So when is my car going to go bang? Petrol into diesel
Discussion
Firstly 
t
t.... Right thats that bit over 
Espace, old engine non common rail - ie the one that you wait for the light to go out (c)1995 model 133,000 miles.
So far it has £8 of petrol and about £30 of diesel. To be honest I dont car if the car dies its done its job.
and I could drain it but not bothered. Plus I have already driven 70 miles on it (Hospital run, no choice).
So bets on how long it will last. I am going to keep putting £10 in to dilute it.
I heard back in the 'old days' that lorry drivers added petrol to stop it freezing..25%?
tt.... Right thats that bit over Espace, old engine non common rail - ie the one that you wait for the light to go out (c)1995 model 133,000 miles.
So far it has £8 of petrol and about £30 of diesel. To be honest I dont car if the car dies its done its job.
and I could drain it but not bothered. Plus I have already driven 70 miles on it (Hospital run, no choice).
So bets on how long it will last. I am going to keep putting £10 in to dilute it.
I heard back in the 'old days' that lorry drivers added petrol to stop it freezing..25%?
Edited by Morningside on Tuesday 17th August 09:59
It won't make any difference at that concentration, especially if you keep diluting it.
One of the motoring shows - can't remember which - did an experiment with an old diesel Astra a while ago: filled it with 100% petrol and drove it to see what happened. Eventually it ran rough and conked out, but was fine again when the tank was drained and refilled with diesel.
It's common rail modern stuff that works with high loads and fine tolerances, not the old jerk pumps.
One of the motoring shows - can't remember which - did an experiment with an old diesel Astra a while ago: filled it with 100% petrol and drove it to see what happened. Eventually it ran rough and conked out, but was fine again when the tank was drained and refilled with diesel.
It's common rail modern stuff that works with high loads and fine tolerances, not the old jerk pumps.
The Crack Fox said:
Fleckers said:
there will be a lot of smoke almost like its burning the crap off the inside of the engine
They all do that Sir... 
beanbag said:
The Crack Fox said:
Fleckers said:
there will be a lot of smoke almost like its burning the crap off the inside of the engine
They all do that Sir... 
Look, I tried so hard to kill it. I am under (maybe deluded) opinoin as well that the concentration is not that high and as I have already driven 70 miles already its not dead yet! (touch wood).I think if it was a common rail 2004 model it would have died before I had left the garage.
Anyhow does petrol float on diesel like oil on water or does it mix? ie would a combination already have gone through the pipes?
Morningside said:
Anyhow does petrol float on diesel like oil on water or does it mix? ie would a combination already have gone through the pipes?
Yes. The petrol will stay there for ever or at least until you run the tank down low enough to burn the petrol. You need something to encourage the two to mix, sugar should do it. Chuck a bag in.
Hmmm. Seems a good idea? I suppose caster would be better being of finer grade to go through the jets? That granulated stuff might get stuck - see Im not that stupid (see first question).Should I also try sand to re-grind the bearings as well?
Edited by Morningside on Tuesday 17th August 11:05
Morningside said:
Hmmm. Seems a good idea? I suppose caster would be better being of finer grade to go through the jets? That granulated stuff might get stuck - see Im not that stupid (see first question).Should I also try sand to re-grind the bearings as well?
Edited by Morningside on Tuesday 17th August 11:05
A taxi driver I know who was running an early Skoda Octavia 1.9 SDi did this. But I think his mistake was nearly 50/50 petrol/diesel.
He just kept topping it up with petrol every £10 or so and kept swerving about violently every so often when he had no passengers in to make the fuel slosh about just to 'mix it up a bit'.
Car was completely fine.
He just kept topping it up with petrol every £10 or so and kept swerving about violently every so often when he had no passengers in to make the fuel slosh about just to 'mix it up a bit'.
Car was completely fine.
Edited by NinjaPower on Tuesday 17th August 11:26
I did this recently in my housemate's Fiat Bravo 150bhp diesel, thats a commonrail model
it had maybe 5-10 litres of diesel in a 55 litre tank, stuck 16 litres of unleaded in, then brimmed it with diesel, ran it on the m'way until the tank had dropped about a 8th, then brimmed it again, ran it till it dropped a quarter, then brimmed it again!
Thing was, it was 11pm on a sunday, i was in Preston and he was in London and needed his car back by the morning - I rang my mechanic who said it 'should' be fine
Hasnt been any problems since and that was 30,000miles ago!!
oh, and its a company car, thats the only reason I didnt stop and get the tank drained. Naughty I know!
it had maybe 5-10 litres of diesel in a 55 litre tank, stuck 16 litres of unleaded in, then brimmed it with diesel, ran it on the m'way until the tank had dropped about a 8th, then brimmed it again, ran it till it dropped a quarter, then brimmed it again!
Thing was, it was 11pm on a sunday, i was in Preston and he was in London and needed his car back by the morning - I rang my mechanic who said it 'should' be fine
Hasnt been any problems since and that was 30,000miles ago!!
oh, and its a company car, thats the only reason I didnt stop and get the tank drained. Naughty I know!
Don't assume modern diesels aren't as forgiving. I put £20 of unleaded in my 2.7 TDI V6 Audi once. I tried to syphon it out but the anti syphon device thwarted that. In the end , as I'd little option ( 7.00 pm on a Bank Holiday) I filled it with diesel so the tank was probably 5-2 diesel / petrol mix and drove away. I tried to keep the car below 2000 rpm just as a precaution
I didn't notice any difference that night. The next morning it took a second or two longer on the starter before it fired. As soon as it had used about £10 of fuel I topped back up with diesel to dilute the petrol further. I did some reading up on the subject and following some advice added a small amount of 2 stroke oil to the mix to replace the lubrication the petrol would have stripped.
I carried on in this fashion , adding £10 of diesel as soon as I could , keeping below 2000 rpm for at least a week. In that time the starting time increased to about 5-6 seconds and then day by day went back to normal.
After about 500 miles I started using the car normally through the rev range and had no problems , put at least another 5-6k on it without a single glitch before selling it
I didn't notice any difference that night. The next morning it took a second or two longer on the starter before it fired. As soon as it had used about £10 of fuel I topped back up with diesel to dilute the petrol further. I did some reading up on the subject and following some advice added a small amount of 2 stroke oil to the mix to replace the lubrication the petrol would have stripped.
I carried on in this fashion , adding £10 of diesel as soon as I could , keeping below 2000 rpm for at least a week. In that time the starting time increased to about 5-6 seconds and then day by day went back to normal.
After about 500 miles I started using the car normally through the rev range and had no problems , put at least another 5-6k on it without a single glitch before selling it
R60EST said:
...
I did some reading up on the subject and following some advice added a small amount of 2 stroke oil to the mix to replace the lubrication the petrol would have stripped.
...
I read that as well, its the lubrication effect of diesel that is missing that is what really knackers the engine. I too read about using an additive like 2 stroke oil (which I have for the strimmer) but thought would adding to this mix just make things worse. I did some reading up on the subject and following some advice added a small amount of 2 stroke oil to the mix to replace the lubrication the petrol would have stripped.
...
How much did you put in? I thought a couple of cap fulls.
Edited by Morningside on Tuesday 17th August 12:37
I think I read the dilution rate should be about 300:1 . Also for the sake of the cat / particulate filter must be a low ash formula. I ended up putting about 250ml in the first time and then a cap full or so with each £10 top up.
The article I read seemed to suggest adding 2 stroke oil to today's modern diesel was a good thing to do anyway , irrespective of whether you've mis-fuelled to replace the additives they've taken out to improve emissions.
I treated my Renault Van (DCi 120) to about 250ml to a full tank too but when my litre of 2 stroke ran out I never bothered replacing it. It certainly did no apparent harm , but also I can't say I experienced any benefits either.
Some of the articles I was reading on the subject suggested better MPG could be expected, minor power gains and added longevity to the pump and other components.
I also read that Mercedes had some diesel cars they were using for promotional purposes deliberately clocking up huge mileages in all sorts of adverse conditions to show their reliability and these were treated to some 2 stroke in every tank full.
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/adding-2-stroke-...
which will eventually lead to this link
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=...
The article I read seemed to suggest adding 2 stroke oil to today's modern diesel was a good thing to do anyway , irrespective of whether you've mis-fuelled to replace the additives they've taken out to improve emissions.
I treated my Renault Van (DCi 120) to about 250ml to a full tank too but when my litre of 2 stroke ran out I never bothered replacing it. It certainly did no apparent harm , but also I can't say I experienced any benefits either.
Some of the articles I was reading on the subject suggested better MPG could be expected, minor power gains and added longevity to the pump and other components.
I also read that Mercedes had some diesel cars they were using for promotional purposes deliberately clocking up huge mileages in all sorts of adverse conditions to show their reliability and these were treated to some 2 stroke in every tank full.
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/adding-2-stroke-...
which will eventually lead to this link
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=...
Edited by R60EST on Tuesday 17th August 13:04
Edited by R60EST on Tuesday 17th August 13:11
NinjaPower said:
A taxi driver I know who was running an early Skoda Octavia 1.9 SDi did this. But I think his mistake was nearly 50/50 petrol/diesel.
He just kept topping it up with petrol every £10 or so and kept swerving about violently every so often when he had no passengers in to make the fuel slosh about just to 'mix it up a bit'.
Did he not learn his lesson the first time?He just kept topping it up with petrol every £10 or so and kept swerving about violently every so often when he had no passengers in to make the fuel slosh about just to 'mix it up a bit'.
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