diesel in petrol car

[virgovad]

i put diesel in my petrol car and i am worried about the damage it will do to my engine - i put more petrol in the car to try to thin the diesel - will this work?

[Philtaz]

I did this once in an Army vehicle. It had to have the tank drained and the engine stripped down and rebuilt. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

[slimjim]

This is usually pretty serious and I'm suprised that it hasn't seized up already (unless it was a small amount).

[5029]

diesel in a petrol car will not do much damage - the car should run ok on diesel. however petrol in a diesel car will cause the engine to seize as petrol does not contain the same lubricants as diesel, which are essential to diesel engines. However you can get your tank drained if you want

[Philtaz]

In answer to 5029 I'm not sure about 'should run OK on diesel'! When I did it in the Army Sherpa van it lurched,stalled, coughed and spluttered the 200 yards I drove to park it then the engine continued running for a whole minute AFTER I had taken the key out of the ignition!

[Drewhound]

It might run but do a lot of damage, more so if it's a newer engine. Check out what the AA have to say. http://www.aatrust.com/aamotoringtrust/pdf/misfuelling.pdf Put petrol in a diesel engine and it won't run when the petrol gets into the lines, it's as easy as that. It will need flushing through and you may need new injectors and/or pump. The best way is to drain the tank straight away whichever mistake you make

[mrisoldi]

In principle, diesel in a petrol engine will do much less damage than the other way round. However, the problem with diesel is that (unlike petrol) it tends to self-ignite at high pressures (in fact, diesel engines don't need spark plugs). That is the reason why the AA vehicle engine was still running for a minute after the key was removed. So, "thinning" the diesel might work (if it is not a big amount), however I must agree that it would be better to drain the tank. Also, diesel is "dirtier", so you probably will have to change your petrol filter.