Petrol in a diesel engine

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Yes
I put £0.30 of petrol in a diesel engine before realising my mistake.
Engine started fine afterwards but is there any risk of breakdown?
Someone said it could take up to a week before something happen.
 
It's a small amount, if you filled up with diesel I doubt there will be any significant issues.
 
30p worth won't hurt. Just fill it up with diesel and all will be fine.
 
We used to put a gallon of petrol in approx 40 gallon diesel tank years
ago, ( in a truck) in the winter to stop it freezing.
But that was before all the winter additives.
At about £1.20 per ltr
that only equates to about 250Ml
l I assume you continued to fill up with diesel after that?
I really can't see that being an issue TBH
 
Cobra said:
We used to put a gallon of petrol in approx 40 gallon diesel tank years
ago, ( in a truck) in the winter to stop it freezing.
But that was before all the winter additives.
At about £1.20 per ltr
that only equates to about 250Ml
l I assume you continued to fill up with diesel after that?
I really can't see that being an issue TBH
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Yes continued with diesel after that.

Thanks for all your replies.
 
I filled an older diesel with unleaded a few years ago. Drove from Chelmsford to Nottingham before it was a problem :blush: 30p worth won't hurt
 
Not at all. when I first got a diesel I put about 1L of petrol in by mistake. I just filled up a full tank of diesel after and ran fine.

Now if it was the other way round as in diesel in a petrol engine...that is a lot worse.

Diesel engines can run on all sorts. If I run out of red diesel for the works landrover I normally mix 30/70 ratio of cooking oil. In my current daily car I put 250ml of ash free two stroke oil to a full 60L tank of diesel, it really help with keeping the engine running smooth and less smoke.
 
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Bernie174 said:
has anyone tried cooking oil in a modern ish diesel car?
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Probably not recommended with modern ish diesels that have a DPF (diesel particulate filter, fitted within the exhaust) fitted, which is 99% of them after 2006. If you don't have a DPF or have it gutted out then there shouldn't be a problem.
 
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Bernie174 said:
Its a 2007, so perhaps I'd better leave it then. Thanks
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Aye better leave it to be on the safe side. I've only ever done it with old cars and my works Land rover is a complete shed anyway which we put cooking oil in.
 
CaveDweller said:
Now if it was the other way round as in diesel in a petrol engine...that is a lot worse.
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FWIW, you've got it the wrong way round. Diesel oil in a petrol engine will make for smoke and might even coat things like the catalytic converter's lambda sensor but it won't do any permanent damage that can't be cleaned off with a wash in some petrol.

Which is exactly the problem with petrol in a diesel engine! The injector pump and system rely on the oiliness of the diesel fuel for their lubrication. When a dose of petrol washes away that oil film, things can get very expensive quite quickly!
 
I doubt that 30p (about 1/2 pint?) of petrol in a tankful of Diesel will be enough to strip the lubrication properties of neat Diesel from the pumps and injectors. Might be worth adding a little ash free 2 stroke oil to the tank (as suggested by Paul the troglodyte above!)
 
Bernie174 said:
has anyone tried cooking oil in a modern ish diesel car?
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Honestly I wouldn't if you see any value left in your car. Diesel gets additive treatment to keep engine cleaner and lubricate it. Many cars can't take biodiesel - mine explicitly says not to use it and it is pre-DPF.

A set of injectors can set you back a lot, and you'd be very happy if you only have 4 at that point.
 
BBR said:
You do realise that if you drive on the road in a car and you have used cooking oil or red diesel in your tank you run the risk of prosecution.
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You can do 2,500L before paying any tax on oil and they would have no easy way of detecting the oil in the tank other than running GCMS analysis. I doubt they would on a roadside or MOT garage. Now red is quite obvious so I would certainly advise to stay well away from it.
 
BBR said:
You do realise that if you drive on the road in a car and you have used cooking oil or red diesel in your tank you run the risk of prosecution.
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It's not registered on the road, never has been. It's just used on the estate for transport between my house and the main keepers lodge.

I also use red diesel in the generator used to power my house. I'm too far off the grid.
 
daugirdas said:
You can do 2,500L before paying any tax on oil and they would have no easy way of detecting the oil in the tank other than running GCMS analysis. I doubt they would on a roadside or MOT garage. Now red is quite obvious so I would certainly advise to stay well away from it.
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Indeed. Biggest tell tale will be the rwd fuel filter.
 
daugirdas said:
Honestly I wouldn't if you see any value left in your car. Diesel gets additive treatment to keep engine cleaner and lubricate it. Many cars can't take biodiesel - mine explicitly says not to use it and it is pre-DPF.

A set of injectors can set you back a lot, and you'd be very happy if you only have 4 at that point.
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Mine too, PD engine. Something to do with high pressure injectors I think, biodiesel would just froth up, nothing to do with particulate filters
 
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