...if you,by mistake, put diesel fuel in a...

Answer by John
Submitted on 10/16/2003
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to make a correction to what May said, diesel is actually the less volatile (and hence less explosive) of the two fuels. since gasoline evaporates much more quickly than does diesel fuel (which is thicker, as Dan said), its 'explosive' tendencies are much greater. to be really technical, an explosion is simply the combustion of some form of fuel (gasoline, gun powder, etc) within an enclosed space, causing a buildup of pressure and the sudden 'explosion' as the enclosure ruptures (or some other such consequence). ... getting back to diesel, though, an interesting tidbit of information is that the glow plugs in a diesel engine (they dont use spark plugs) are not what really cause the ignition of the diesel in the engine cylinders; it is due much more to the incredibly high compression of a diesel engine (which, further down the line, leads to the higher torque levels offered by a diesel engine over a similarly sized gasoline engine). although im sure that this is quite useless trivia to you, i hope its at least interesting to read.

Answer by gannamede
Submitted on 1/22/2004
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I once drove a small four cylinder carburated gasoline engined car from Atlanta to Chatanooga after having accidentally filled the tank with diesel fuel, the tank had been nearly empty at the time of filling it, so the mix was at least 95% diesel. The car would barely run, overheated to the point of stalling every ten miles or so, and on cooling down was difficult but would restart. Not realizing what had happened I assumed that it was a mechanical problem, but when I finally decided to stop and find a garage I noticed that there was a pronounced diesel odor coming from the exhaust. On a hunch I refilled the tank with gasoline and went back onto the interstate, within a couple of miles the power started to return and the engine temp stabilized, the car smoked and stank for an additional few miles and then returned to completely normal operation. On arriving home I changed oil in the engine and continued to use the car for another 20,000 miles. Now in the same vein, my next car was a diesel engined Chevy Celebrity, nearly new at the time, and that car was accidentally run on gasoline any number of times and for extended distances, and what I found by actual experience was that the car actually started quicker in cold weather if I mixed a couple of gallons of gas with the diesel when filling up from half tank, and I drove the car once in a situation where no diesel was available and I was forced to pump gasoline into the nearly empty tank. The loss of power was considerable, the engine temp was slightly higher, and the mileage was noticably less, but the combustion noise was about the same, and at speeds above about 1500 rpm the operation was smooth. Before I sold the car I (from curiosity) filled the tank from near empty to half tank and poured in three quarts of the cheapest oil Wal Mart had, and the car ran as normally and produced the same power and mileage as if it were diesel. Hope this bit of trivia helps someone.

Answer by Chuck
Submitted on 3/18/2006
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The reason I'm at this site is precisely the reason for the original question... I accidentally put "some" diesel fuel into my 4 gallon Yamaha Vmax tank. So, HOW MUCH is "some"? Not much! I think about 2 to 4 ounces left in the nozzle when I grabbed the wrong pump hose. I noticed the diesel odor before actually squeezing the handle & all that went into the tank was what was in the nozzle. So my story is involves mixtures of about 1oz diesel to 1 gallon of regular 87 octane gasoline (or about 0.8% diesel). What happened? The bike actually ran better! Smoother, stronger, better starting & idling. These characteristics returned to normal when the tank was next filled with straight gas. That's why I'm researching the mix issue. Because the improvement was so noticeable, I have actually experimented with K1 kerosene (similar to but lighter than diesel fuel) at mixes up to 1oz/gallon with similar results. I see NO detrimental effects, only improvements. So the question becomes one of mix ratios. I would NEVER run the wrong fuel in either type engine at full concentration, or even in "strong" concentration (ie. greater than 10%), but I do not believe that mild to light mixes will do any harm to either engine & as in my experience, certain improvements were evident. Back to the original question: What do you do...? Answer depends on HOW MUCH. If it's more than a pint per gallon, I'd drain it out of the tank & carb(s) as stated above, then put the correct gas in & not worry about it. If less, I'd probably pay close attention to performance characteristics for the duration of that tank-full, but not get too excited about the mix. Good Luck.

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Question by rebecca
Submitted on 6/30/2003
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What do you do if you,by mistake, put diesel fuel in a motorcycles tank?

Answer by May
Submitted on 7/3/2003
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I think the best is pump it out and fill the tank with the right product. Diesel is more explosive and can damage the motor. If you put only a few drops of it it will mix with the rest and burn normally.

Answer by Aaron
Submitted on 7/8/2003
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drain all the fuel out of the tank, fuel lines and all , refill it with gas get the gas to run thru (flood the carb) and then get it running again diesel will lock up a motor if you run it maybe if its just VERY little it might be ok ... a friend of mine put it in his truck !!!

Answer by Dan
Submitted on 7/10/2003
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As stated by Aaron, drain the tank and carburetors. There is usually a plug on the bottom of the float bowls of the carbs that can be removed for draining. If not, after draining the tank, tip the bike on it's side. This will usually let the fuel in the carbs run out. Refill with recommended fuel and run for a while. Diesel fuel is a heavier fuel than gasoline, i.e. it isn't as refined as gas and requires higher temperatures to burn than gas. Once diluted there shouldn't be any residual effects.

Answer by Tim
Submitted on 8/10/2004
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I fill up 40% diesel in my new HONDA C-RV tank in highway 5 and drove 100 miles, there was so much noise. I have to take my car to the dealer, and it takes $900 to replace everything. What a day!!!!! Be carefully not to make the stupid mistake. I am not the first one, I would not be the last one. But I am a stupid person I am!!!!

Answer by pat
Submitted on 1/9/2006
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The fuel tank of my (gasoline) car was empty and I put in 4 gallons of diesele in it before I realized. Then I filled the tank with gas. I ran fine that day. but next day I had a little bit of problem in starting the car. I hope it doesnt cause much damage to the engine. The car would stop if I left the engine idle for some time. But it ran normally.

Answer by derrick
Submitted on 4/4/2006
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what happens if you put diesel fuel in a honda accord engine? accidentaly put diesel fuel in the gas tank about 6 gallons on an empty tank. drove for about a mile , than it started sputtering for another ten and then stalled out. what should i do? thanks

Answer by jonnie
Submitted on 7/20/2006
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cloggs injectors over time

Answer by onoc
Submitted on 7/20/2006
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does it really ruin your motor if you put diesel into a gas motor??? if not what should i do to repair it???

Answer by RAYFORD
Submitted on 6/24/2007
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HELP, 2007 GAS PATHFINDER ACCIDENTALLY FILLED WITH DIESEL. ENGINE RAN A FEW BLOCKS AND STOPPED. ENGINE WILL NOT TURN. DRAINED TANK. ANYONE KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO. WILL I NEED A NEW FUEL PUMP? WILL I NEED NEW INJECTORS? RESPOND TO EAGLE5000@AOL.COM OR CALL 803-518-5514. MANY MANY THANKS

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