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Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 4:11 am
by dabbers041272
Hi guys, done stupid thing yesterday, dont ask me why but i put 1/2 a tank of unleaded into my diesel cavalier!
Drove it for abuot 5 miles and it was ok, then it started losing power and then sort of conked out.
Wouldn't start then, as if it was out of fuel.
Have i knackered the car? What can i expect now?
Thanks in advance for your replies

Re: Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 5:36 am
by Fastbike
You may well have fucked it , the injectors rely on the diesel oil for lubrication . If you take it to a garage they are going to stiiff you for all they can , would be worth getting as much contaminated fuel out as poss, then if you are OK with doing this take off the diesel feed and pump it out into a container ( care it as it is at PRESSURE) , then tryng 10 l of good old high sulphur ( = good lube) diesel .
You should also change the fuel filter , they are chunky on a diesel can hold a lot of fuel
Most modern diesels are self bleeding so if there is no damage it will start after cranking for a while
If the injectors or the pump have siezed , bad news but not terminal , I would be inclined to get one of those one man band mobile guys out to it , if you dont wanna do it yourself , ask him to check the pump and the injectors , and maybe do a compression test on the engine .
Good luck , get back if you need any more help .


Re: Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 12:46 pm
by dabbers041272
Thanks for that fastbike! and i DO ride Yamaha! lol
Got an R6, what you got?

Re: Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 1:42 pm
by Ace
Bet yer gonna be riding that R6 for the next week or so, mate ;-)


Re: Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 4:10 pm
by Carl Pulley
Boy you totally fucked your car up with that,Mind you i thought petrol pumps now changed the nozzle shapes so you couldn't cock it up like your just done or is it that there only done it to certain car models,If you tried to put a diesel nozzle on a unleaded car the shape of the tank cap won't fit and vice versa,and like i said i thought there changed the shape of the nozzles slighty so you couldn't make that sort of mistake.

Carl (Kriss Kross)

Re: Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:18 pm
by Fastbike
Notice it's the bike thats fast , not the rider . I've got a cat , few years old now but I still like it Like u I guess , it's a toy . R6 a bit extreme for me . Very nice bike though .


Re: Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2004 11:06 pm
by nosey
Aren't the handles of the pumps different colours also?. Surely unleaded handles are green?


Re: Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2004 2:35 am
by Ace
I remember the petrol rationing a few years back, and some tossers actually DID put diesel in their tanks to keep on the road. The AA said how irresponsible they were.
Also, a tanker deposited diesel in the unleaded tank section of a garage by mistake (he got sacked though) and no end of motorists filled up before stuttering to a halt about 3 miles down the road. I do believe that ESSO or SHELL or whoever owned the garage did pay for all the repairs


Re: Unleaded in my diesel!

Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2004 4:05 am
by Fastbike
This is all too easily done , there is no law about handle colours and garages differ . The nozzles are hung up next to each other etc and now that you have anti evapouration systems you do not get the smell feedback . I know lots of people who have done this , and if you let a garage "help" you it will cost , and then there is the fuel which they say they pay to dispose of , but they will actually burn in small doses in their own diesel van .