Wrong Fuel !!!

[cr250rtom]

Put petrol in my YD25 this morning. Probably my fault but beware the big Caltex fuel price sign on the Roadside says "Vortex Diesel" and when you pull up to the pumps there are two fuels marked "Vortex Premium....". One is diesel and the other unleaded. Easy **** up !!! Most other servo's don't have fuels starting with same names.
Drove the car a short distance to the shops (approx. 500m) with no issue, did shopping, started car, car died after approx 2 seconds after start up.
I thought about it and quickly realised what had happened. Apart from needing to drop the fuel and change filters does anyone know what will have to be done ? AANT said this could damage injector pump?? Epic F*%K UP !!!

 

[nathand22]

Sounds like you prob didnt drive far enough to hurt it to bad, but as said totally drain the tank, then use the primer to pump all old fuel out of the lines, change filter and drain assembly then see how that goes.
I think the main concern in regards to the pump would be with all the seals ect but with only driving it 500m i doubt you have totally Farked it.

 

[cr250rtom]

Cheers mate. Thanks for the advice.

 

[jjohn]

Yeah what he said.

There are a few others that have done it. There is a thread or two. From memory early detection saved the day.

 

[Jason]

I don't think it will be very good news unfortunately. Combination of the common rail and the distance you drove.

I would be enlisting the help of a mechanic/dealer and probably notifying the insurance company, maybe they will accept a claim?

How much did you put in and how much diesel was left in the tank before you filled it?

 

[180degrees]

get 2 new filters, change the first new one after like 50km cause it will be full of shit.

 

[DieselTuner]

I have had customers fill their tank with unleaded and drive over 50km until the engine ended up konking out.

I drained the fuel filled with diesel and flushed the lines etc.. just to see if we could get the owner out of trouble for the weekend, and as far as I know the truck is still going (this is over 2 years ago now)

I have also had a vehicle be filled with only 20-30L of petrol and the same amount diesel and shred the injector pump about 200m up the road...

Im just saying this so people can see, its not always worst case scenario when the wrong fuel is used, and the problem is significantly reduced on common rail vehicles.

 

[nathand22]

Cheers mate. Thanks for the advice.

If you dont have any luck, as jason said most insurance companies will accept it as an "ACCIDENT" just like any other accident, just because there wasn't panel damage doesn't automatically mean you wont be covered.
When i rang my insurance company a year or so to inquire about fuel contamination at first i was told by two people that i would not be covered, but after speaking to a supervisor was told YES i am covered and it is in the "accident" section of my policy.

So if you have done damage dont take no for an answer from your insurer.

 

[cr250rtom]

I had about 10 litres of diesel in the tank (low), then put in 17 ltrs of unleaded and drove it a short distance before parking at the shops. Considering the volume of the fuel line and the short distance driven I reckon the bad fuel only just made it to the motor when I attempted the next start up. It's been towed to mechanics this arvo. Will keep you all informed for your own future reference. Cheers for all the advice.

 

[nathand22]

I had about 10 litres of diesel in the tank (low), then put in 17 ltrs of unleaded and drove it a short distance before parking at the shops. Considering the volume of the fuel line and the short distance driven I reckon the bad fuel only just made it to the motor when I attempted the next start up. It's been towed to mechanics this arvo. Will keep you all informed for your own future reference. Cheers for all the advice.

If by chance the mechanic says that the pump ect are all rooted, dont automatically take there word for it.
I personally would drain it all, pump out the fuel thats in the lines and change filters my self again if needed and see what happens.
Im not saying they will rip you off and im not saying all workshops are rip offs but it does happen and it pays to be cautious of being told about massive issues and big prices to fix them.

 

[qqc d22]

mt old boy left dealership with a new d40 2.5ltr went to the servo filled it with unleaded made it 3/4hr down the road before it stopped, rang nissan said come and pick this shitbox up not relising what he had done. by the time they got there he clicked to his stupidity, all they did was drain it change filters and sent him on his way. never had any problems with it.

so i wouldn't be to worried just yet

 

[LLadnar]

your injector pump is lubricated by the oil in the diesel fuel, considering the short distance I would very much hope nothing major would have happen. the fact that you turned it off probably saved it, you would not have been able to get the unleaded to ignition point while trying to restart.

 

[180degrees]

Unleaded has a significantly lower flash point than diesel Lladnar, it'd easily combust in a hot pressurised cylinder but I know what your trying to say.

 

[LLadnar]

not inside a engine, the ignition temp for diesel is 220c and unleaded is 232c. it's to do with compression ratio and air mix

PS. just check my Tafe books and unleaded is actually 320c and diesel is 220>420c depending on engine.

 

[180degrees]

yea diesel has a lower ignition temp, also has a higher flash point though making it ideal in a compression style engine.

I was talking about flash point though, petrol above about -45c forms a vapor which can be ignited under the right conditions, also it'd be getting sprayed in as a mist on the compression stoke perfect conditions for it really.

 

[Jason]

I'm crossing my fingers for you, give us an update when you can.

 

[KraftyPg]

I wouldn't be overly concerned after such a short distance. My old man put somewhere between 1/3 and a 1/2 a tank of unleaded in his BT50 by mistake. It was a bit underpowered but he drove it 150ks towing the trailer full of furniture then left it for 5 days before we drained the tank. We only bothered replacing the fuel filter and drain the tank and nothing serious happened.

Sure it's not something anyone should do on a regular basis and it's not something that should just be ignored but you traveled such a short distance before noticing it and doing something about it. If manufacturers didn't make these engines just a little bit tolerant to fcuk ups there would be diesel powered vehicles abandoned everywhere because putting some unleaded is a diesel tank is a hell of a lot more common that some might think.

 

[d22dave]

putting some unleaded is a diesel tank is a hell of a lot more common that some might think.

I would agree with you there,

 

[tweak'e]

damage really comes down to lack of lube and time used.
a tank full of petrol tends to do minimal damage because engine conks out rather quickly.
however driving 1000's of km's with a small amount of petrol in it will do major wear.

 

[cr250rtom]

So the Navara is back on the road. Mechanic sucked out old fuel without removing tank, removed bad fuel from line, flushed system through with fresh diesel, replaced fuel filters and total cost was $400. Not too bad. could have been worse.