My wife has accidentally put diesel in the petrol tank of the Volvo (1985
760 T ) She worked it out when she went to pay and did not start the car. What is the best course of action? She only put 25 liters into a 60+ liter tank that was practially empty, can the diesel be diluted ? or do I need to drain, where's the drain?Thanks in advance
Paul
Typically if you fill it to the brim with petrol, so its 50/50, this is still too much diesel. You could get away with about 25%, if the weather is not too cold (it wouldnt start cold) and you may well get cronic detonation under boost.
So, sorry, you'll have to drain (at least partially) or rig the fuel pumps on, disconnect a line and pump it out.
Tim..
I once witnessed the result of this, only to see an incredible (and I really mean INCREDIBLE) amount of smoke from the back of that specific car. And that was only a couple of liters, not even close to 50%.
Marc
Siphon out as much as you can and then fill it up with petrol, you should be fine then. If you suck on the hose to start the siphon be sure you use a *clear* hose so you can see when the fuel starts to flow and don't get a mouthfull.
I did this with a Voyager mini-van (carburetted) in 2.2l engine (Chrysler). It WOULD NOT run worth anything - Idle, OK, but no load. I had it towed to a garage and they emptied most of the fuel (they disconnected the line from the tank to the carburetor, put a line from a red gas can to the carb, put that red can on the roof and started the engine up). The fuel pump (mechanical) emptied the tank while the engine was running - that is what they said - and the diesel mixed with gas went into a "collection tank". It went to the contaminated organic solvent place (WHIMS stuff) and there was an environmental fee attached.
That mistake cost me over $100 Canadian to solve.
Why didn't you just use the stuff in a diesel car? Here in Belgium, we sometimes add some petrol to our diesel (some years when it freezes quite early, there isn't any 'winter diesel' available yet), so I suppose it doesn't harm as long as you don't mix too much petrol. If necessary, don't add all at once in the tank, but split it up. So if you have a diesel car or know a diesel car owner, that's a cheaper option.
Groetjes,
Maarten
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.