Petrol in Diesel engine.

[gingerscotsman]

I have been on holiday and I leant my car (2.2 Hdi Coupe) to my brother whilst I was away. Unfortunatley he has put 20 litres of petrol in the tank (he has a petrol car and did not notice till it was too late) . He has driven the car a 1/4 mile with no obvious signs of problems. When he started it the next day (at this point only realising his mistake) he noticed some rough sounding idling. There is some pretty confusing advice in various places on the net. I have the following 2 options:

1. Drain the tank, fill with Diesel, add injector cleaner and cetane booster and pray everything is fine. Or..
2. Pay to have the fuel system stripped and cleaned.

Obviously option 1 is cheaper. The info I have found so far suggests that the diesel is a lubricant for the fuel pump and that petrol will strip this away resulting in damage to the pump. Given that it has not ran for any significant period can I assume that the pump is not damaged and go for option 1. If not option 2 may need a new fuel pump and possibly a new engine depending on the condition of the pump.

Anyone had any experiance with this that they can share?

Learning point for everyone. NEVER LEND YOUR COUPE TO ANYONE. EVEN FAMILY !!

[old codger]

Had the same problem at work on an escort van,all the fitting shop did was drain the tank,leave to vent off,refill,change the filter & bleed about a half gallon of fuel through.

Van's still going as far as i know.

[mbell666]

Escort 1.8D is different beast to the HDi.

I If you haven't driven far you shouldn't have done much damage. I'd have the tank drained and the pipes and filter housing flushed, then just completly refill system with diesel. I'd also seriously consider a new lift/low pressure pump in the tank, as these are also lubricated by the fuel are well know to fail, sending metal filings towards the high pressure pump.

[adam03031980]

I work in insurance and can guarantee that some motor insurers will repair the vehicle or do whatever may need doing if the wrong fuel is put into the car it may be worth giving them a try do you know who they are. This may seem unbelievable to some but they may well fix it i have known of a few cases where this has happened just comes under accidental damage. Trust me!!!

[gingerscotsman]

Well bit the bullet today and got the AA Fuel Assist team out to carry out the repairs. They basically drain the entire fuel system and put a flush through with Diesel. A very simple procedure actually and I think I would do it myself in future if my idiot brother does this again (that is if he ever gets near it again !!). The service cost £200 but was worth it for the peice of mind. The guy said he does 4 ot 5 a day and in most cases there is no damage to the car. Its only in the case if you are bombing along the motorway and the petrol kicks in that you do the damage. In most cases around town the car will just stall and do little or no damage at all.

I would recomend the service if this happens to any of you. I was pleased despite it being a little pricey.

Its great to have the car back tough. I have been driving ford focus estates whilst on holiday. I would never have a focus. They are very plasticy and every one I had (I had 3) had a fault with it. The 406 is a dream to drive compaired to these!!

[puglover]

it wasnt you who did it.....i would recoup the cost from your brother as it was his fault lol

[gingerscotsman]

Don't think he can aford it unfortunatly. I do have years of winding him up material though !!!