Unleaded petrol mixed with Diesel in a Chrysler 2.5CRD

The RAC man.

No. My advice would be to just keep using it, and frequently top up with diesel to reduce the petrol ratio. Mike.

God bless you Mike !

( snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

If this is a common rail diesesl (hence CRD?) then you may very well be stuffed. The lack of lubrication from petrol can very quickly kill the high pressure pump.

Both, yet neither.

Potentially. Just keep topping it up with the right stuff, and if you've not buggered it yet, you probably won't.

If you want to be certain, get the tank drained before starting it again. Your call. A new pump could cost thousands.

I believe if you read the owners manual, you are allowed a small amount of gas to dilute the diesel if you need to in an emergency to get to a place with the proper fuel.

I don't remember what engine/vehicle I read that for though....

Mike

wrote

When I used to drive to Russia, we used to mix petrol (or paraffin, depending what we could get) in with the diesel in winter to prevent it from waxing and in approximately the same ratio too. I also know someone who did the same thing in a Land Rover recently and it just smoked for a while until all purged. Personally I would imagine it will be fine.

If that's the case, then let me ask the obvious stupid question: If it's a matter of lack of lubrication, is there some oil that could be added right away on a one-time basis to make up for the lowered lubrication to save that pump (of course without causing other problems)? It sounds like in reality from other posts that it should be OK anyway, but I was just wondering about mitigating the possibilities for damage.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

How bloody wrong can you be mate! Your advice could cost this chap thousands.

Absolutely not. We have bulletins from the manufacturers now (in my case Honda) that suggest even priming the fuel system can cause damage to the fuel system on the latest high pressure common rail diesels.

If it hasn't been run, then DO NOT START IT. You can then get away with a simple drain off clean out an refill. If it has been started, then your troubles begin.

You have two choices, carry on and take a chance, or replace every component on the fuel system.

The common rail systems run at very high pressure - somewhere up to 2000 BAR is normal (yes, that's over 20,000 psi). The pumps reply on the diesel fuel to lubricate it. One or two sources I found using Google suggest that the material of the bearings is damaged by petrol.

If the pump is driven by the engine, and you opt for option 1, then there is a chance that the pump can sieze later on. If this happens, then it'll cause drive damage to the drive system of the engine, and possibly the head too. I'd expect this to cost up to £10k.

The manufacturers are recommending that we change all the components of the fuel system, and flush the lines and tank (On BMWs you have to replace the tank too) - this includes the pump, injectors, filters and high pressure pipes. Costs for this start at about £3k.

If you take it to a dealer and get them to flush the tank it might only cost a couple of hundred pounds.

It depends on how much you want to gamble really.

This is car-dependent. Modern cars with high-pressure common rail injection systems - and this one has such a system - are often ruined by even a tiny amount of petrol, because the pump is insufficiently lubricated by the mixed fuel. Failure occurs within a few thousand miles, not immediately.

With older cars, certainly most IDI engines, there is no problem.

To be on the safe side, put a good dose of pump lubricating additive into the tank (don't drive this car to the shop to get the stuff), then ask a Chrysler dealer for advice. If they say it's already b0rked, you have little to lose by continuing to drive it until it needs the £5000 repair. On the other hand, they may tell you it's no problem.

"Andy Hewitt" wrote

. Costs for this start at about £3k.

Fuck me, my car only cost a couple of hundred pounds!

Bill Putney ( snipped-for-privacy@kinez.net) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Not that I've heard of.

Besides, since they've driven 3 miles, it's entirely possible that the damage has been done - as Andy's said, even priming the system *can* cause the damage.

Yes

The CRD bit is "Common Rail Diesel"

OOOPS !

Shoud I bung some oil in the tank ?

HELP !

Diesel fuel 'will' still be lubricating it, or are you suggesting that 'any' dilution of the diesel 'will' result in damage to the fuel pump?

One or two sources I found using Google

See my previous point.

If this happens,

Of course that is the manufacturers recommendation. I wouldn't expect it to be otherwise.

I would agree that ideally the tank should be emptied, but IMO, under the circunstances, the risks in not doing so are small for the OP. He's been offered conflicting advice. It's now up to the OP to decide. Mike.

Then you'll know what you'll be doing with it I guess :-)

Yes, I was talking to the recovery chap that bought the last one in, and BMWs actually prime the fuel system as the doors are unlocked. Bummer!

No, I'm not suggesting anything of the sort, the manufacturers specifically state it.

ditto.

Aye, but in this case the gamble is for a clean and flush of the fuel system, or the risk of a new engine *and* replacement of the entire fuel system.

Surely it's wiser to take the safe option here - especially if the engine hasn't been run yet. The clean and flush will offer a fully safe solution.

How do you know that though, AFAIK we haven't yet had a chance to find out what the consequences are. We do know they *can* be catastrophically expensive, and possibly even dangerous.

It's quite possible that the manufacturers have actually tested the cars under these conditions and perhaps might know what they are talking about. Just go an see what kind of R&D Honda have, and you might have some idea how much they test things.

Yes, the wrong advice and the right advice.

If you do decide to take the risk and top up the tank every 30 miles or whatever - bounce the car before putting more diesel in .

Or at least thats what somebody told me .

Home made winter mix ratio? This is what it sounds like.

Anybody know the difference between Petrol and kerosene?

PDH

Why not just siphon it out, and start fresh?

amage

Are you an AA member? If so, their patrols can contact tech support who will be able to advise the maximum dilution ratio for any miss-fuelled vehicle.

HTH

Chris