Percy TR6 Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 Having finally got the car back up and running (new diff, new rear hubs) I was delighted to wake up to a glorious spring morning - the perfect opportunity to fill the tank and take the car for a good run. As I imagined the wonderful roads I could take, I realised I had just filled up with diesel. I didn't start the car and got a recovery truck to take us home when I now plan to drain the tank. Having done so, my plan will be to fill it with petrol, not letting it drop below half full for a few tankfuls in order to dilute any residue as much as possible. However, I was wondering if anyone would suggest any other steps to clean the tank etc? Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 Make sure you drain the full tank capacity down including anything in the swirl pot etc. If you didn't run the engine there should be no need to change the filter or bleed the fuel lines. Diesel fuel mixed in spark ignition engine fuel is not the disaster that petrol is in a common rail diesel engine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cew Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 You will probably find the car will smoke a little (or lot depending on how much diesel is left) for the first tankful of petrol or so, I don't know how diesel would affect things like the pump or MU, but as it is an oily substance and will burn above 600 deg. the engine shouldn't suffer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Lewis Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 If its a PI I would think about cleaning out/changing the fuel filter as that could retain quite a lot of diesel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Percy TR6 Posted March 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 Well, Ive drained the tank & forced out as much as I can with compressed air, stuck a little unleaded in & drained that too. Cleaned the pre-filter and filled up with unleaded. Couple of puffs of smoke in the first half mile but nothing thereafter, so hopefully disaster averted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
john.r.davies Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 Diesel in a petrol car - absolutely no problem, except you may have to clean out the plugs. I put half a tank of diesel into my TR6/Lucas Pi engined Vitesse. My only excuses were that this was on the return from Classic Le Mans - I was, well, tired! It burnt smokily for two whole tankfuls of petrol, eventually I had to clean the plugs at the road side. Thereafter no probs. It's petrol in a diesel that's disaster. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
barkerwilliams Posted March 25, 2018 Report Share Posted March 25, 2018 Been there done that. Agree diesel in petrol engine is no disaster unlike petrol in a diesel car. Depends on the percentage but 25%diesel just fills the air with pretty white smoke. Incidentally I believe that it is diesel that the Red Arrows use for white smoke and there is nowt wrong with their engines. Alan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Moltu Posted March 26, 2018 Report Share Posted March 26, 2018 Not a disaster - just drain it out and dispose appropriately of the contaminated fuel. Put a gallon or two of fresh fuel in and run it as low as you can before filling. It will pink more on the first tank and smell like you are behind a bus. Running it near to empty will achieve a faster clearance than topping up at half a tank. Had the same problem a couple of years when Tesco had filled one of their underground petrol tanks with diesel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cookie Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 Put diesel in my tr by mistake drove it about 2 miles.Emptied tank and filled with petrol bled injectors into glass jars tried starting a couple of coughs and nothing plugs cleaned numerous times good spark.Car will not start help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drewmotty Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 Keep flushing everything until you’re only getting petrol out. Burn the diesel off the plugs with a naked flame and try again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 (edited) Maybe disconnect the MU feed line and bleed it into a container until you get pure petrol, or disconnect at the pump and MU and blow it clear, then bleed the injectors with the choke wide open. There will probably still be some residual diesel left mixed in the petrol, this will burn with copious white smoke. Edited August 1, 2022 by Mike C Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John McCormack Posted August 1, 2022 Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Don't bother cleaning the plugs. Put new or known good 2nd hand ones in. Plugs soaked in petrol are often useless, in diesel can only be worse. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cookie Posted August 1, 2022 Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 Thanks for replying all will continue with flushing injectors into glass jar and try new plugs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 I wouldn't worry about a tiny amount of diesel added to a full tank of fuel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harrytr5 Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 Been there, done that. Drain,refill and drive it and it will clear. Regards Harry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 Yep, might blow a bit of white smoke sometimes, but I don't think the filter would hold enough diesel to even do that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Bracher Posted March 30, 2023 Report Share Posted March 30, 2023 On 3/28/2023 at 7:58 PM, wibago said: When changing the fuel filter what are y'all doing with the small amount of diesel that was inside the old filter? In the past I've mixed it with used motor oil and dropped it off for recycling. This time when I tried to do that I didn't have any dirty motor oil so it was just a jar of clear-looking diesel and after asking what it was the guy at the auto parts store told me they couldn't accept it because they only take used oil, not fuels due to "flammability". He directed me to a household hazardous waste drop-off site, which I'm not eligible to utilize because I travel full time and am not a resident of the county whose taxation funds the program. I've certainly thought about just adding it back to the tank (how clean are gas station pump nozzles anyway?), but before I do something stupid and clog up my fuel system I'm curious what others are doing.. Diesel makes very good penetrating fluid on rusted fixings/seized engines etc, don't throw it away! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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