Diesel In A Lex

[illy]

:iraqi-info-minister:

I must have been asleep this morning cos forgot which car I was driving and put 10 quids worth of diesel in my motor.

The petrol station was only down the road from where I live so managed to get home without any difficulty, the car was blowing a little smoke when I pulled up at my house but nothing else.

Question is, what is the best course of action, I'm not in the RAC etc. so can't get them out to drain the tank, I possibly could get someone else to do it but not till Thursday, as I had only a fivers worth of unleaded in the car prior to putting the diesel in, and only put a tenners worth of that in, would it work if I went back to the garage and put 35 - 40 quids worth of unleaded in as well ( dilute the diesel....)

Before anybody says it, I know I'm a numpty.

Illy.

PS woman at the petrol station couldnt help me when I asked her if we could drain the tank there.

[Bazza]

how did you get the pump to fit ??

[Steve]

fill the car right up with unleaded... use quarter of a tank and fill up again... and again.. then use whole tank and fill right up again.

How I have done this a few times on older cars though!!! (not me adding diesel.. a lady friend)

So, it may not be the best recommendation but it has worked before

[illy]

I Dunno why the pump fitted, I thought that afterwards, It was a safeway garage with Diesel ultima? Don't know if there a different pump or what?

[illy]

I was sorta thinking along the same lines as what Steve said, Unless any tells me that it will damage anything in the engine or fuel pump ??

[Scorpion]

Get some hose and suck it and see

[Steve]

i would wait to see what others say

pete the tank inlet might have anti syphon feature mate

[JOHNNY-BOY]

i would wait to see what others say

pete the tank inlet might have anti syphon feature mate

I'm pretty sure you might be right for the IS Steve :o

[Scorpion]

Really.....with the current trend of nicking fuel i guess there is no need to buy a locking cap then

[marcus]

fill the car right up with unleaded... use quarter of a tank and fill up again... and again.. then use whole tank and fill right up again.

How I have done this a few times on older cars though!!! (not me adding diesel.. a lady friend)

So, it may not be the best recommendation but it has worked before

yea do what steve say mate just fill it up all it will do is smoke a lot untill there is no more Diesel in the tank :winky:

[Whitebeam]

I think this may be a bit of an over reaction but the AA says

Background Information Why Now? Misfuelling was never a great problem going back say 20 years. When there were comparatively few diesel cars, the DERV pump was very often around the back of the forecourt, outside the canopy, as it was mainly used by trucks. Then gradually the number of diesel engines used in private cars started to grow, and the two fuels were put on the same pump islands. Another factor was the move towards unleaded petrol. This started in the late 1980s, because exhaust catalysts are damaged by lead additives used to improve octane rating. To cut the chances of putting the old leaded petrol into a car with a petrol engine and a catalyst system, the filler neck of catalyst-equipped petrol cars was made smaller, as was the filler nozzle for unleaded petrol, ULP. Remember, this started in the US, and diesel cars were not considered at the time. The result is that diesel cars (and older, pre-catalyst petrol cars) have the larger filler neck that will easily accept either the larger diesel nozzle or the smaller ULP nozzle. So, the possibility of getting the wrong fuel has risen pretty much in line with the increase in the number of diesel cars – and these now account for one in four new cars in the UK. What is the damage? The factors above on their own would have been a real problem. What now makes the situation very much worse is that with the increasingly stringent exhaust emission regulations, the fuels and catalyst systems on cars, both petrol and diesel, are damaged by only small amounts of the incorrect fuel. It used to be common enough to put a little petrol into diesel to help the engine start in cold weather – but with modern diesels that use extremely high injection pressures the viscosity of the fuel is critical. Any petrol present can cause scarring of the pump elements, and the seals can be damaged by compounds found in petrol. The combustion efficiency of an engine designed for petrol will be very poor if it’s fed diesel fuel, and the resulting unburned fuel passing through to the exhaust can cause the catalyst to overheat. What should I do with a misfuelled car? If you find that you have put the wrong fuel into a car, don’t start the engine. If it has been run, stop as soon as reasonably possible. The contaminated fuel will have to be drained by a garage with the correct equipment, and the fuel properly disposed of. If the car is still under warranty, check with a franchised dealer for the correct remedial procedure: some cars must have seals and filters renewed even if the engine has not been run.

Basically I think they're saying it'll run OK but you may have a problem at the next MOT. I'd probably drain as much as I can then dilute / use whats left.

[Steve]

didnt tink about fuel filter... you'll need to change that now ASAP when the diesel has gone.

[ColinBarber]

Rear seat needs to come out to change the filter. Not sure how much they are - could be expensive as they are not normally changed.

[Steve]

£40 for the soarer colin

but i always change things like that when i by a car... change everything.

[ColinBarber]

I don't think the soarer has a lifetime filter though which is why I am thinking the IS one may be more expensive.

[lofty]

The things people do to try and squeeze a few extra M.P.G. out of a Lex!

[Steve]

ahh i see...

whatever happened to the pumps that had a voice warning?

thought they would have taken off!

[ADVANCE]

u need to get a hose and syphon the gas out into a container. If im correct, diesel doesnt not combust so its not good for your engine.

[illy]

Thanks for the replies,

Drained the tank today so the Diesel is all gone, had to put some more unleaded in it to get it to my mate garage so it cost me about 30 quid in fuel altogether.

I have been advised by others as well as yourselves that the filter will need changing, is this something I could do myself, never even seen a fuel filter before and also would it have to be done right away as Steve says.

I was told the filter get's blocked by the diesel so if the car runs ok now it's all gone, will it still need changing?

Thanks again. :)

P.S. Tried the syphoning but it does have an anti syphon filter(?) about 12 inches down inside the filler pipe.

[branney]

wow, it is a real testament to these toyota/lexus engines! today i put £12 diesel in my LRP corolla, then drove back from birmingham to glasgow (350 miles) by mixing in some Unleaded in every 50 miles or so.

figured getting it towed from the motorway service station then drained would cost about as much as my car is worth (£250). is there anything these engines will NOT run on? chip fat anyone?

[Monster-Mat]

they wont run on strawberry milkshakes, that i do know

[Scalle--]

they wont run on strawberry milkshakes, that i do know

You sure? Did you try?:doggy:

[Rodders_UK]

could have been worse - my mate filled his brand new deisel b w up with petrol and BMW charged him £700 to sort it

[ianpye]

I done the same in my bosses V6 Vectra a few years back at newport pagnel services. The car died and the RAC towed it to a garage for them to drain the Diesel. During the process they managed to tow the car into a wall, I'd only been with the company six weeks! However, he somehow managed to forgive me and I am still with the company after seven years. :)

Ian