Diesel engines cannot run correctly on gasoline. The engine can become irreparably damaged if the car is run. Diesel engines can handle a small amount of gasoline if it is diluted with diesel fuel. Putting the wrong fuel in your car could be disastrous for your engine as well as your pocket and there is a simple reason why petrol is not good for a diesel-powered car because petrol acts as a solvent that means it prevents the lubricating action which diesel fuel delivers to the precious components of the engine, most significantly the fuel pump. By filling a diesel-powered vehicle with petrol and drive away until it shudders to a halt and you can do serious damage to the fuel pump so that sets off a chain reaction.
Diesel car filled by petrol
If you have put petrol in diesel car, then you need to act quickly and putting the wrong fuel into your vehicle can cause havoc to your journey as well as potentially causing extensive damage to your car engine. If your car is filled with diesel, the most important thing to remember is not to try to start your car. Diesel and gasoline engine operate in a different manner, while gasoline compression alone. If you start it then your engine will circulate the mixed fuel around your engine which can cause more damage. If you have put the wrong fuel in a car and started the engine, then it drove down the road and suddenly the car conks out. In order to travel from the fuel tank to the engine, the petrol will use the fuel lines and these are now contaminated as are their rubber seals as well as those of the fuel injectors. Petrol can eat away at some seals in a diesel engine and so it needs to be flushed through with a cleaning agent and then assessed for potential damage so all parts must be replaced which is a time-consuming and costly job.
Effects of misfuelling
There are some effects after using misfuel in your car then they may cause
- Diesel fuel pumps operate on very fine tolerances and are lubricated by the diesel fuel itself
- Petrol in diesel acts as a solvent so it reduces the lubrication and can cause damage to the pump through metal to metal contact
- The contaminated petrol goes in the system the more expensive the repair so it can be cheaper in more extreme cases to fit a new engine
- The newer common rail diesel engines are particularly vulnerable if fuel contaminated by pump wear debris gets as far as the common rail system that you may have to replace the low and high-pressure fuel pumps, injectors, fuel rail, line filters and the fuel tank too.
- Many systems use the low-pressure electric pump in a tank or sender unit and then this begins to work as soon as the ignition is switched on by circulating the contaminated fuel through the pump and rail so it is important not to turn the ignition on.
- It damages to the engine and can be very expensive for some vehicle owners.
- Recommend change of parts and garage often charge or more for a fuel drain.