What happens if you accidently put gasoline into a diesel...

Answer by IDbuffalo
Submitted on 2/11/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
Depends on how much gasoline is put in. When temperatures dipped below 25 degrees, truck drivers sometimes would add a small amount of gasoline to prevent the diesel from gelling. Now commercial additives are available. Diesel fuel has a lower ignition temperature than gasoline, allowing combustion to occur simply by compressing the air/fuel mixture. Gasoline engines require a spark plug to ignite the fuel. Too much gasoline will not allow the engine to work efficiently and quite possibly not at all. Also, diesel engines use an injector pump to pressurize the diesel so it will form a fine mist when pushed through the injectors. These pumps require the lubrication of diesel to continue to work. Excess gasoline will cause failure in the injector pump and damage the injectors.

Answer by saltysteve68
Submitted on 8/9/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
This is easy to do, all i did was pull into a strange gas station in the middle of the night and picked up a nozzel that was black from a pump that was labeled deisel but only one end was so i put about 10 gal on to of the 10 gal left in the tank. I got about 40 miles until i noticed a slight skip in the engine I was cursing the station for selling me dirty fuel as i wen t up a big hill she really started to play up then as i pulled over and the revs dropped the engine stopped... about 20 miles out in the australian bush on a cold winters night!!! Bugger when i was looking for my Auto club card i saw the fuel docket DOOH!!!..Unleaded you dumb SOB well I had 2 hours to think about it... won't do it again though.

Answer by saltysteve68
Submitted on 8/9/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
This is easy to do, all i did was pull into a strange gas station in the middle of the night and picked up a nozzel that was black from a pump that was labeled deisel but only one end was so i put about 10 gal on to of the 10 gal left in the tank. I got about 40 miles til i noticed a slight skip in the engine I was cursing the station fo selling me dirty fuel as i wen t up a big hill she really started to play up then as i pulled over and the revs dropped the engine stopped... about 20 miles out in the australian bush on a cold winters night!!! Bugger when i was looking for my Auto club card i saw the fuel docket DOOH!!!..Unleaded you dumb SOB well I had 2 hours to think about it... won't do it again though.

Answer by R-Kent
Submitted on 8/13/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Expanding on what IDbuffalo wrote, it depends on how diluted the gasoline becomes in the tank (there was some diesel in there before) and on the technology used in the diesel engines. Older technology diesel engines depended upon the diesel fuel to lubricate the high pressure fuel components and on the ignition characteristics of the diesel fuel to cause the engine to run properly. The higher percentage of gasoline in the fuel, the more likely these older engines will suffer running problems and possibly component damage. So if you accidentally put a little (a few gallons) of gasoline in the tank, one possible way to reduce the possibility of problems is to completely top off the tank with diesel. This would reduce the gasoline percentage in the fuel as much as possible with resorting to draining the fuel system. That, of course, is the best mitigation, but it costs money (not much, but some). Newer engine technology, specifically "direct injection" engines (which can be identified by the "TDI", "CDI", or similar components to there names) are much more tolerant of gasoline-contaminated diesel fuel. While there still remains the possibility of lack-of-lubrication damage to the high pressure fuel system, those engines will happily run on 100% gasoline, albeit at reduced power. However they may not idle or idle poorly. This is because diesel engines control power output via fuel volume injected, and diesel fuel has slightly more energy density.

Answer by Gary D.
Submitted on 12/24/2006
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Three weeks ago we went up to my son's to get a Christmas tree. I fill up my F350 4X4 Diesel with unleaded gas. It's a 40 gal tank and I put 26 gallons of gas in it. We headed for Quincy, CA, the truck ran fine until we got to Greenville and it started running bad. I had no idea what was wrong. A guy came by and said I think you have gas in you tank, and a big light came on. I can remember putting gas in. We had it towed to Quincy and a friend of my son's who is a diesel mechanic drained the tank and flushed everything out and it has been running fine every sense. What amazed me was we drove about 90 miles before anything happened. Hope it will run forever.

FAQS.ORG makes no guarantees as to the accuracy of the posts. Each post is the personal opinion of the poster. These posts are not intended to substitute for medical, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. FAQS.ORG does not endorse any opinion or any product or service mentioned mentioned in these posts.

<< Back to: Gasoline FAQ - Part 4 of 4

[ Home | FAQ-Related Q&As | General Q&As | Answered Questions ]

Question by Bob Johnson
Submitted on 1/28/2004
Related FAQ: Gasoline FAQ - Part 4 of 4
Rating:	Rate this question:
What happens if you accidently put gasoline into a diesel tank? what would be the effect on the engine?

Answer by jimbo
Submitted on 4/4/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
your motor wil run like a burst arse

Answer by surferrosa
Submitted on 6/16/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
I just had this happen to my 03 VW diesel. Lent it to my sister and she filled it up...with gas. She said it went 5 blocks and then stalled. It's at the shop today. I will let you all know what the dealer tells me (though I expect they'll overstate the necessary repairs).

Answer by surferrosa
Submitted on 6/21/2004
Rating:	Rate this answer:
Ok...I posted the last response. My 03 diesel didn't run after my sister put regular gasoline in it. The dealer drained the tank, emptied the fuel pump and lines, and cleaned the injectors. Now it seems to run fine. Total repair cost was about $200 in labor.

Answer by Jeff B
Submitted on 7/18/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
I don't know how often y'all keep up with this, but I accidentally added about 2.5 gallons of regular unleaded to my wife's '04 VW Golf TDI. The tank holds 15 gallons (which I did fill with the right fuel). What do you think will happen? Anything? Should I plan on a trip to the garage? Thanks!

Answer by GAZ
Submitted on 9/17/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
My wife just phoned and she has done exactly the same, approx 2 gallons of unleaded.. spoke to a mechanic and he said if you fill it to the top with diesel then you should be ok.. will run a bit rough, but will run..

Answer by al
Submitted on 10/23/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
2.5 gal out of 15 probably won't hurt anything, just top off with diesel and run it out to about a half tank then top off with diesel again, you won't have any problems.

Answer by Sam
Submitted on 11/18/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
I think you are a dumbass

Answer by did it too
Submitted on 12/20/2004
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
I just did the same thing last week to a car I borrowed. I took it to the garage and it cost $120.00 to siphon the gas, blow air through fuel lines & filter.

Answer by Grumby
Submitted on 2/2/2005
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Correction to IDbuffalo post. Diesel has a higher boiling point than gas. Its true that diesel engines use compression alone to ignite the fuel but the chamber is upwards of 1500 degrees. Diesel engines are compressing air anywhere between 15:1 to 25:1 where gasoline engines compress from about 8:1 to 12:1. Gasoline boils at around 200 degrees c and diesel begins to boil around 400 degrees c.

Answer by Greg
Submitted on 7/3/2005
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
I just accidentally put 1.5 U.S. gal in my Golf TDI. (The tank was basically empty when I drove into the gas station.) I would like to simply siphon the fuel out and start over. I did not start the car. I pushed it to an empty parking spot so there is no regular fuel in the fuel line. If I get at least 1 gallon out by siphoning then refill with diesel, will I be o.k.? Thanks for any assistance.

Answer by MD
Submitted on 9/21/2005
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
THe dealer needs to drain tank, clean injectors and replace fuel filter. Tank should be conditioned after drained. Also, it is a good idea to change the engine oil. This happened to my 2002 DODGE RAM Diesel. It is now running perfect.

Answer by Farko
Submitted on 5/1/2006
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
I put 20 liters of unleaded into a diesel rental car (Alfa Romeo 167) last week, filling an already 3/4 full tank. Oops. Drove it without problem until it was 1/4 full, and then filled it with diesel and turned it in. I wonder if I'll hear from the rental car company.

Answer by tim jones
Submitted on 6/1/2006
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
I would like to get an account. Thanks, tinman1886@yahoo.com

Answer by Clemens R.
Submitted on 8/21/2006
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Living in New Jersey where you cannot fill your own tank, the attendant accidentally filled up the tank of my '04 VW Jetta TDI with 13.1 gallons of regular gas. Fortunately, I realized the mistake before starting the car, and instead called my VW dealership. They told me to have the car towed to them, and not to turn on the engine. The dealership took out the tank, flushed it, and cleaned the filters. Total cost (plus on day car rental) = about $400. I like the first response to this question explaining why this process had to be done.

Answer by Marc
Submitted on 3/13/2007
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
This happend to me, except, I was buying my 03 golf from a chevy dealer, they toped it off with gasoline before handing me the keys. Although they could never admit to it, I think it's ok now. I've driven about 5000 miles.

Your name or nickname:
If you'd like to create a new account or access your existing account, put in your password here:
Your answer:

Answer by mani
Submitted on 8/31/2006
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
in my case the car stalled but after a while started again running very funny it was a rental car and I dropped it in a garage waiting for damage assessment.

Answer by leon120
Submitted on 9/10/2006
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
I DO THE THEM ASS Jeff B about 6% regular with gasoil: what shall I DO? THANKS

Answer by Tucker
Submitted on 1/18/2007
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
I saw a few teams do this on a "The Amazing Race" a few seasons ago...they all went about a mile then stalled.

Answer by joe
Submitted on 1/27/2007
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
if you run a diesel engine on gas it will simply melt down. The engine will get so hot it will literally melt and seize. Did an experiment on a diesel and the effects were devastating. Although I'msure the effects will differ on the engine but point is... don't put gasoline in a diesel in the first place! if you do simply find a way to drain out as much as you can and fill it up with low octane diesel or bio diesel works best.

Answer by TYLER
Submitted on 2/15/2007
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
Puting gas in would it not wear away at the cylinder wall? and i have another ? a full service place put gas in my diesel then i drove it about 15k and the it started to sputter and the place sayed they would only replace the ingector. it worked fine for 3 days now it is back in the garage and they say it needs new starter and glowplugs are they trying to rip me or should the coop pay for it.

Answer by tyler
Submitted on 2/22/2007
Rating: Not yet rated	Rate this answer:
hey i got gas put in my truck and then i drove 10k and it ran for 4 hours but now the company is tryhign to tell me it will run fine but the starter and glow plugs went and the company will not pay for it it has no guts any more and the engine runs choppy what do i do it is 14k for a new motor should i take the comopany to court