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Petro in a diesel car

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bob hughes

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Well it's the first time that I have posted in this section.

I had a senior moment yesterday ( I blame it on the weather ) and dropped 3.9 litres of petrol ( gas) into the tank of my Diesel Audi A3 before realizing that it should have been Diesel :wall: The tank had been just under quarter full.

I consulted the forecourt attendant and unofficially he thought that it would be OK. I must say that I had the same thought so I topped up with 50+ litres of Diesel.

Today I drove around to my local mechanic and discussed the situation with him, he said that I should be OK, but keep brimming the tank at every opportunity. Phew, such a relief.

I will be driving gingerly for a bit until things are fully sorted.

Has any one else had such a senior moment?

:cheers:

Bob
 
I'm happy it didn't do any damage to your engine, but also very surprised. Back when I was just starting out in the construction business, I saw a diesel engine runaway once under the same circumstances. It went wide open and was still climbing when a rag was stuffed in the breather to cut off it's air. It was a GM diesel, non computerized. Scared the h--l out of me, I was right along side of it! Found out just how tough those GM diesels were that day! Cleaned the exhaust stack out, wasn't a speck of carbon left in it! One guess who put the gas in it. :rolleyes2:
 
That's a pretty diluted ratio. You should be fine. Lucky catch! I worked in a Toyota dealer for almost 10 years, and we would occasionally see a "petrol" car that had a full tank of diesel. It was always a nightmare to correct. Clean out the tank, the lines, and usually replace the O2 sensors within a few months. Sometimes they caught it soon enough and it wasn't a big deal, but usually it had been run until it wouldn't start anymore.
 
I'm with Ben and your mechanic. The dilution ratio is in your favor, but as your local guy said, top up at every opp. For a few hundred miles, anyway.

I've seen it both directions. Usually the petrol into a diesel vehicle is the result of a blonde moment, tho. :devilgrin:
 
I'll add my opinion that this will be nothing to worry about considering the dilution ratio and the vintage of the vehicle. I've seen Deutz diesels run through several tanks of petrol with no damage in industrial settings, due to poor staff training. With the introduction of computer controlled direct injection we may soon see engines that can run well on any combination of diesel/petrol/alcohol. DI has very different combustion dynamics.

Just to be on the safe side refrain from racing any Sprites until you have used the bulk of the tank :playful:
 
Agreed, shouldn't be a problem. Guys are stuffing propane in them (diesels) too along with the diesel and getting stupid high HP numbers out of them in stock form. I had a Jetta run away on me from an overfill of engine oil. It beat and foamed it up into the PCV breather back into the intake. It took off like a rocket and the smoke literally shut down all six lanes of I-10 into New Orleans right at Lake Forest. Poor little motor sounded like a Messerschmitt in a nose dive.
 
Well if it makes you feel any better, Obama's crew did the same thing to the presidential limo earlier this year, only they filled up the tank.

Way back people used to add a small amount of unleaded to diesel fuel in colder climates to make the engines easier to start.
 
70herald said:
Well if it makes you feel any better, Obama's crew did the same thing to the presidential limo earlier this year, only they filled up the tank.

Way back people used to add a small amount of unleaded to diesel fuel in colder climates to make the engines easier to start.
Click to expand...


I've often wondered it adding diesel or two stroke oil to gas raised octane rating.
 
Thanks for the support guys,

Done some 40+ miles so far without any signs of problems, will be doing some more today, then I will top up.

Must remember to do better next time!!!!

P.S. Might even get to give the Big Healey a blow today, the sun is shining and the birds are singing - for a change, some parts of Hampshire and indeed the UK are under water with so much rain.

:cheers:

Bob
 
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