[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by tj123

Diesel mixed in petrol will not cause damage in the short run, the only damage will be increased carbon deposits on spark plugs and other engine components.Except that there wont be any issue.

Try to drain the fuel by removing the fuel supply feed lines to the MPFI , & manually activating the fuel pump. Dont crank the engine.
The fuel pump will be able to drain out the entire tank in few minutes. You may just restore the fuel supply to the MPFI unit & fill in fresh Gas. Well that’s it you are done.

i was wondering, how will you manually activate the fuel pump.??

are you sure fuel pump are that fast.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

i was wondering, how will you manually activate the fuel pump.??

are you sure fuel pump are that fast.

I think he means that you turn on the ignition (& the pump starts); and he's written 'do not crank the engine'.

Never having tried this, I can't say about the time it will take to empty a tank but I'd imagine that half an hour would certainly do it.

[johnda]

We had a similar exp: while driving in a group. A diesel Innova had 15 lts of Petrol filled - and we drove 25kms, then the driver inquired and
we went to the nearest pump filled 15lts of diesel. and drove back 25kms. Called Toyota and they came towed the Innova, drained and cleaned.
The whole thing cost about 8K (hire charges, fuel - Both :-), Towing, restoration)

After the episode I realized how dangerous it could have been yet was wondering why the engine didn't fail or blow-up. Somebody said something about the density of fuel and that the petrol stayed above the already present Diesel and bla bla... is there any truth in that.. and what do you thing kept that vehicle? other than the grace of God (all the wives and children were in that car!!)

[sandeep.mishra]

The fuel should have been drained at the gas station. One doesnt know how much of diesel has actually gone in the tank (I dont trust my driver ever). There could be possible fuel pump damage and carbon deposits in the injectors. The ignition shouldnt have been switched on and the car should have been pushed to a corner and the fuel drained then and there!

[johnda]

Originally Posted by sandeep.mishra

The fuel should have been drained at the gas station. One doesnt know how much of diesel has actually gone in the tank (I dont trust my driver ever). There could be possible fuel pump damage and carbon deposits in the injectors. The ignition shouldnt have been switched on and the car should have been pushed to a corner and the fuel drained then and there!

Had the driver known he would have informed us(we had the bill to prove the quantity filled). but after Toyota took the car, they said that they cleaned the whole thing out and they said that there was no damage to anything (which i found hard to believe but I also believe in miracles!!)

[Takumi-san]

Coolant yes, but only provided that you are ALWAYS using the same brand that is already in the radiator / coolant tank. Mixing two different brands is asking for trouble. If not sure, then its better to use distilled water (sans any salts - regular water works but distilled is best). Its also recommended to flush the radiator once every year or two and then refill entirely with coolant mix. One should check if its a ready coolant mix or just the coolant concentrate (which would again need water in given proportions). Everythings written on the container / box of the coolant that you choose. Its just that most of us who can read ignore to do so, and those of us who cant are the ones that are working on the cars for the most part.

A decent mechanic who actually knows what he is doing - now thats a god send.

Originally Posted by tazmaan

Distilled water is required for battery and not radiator. Coolant is suggested always but water does work. However I was low on coolant and had to top it up. The only substitute if you dont have coolant handy is water.

[loving_alaap]

well, try to put kerosene instead in petrol car.

Auto rickshaws are famous for that.

[Danindica]

Small issue Manikjeet - but just don't try driving the car anymore before having flushed the tank, fuel supply system, filters, injectors and plugs etc.

Can't happen to my petrol Indica - The attendants at all pumps automatically assume the car to be diesel but none of them has so far actually been able to make the mistake of pouring diesel in. Reason: The inlet is smaller in bore to the diesel dispensing nozzles.

Smart eh? TATA still rules!

[Danindica]

Originally Posted by akash_m

Yesterday the guy at the filling station accidently filled diesel in my friend's Indica Xeta (petrol). The car already had about 10 ltrs of petrol in which 15 ltrs of diesel got mixed! My friend called me up and I advised him not to crank the engine. Called the car helpline, they too didnt advised to crank the engine. Finally the car was towed away to the nearest service station. The time and money estimate is yet to be given as this incident happened yesterday night.

My question is, how severe is the problem? Is is simply draining the entire fuel or something else? Can the engine possibily be damaged knowing that no attempt was made to start the car after the incident.



BTW, whose fault should it be considered? My friend's or the guy who filled the car? Is it the duty of the owner to specify which fuel does he/she want or should it be checked by the attendents at the filling station?

But how can that happen Akash? I am a XETA owner and I know how many times petrol pump attendants have brought their diesel nozzles in contact with my fuel inlet only to find that it is smaller in bore and that the diesel nozzles would just not go in.

Did you friend bring fuel in a can and top up the tank? But why would he since the car already had 10litres of petrol in. I am leaving office now and the first thing I will check is this on my way back at the first petrol pump I see open.

[desertfox]

This is the reason, I always insist on going to the fuel station myself in person whenever I need to fill up my Hurricane engine CJ3B Jeep. Chances are 9 out of 10 that an ignorant petrol pump attendant will assume it to be Diesel Jeep because there are hardly any Petrol Jeeps left in India.

Indica, Swifts, and a small number of Qualis are bound to face these problems. I guess there got be a little sticker on that tank filler lid and all pump attendants need to be given an assumption and verification training.

[vdiatech]

petrol in a diesel engine may not cause as much damage as diesel in a petrol engine, so i was told long time ago.

I was told if petrol was accidently filled ( like 5 to 10 litres ) in a diesel engine, it was absolutely safe to fill the tank with diesel, will not harm the engine... I never tried it though

Ps. I would never advise anybody to try this . I am just sharing what I heard..

[akhilesh51]

Diesel-Petrol mixup unknowingly can be sorted since we get to know about the error quite soon usually at the fuel station itself.

What is worse is when adulterated fuel is supplied to unsuspecting customer. We had a visit from a Safari 3.0 DiCOR which was filled with diesel adulterated with kerosene (over 15% adulteration).

The vehicle drove for about 30 kms before coming to a complete standstill. We had to tow the car to our service centre only to find that the entire engine assembly had been spoilt with replacements and service costing well over 60K.

The car owner was not innocent either. He had not filled up the car at a fuel station but from a jeep which had got fuel from Haryana since it is cheaper. He now ended up paying bigger price for being 'smart'.

[Danindica]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

In the UK petrol pumps have different sized nozzles for Petrol, Diesel and Leaded Petrol in sync with the fuel tank opening. So you can not put diesel in petrol run cars or vice versa. May be we should have something like that over here as well.

But one cannot do much if the substance coming out of the fuel station is adulterated.

That is a function of the petrol/diesl inlet on the car. My XETA's Petrol inlet will not take a diesel dispensing nozzle. Choosy!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by vdiatech

petrol in a diesel engine may not cause as much damage as diesel in a petrol engine, so i was told long time ago.

Maybe not so much in an older indirect-injection, but try that with a modern ultra-tech common rail diesel engine and you are looking at a 6 figure bill. At the minimum. CRDIs are very susceptible to damage by the wrong / bad fuel.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by vdiatech

petrol in a diesel engine may not cause as much damage as diesel in a petrol engine, so i was told long time ago...

No, sir, it is the other way around (atleast when referring to carb petrol engines and IDI diesel engines).