Putting Petrol Into A Diesel Car

[alchresearch 215]

On 09/05/2020 at 13:07, carosio said:

My Peugeot 107 passed MOT shortly after the "event", but I haven't got away scot-free as "P 0420" shows up approx. every 40 miles, usually at light throttle in top gear.

As a start, I inspected the top oxy-sensor (very clean), but the bottom one is proving difficult to undo even with a gas torch. I've read that the ECU can be re-set by disconnecting the battery for a short period.

That code is for the cat converter reaching end of life.  

 

Replacements are cheap at CATS2U.

[carosio 186]

Thanks for the link, put an end to being dogged by the cat!

[woolyhead 15]

What happens if you do start the engine with petrol in the tank rather than diesel? Does it blow up or something?

[Dardandec 32]

9 hours ago, woolyhead said:

What happens if you do start the engine with petrol in the tank rather than diesel? Does it blow up or something?

No, it just won't run properly, or at all when it starts to try and compression ignite the petrol (Depending what the diesel/petrol ratio is) . What you have to remember is, diesel is an oil and is not volatile like a spirit and will not burn/ignite under normal ignition sources like a spark or a flame. Diesel will only burn with a wick or a high heat source, diesel engines are high compression (Hence why they are called compression ignition engines) and the heat generated from this high compression causes the oil (Diesel) to ignite when injected into this high temperature environment. Ever pumped a bike tyre up and noticed the pump gets warm? This is the same principle.

 

Now herein lies the problem if you misfuel a diesel with petrol, not only will it make you wish you never got out of bed that day, but as Diesel is an oil it also lubricates the high pressure fuel pump up to the point of delivery and petrol doesn't, that is where your main point of damage will occur, there is also the low pressure fuel pump and the injectors that could potentially sustain damage. These items usually tend to start breaking down at a later date and umpteen miles down the road. 

 

My advise to anyone who does misfuel a diesel with petrol, Drain fuel tank, stick a good amount of Diesel in, change the fuel filter and you will be good to go (After priming it if need be) . If anyone tells you it all needs to be flushed and new fuel lines need to be fitted, tell them from me they need to go back to mechanic school.   

1 minute ago, Dardandec said:

 

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Dardandec

[woolyhead 15]

Thanks everyone.