didn't mention the turbo 'lunching itself' or the engine exploding - all well known diesel problems

[caterhamboy]

Well according to vaulxhalls web site, the combo tank holds 52 litres, i put 16.99 ltrs of unleaded in and 30.48 ltrs of diesel. so must have been 4.53 ltrs of diesel already in, although showing empty with red light flashing!

so thats 32.6% unleaded!

Edited by caterhamboy on Thursday 23 June 23:20

Edited by caterhamboy on Thursday 23 June 23:29

[OdramaSwimLaden]

caterhamboy said:

Well according to vaulxhalls web site, the combo tank holds 52 litres, i put 16.99 ltrs of unleaded in and 30.48 ltrs of diesel. so must have been 4.53 ltrs of diesel already in, although showing empty with red light flashing!

so thats 32.6% unleaded!

Edited by caterhamboy on Thursday 23 June 23:20

Edited by caterhamboy on Thursday 23 June 23:29

And it runs better?? Patent your discovery and for god's sake do not mention the exact percentages to anyone.........oh!!

[icepop]

Put far less in me VAG and the first to go was the tandem pump seals, give it about 3 weeks, and save up about £300.

[caterhamboy]

icepop said:

Put far less in me VAG and the first to go was the tandem pump seals, give it about 3 weeks, and save up about £300.

what was the last thing to go?

[Groober]

I wouldn't worry chap, I had a Vauxhall Insignia diesel hire car about 3 months ago and from empty put about 40 quid of unleaded in and drove it till it conked out. Tank drain and fuel flush all was well.