What a plonker

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facer

facer

New Member
Posts
171
Location
Herefordshire
Had to take my daughter to the dentist today and as usual I was running late. I quickly popped to the garage for fuel and went on my way.
Anyway, on the way home the car was as lumpy as hell and I could here a whizzing noise coming from the back end. I thought it might be the EGR pipe trick so I pulled over and reconnected it. Eventually got back on the road and as I was passing the garage it occurred to me I might have put petrol in instead of diesel. Luckily I had only stuck £20 in earlier and driven 16 miles. So I filled the car to the brim with diesel and all is well. Apparently the whizzing noise was the fuel pump going ten to the dozen as petrol is alot thinner than diesel.....What a plonker.

I popped to my mates garage and he said it happens quite often, and showed me 2 50 gallon drums full of mixed fuels he has drained out. Ive only ever owned petrol cars so it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Just gotta keep topping up with diesel as and when I can get a tenners worth in until its gone.
 
Last edited:
Oops! That must have been quite a moment of Doh!

Nobody's perfect tho mate, I'm sure we've all had our moments :)
 
just down the road from me is a filling station with a small mechanics shop next door......guy in there reckons he gets 8-10 a week and charges £110 to drain and bleed though with just enough fuel to get them back on the forcourt! :mad:
 
Change the oil and filter asap,or after a tank or few of pure diesel.

The petrol ,being thinner than diesel,passes the rings and gets into the sump and thins the engine oil,as well as causing other problems.
 
OldIrishWulf said:
Change the oil and filter asap,or after a tank or few of pure diesel.

The petrol ,being thinner than diesel,passes the rings and gets into the sump and thins the engine oil,as well as causing other problems.
Click to expand...

Really?
I was in a guys car getting a lift home for the weekend. We stoped at a garage and started to fill up, o noticed he was using petrol, quickly told him it was a diesel and he stoped. He phoned the RAC, the guy he spoke to said, just top it up with diesel, he only put a couple of quid in, and use it on some twisty roads to keep the fuel mixed. He said it does diesels some good to stick a few litres of petrol in each month.
I don't believe him, so I don't put petrol in mine.
 
itll be ok you did the right thing it wont hurt it , if it twas other way round though doozle in a petrol motor :eek::eek::eek:
 
I am not going to laugh at this - with me now having both petrol and diesel Freelanders its only a matter of time before I do the same
 
Thanks for your replies. I sorta feel rest assured I ain't fuct it up lol. Just for good measure I'm gonna put half a litre of oil in the tank. I'm just glad the petrol/diesel was expensive at the garage I used otherwise I would have filled her up. Tis a lesson learned
 
mick 1986 said:
Really?
I was in a guys car getting a lift home for the weekend. We stoped at a garage and started to fill up, o noticed he was using petrol, quickly told him it was a diesel and he stoped. He phoned the RAC, the guy he spoke to said, just top it up with diesel, he only put a couple of quid in, and use it on some twisty roads to keep the fuel mixed. He said it does diesels some good to stick a few litres of petrol in each month.
I don't believe him, so I don't put petrol in mine.
Click to expand...
He did put 20 quid in it and drove 16 miles.Dont take my advice,but when you start to leak oil from your oil filter ,because the rubber seal is perished.You might think it would have been a good idea.
Maybe google for info.I kunt be arsed.
 
One thing I have noticed is the car starts a hell of a lot better than it did before and there's no smoke when it first starts up. Dunno if its because its had a decoke from the petrol or if its just down to the warmer weather.
I won't be doing it again tho ........ Hopefully
 
facer said:
One thing I have noticed is the car starts a hell of a lot better than it did before and there's no smoke when it first starts up. Dunno if its because its had a decoke from the petrol or if its just down to the warmer weather.
I won't be doing it again tho ........ Hopefully
Click to expand...


It starts easier because the fuel will be thinner & flowing/atomising easier (just like summertime). You will lose some of the lubrication qualities but it doesn't sound like you've put enough in to affect it too much. If you had, then you could have added a little lubricating oil in to redress the balance but I think your car will be ok, just keep doing what your doing by topping up regularly withe diesel.
 
facer said:
Had to take my daughter to the dentist today and as usual I was running late. I quickly popped to the garage for fuel and went on my way.
Anyway, on the way home the car was as lumpy as hell and I could here a whizzing noise coming from the back end. I thought it might be the EGR pipe trick so I pulled over and reconnected it. Eventually got back on the road and as I was passing the garage it occurred to me I might have put petrol in instead of diesel. Luckily I had only stuck £20 in earlier and driven 16 miles. So I filled the car to the brim with diesel and all is well. Apparently the whizzing noise was the fuel pump going ten to the dozen as petrol is alot thinner than diesel.....What a plonker.

I popped to my mates garage and he said it happens quite often, and showed me 2 50 gallon drums full of mixed fuels he has drained out. Ive only ever owned petrol cars so it was bound to happen sooner or later.
Just gotta keep topping up with diesel as and when I can get a tenners worth in until its gone.
Click to expand...

If you ever do this, throw in some clean engine oil, that will increase the viscosity of the petrol. A friend once almost brimmed his TD5 disco with petrol, he put in a gallon of the cheapest heaviest motor oil he could find and drove home some 400miles.
 
discomania said:
If you ever do this, throw in some clean engine oil, that will increase the viscosity of the petrol. A friend once almost brimmed his TD5 disco with petrol, he put in a gallon of the cheapest heaviest motor oil he could find and drove home some 400miles.
Click to expand...
hows his motor?
 
facer said:
One thing I have noticed is the car starts a hell of a lot better than it did before and there's no smoke when it first starts up. Dunno if its because its had a decoke from the petrol or if its just down to the warmer weather.
I won't be doing it again tho ........ Hopefully
Click to expand...

Petrol is a solvent, you will loose ALL lubrication qualities. It will have cleaned the whole system (redex at £5 for 500ml, I don't think so, cup of petrol into the fuel filter).
 
howardo said:
hows his motor?
Click to expand...

Some 10,000miles on, fine, not an issue with it, the engine oil saved it, and saved him having to try and drain 90litres of petrol 400miles away from home.

Incidentally, the DII fuel pump, is the SAME said pump for both the diesel and the V8 version.

The worry with petrol in this type of diesel engine is the temperature at which the diesel gets to while in the head, so hot it goes through a fuel cooler, it can boil petrol in the head, which then gasses the fuel rail and the vehicle stops as fuel injectors are not to good at injecting gases!

It also means the injectors are running without lubrication, again the oil sorted this out.

I have been running diesel landys on the occasional mix of petrol and oil for years without any problems, it can be done, you just need to get it right.
 
If you ever do this, throw in some clean engine oil, that will increase the viscosity of the petrol
Click to expand...
I did chuck in half a litre of clean engine oil and 40 quids worth of diesel on top. Was that enough oil?
 
Just an update..
I put another £35 quids worth of diesel in and the car seems to be running better than ever. It seems to have a lot more go than it did before. Ive checked the oil level and it hasn't changed so I don't think any petrol got into the engine block. I will be changing the oil soon tho just in case. By my calculations there must still be about 15% of petrol still in the tank.
I got the car booked in for an MOT at my mates garage tomorrow so will have it checked over too whilst I'm there. Thanks for the replies
 
OldIrishWulf said:
He did put 20 quid in it and drove 16 miles.Dont take my advice,but when you start to leak oil from your oil filter ,because the rubber seal is perished.You might think it would have been a good idea.
Maybe google for info.I kunt be arsed.
Click to expand...

Dont take offence I wasn't doubting you mate, just asking if what the RAC bloke said was true, or what you said to be the best practice?
 
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