300 TDi filled with petrol

Hmmm, 60 litres and two days driving - there's a good chance some damage has been done I'm afraid.

Any idea how much diesel was in the tank? How full the tank is now?

It doesn't usually destroy a diesel engine, but because the diesel is the lubricant for the pump and injectors you can reckon it's aged the engine a bit. Cases I know of, the engine stops running quite quickly, and not because of any damage, so there might have been an adequate amount of diesel in the tank.

In a 'bush' situation, if the engine still runs you can siphon the petrol/diesel mix out of the tank, fill with diesel, and carry on. Better to drain the fuel system altogether.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. In other words, if refilled with diesel and it goes as normal then forget about it. Continue to gently remind your wife of dire consequences on a regular basis, as you see fit :-)

Huw

Mark posted ...

It's always possible .. but I'd say just keep filling with diesel and continue running. It may be worthwhile changing engine oil, and all fuel filters though, if for no more than to remind swmbo of the dire consequences that may befall her if she does it again .. ;)

If real damage has been done, you'd know about it by now I guess. Main thing to be aware of is a loss of power and general louder running of the engine. Diesel self-lubricates, and also cleans the injectors to an extent, petrol doesn't ..

syphon as much fuel out of tank as you can . fill with diesel again .

if engine did not stop running when it had petrol in it you may be ok again once youve put diesel in .

60 litres is a lot of petrol in a landrover diesel tank , especially if its a 90 defender ,almost a full tank of petrol , but perhaps being winter time you may be lucky .

the petrol/diesel mix will make the injector pump run dry ,no lubrication to pump , but if it isnt for too long then you may be lucky and find no real damage caused .

you can run 50/50% mix of kerosene/diesel in winter [mercedes ML270 will run this ok ] if its very cold .

petrol is much thinnner than kerosene and will have more effect on the viscosity of the fuel , and of course the petrol has no lubricating qualities at all .

if you are really stuck and have to drive the vehicle home , you can put motorcycle 2 stroke oil in the petrol to thicken it , but i dont know how much you would use . perhaps 2 litres would work for you in emergency situation .

I did this with a similar amount of petrol almost a year ago and no harm seems to have been done. Put as much diesel in as you can as often as you can to dilute the petrol.

-- Keith (London, UK) Land Rover Discovery 300TDI

Brave words.......

regular

HINT:- The trick is not to overdo it and to do it with humour ;-)

Huw