Son-in-laws Toyota Avensis started to run badly lately. Garage reckoned he has got petrol mixed with kerosene in his tank. Apart from how this happene d (apparently there is recent history linking it to a particular filling st ation), what detrimental effect will it have had on the engine. Garage is t alking in terms of a reconditioned engine
Bollocks.
To the recon engine.
refill the tank with good diesel
If that doesn't fix it, ask again.
petrol in yer diesel should do no lasting damage.
I am talking from a position of vast ignorance, but I thought that the fuel injection pump gets very worn very very quickly if pumping petrol rather than diesel?
What engine?
If it's a petrol, it'll be fine. The cat may not like it, but that's a suck-it-and-see.
If it's a diesel, then it depends. If it's common-rail, then the pump etc may turn their toes up expensively at some point in the future.
But a "recon engine"? No.
Indeed, that was my understanding.
(IAC, the guy was talking about kerosene which might have some mild lubricating effect)
Accidentally put petrol in a diesel-engined Laguna a few years ago, about three quaters of a tank before I realised. Topped it up with diesel every 100 miles or so for a few 100 miles and had no problems with it. (Recalled a comment on here that in cold weather HGV drivers put some petrol in their diesel tanks to stop it freezing so I thought I'd be OK.)
I can vouch for this from many who have done it. Might of course be something totally different wrong with it. If the garage are this reliable for the fault, they could be wrong about the cause as well! Brian
he has got petrol mixed with kerosene in his tank. Apart from how this happ ened (apparently there is recent history linking it to a particular filling station), what detrimental effect will it have had on the engine. Garage i s talking in terms of a reconditioned engine
Just to clarify. Its a petrol engined avensis
well top it up with petrol and keep it running down to as low as the tank dare go, then top it up again. Or keep topping it up as you drive a gallon at a time
I would expect it to cough splutter and smoke But no real damage.
Might need a new set of plugs
That way round is more serious to the engine.
Is there a possibility your son-in-law mis-fuelled? By how much?
Internal engine damage is a possibility though without further clarification of "run badly" it's rather difficult to assess what damage, if any, has been done.
In what way?
Set of plugs, oil change, and a new tankful, and it'll be right. But the cat might not live long.
It might also need a new CAT, but otherwise I agree.
How empty is the tank? 3/4 or less fill up petrol and when back down to 3/4 fill again, repeat half a dozen or so times. Engine should start running better at each refill. After half a dozen 1/4 refills have a look at the plugs.
The CAT might not like the sulphur that kero will have in it.
Well they do mix and match tankers a bit but it would have to be more than just the dregs in a tanker used for kero then petrol to cause a problem.
*IF* the engine dies then that might be required but I doubt it'll die, at least not in the short/medium term.It was common years ago to run petrol engines on kerosine/paraffin. Still is in some countries and some marine engines and tractors. (It was called TVO.) To run on paraffin an engine needs to have lower compression ration and the timing retatrded.
Hence the rough running. Slight possiblity od valve damage and preignition but unlikely Should be no other damage except may the catalytic converter if fitted. It used to be a well known fiddle to add untaxed TVO to petrol years ago.
Suck it and see. Put in petrol & see how it goes.
get it checked at MOT station and if buggered claim on insurance
We don't know for how long and how many miles he's done with potentially serious pre-detonation. We have no idea if his ears are tuned for empathy to his engine or the mix of fuel he's used.
We don't know the state of the crown or the lands of the pistons, or even if they are still intact. (I have seen a land part break away)
A snake cam will likely give a valuable insight to the pistons. If all looks ok, then it probably is.
We don't know if the car now has clean petrol in it, if so and still sounding wrong, then perhaps a tear down is warranted before things let go more violently.
There are lots of things we don't know and more info from the OP would be helpful!
diesel wont detonate in a petrol engine
At worst it will burn badly and soot stuff up and possibly mess with pumps and injectors, but I doubt it
In essence its no worse than having worn rings and an oil burning engine
In terms of the actual cylinder - it may affect injectors but not much Id say.
If it were mine, I'd have it towed or carried to a garage, and have the fuel system completely drained and cleaned, and the cat checked. I would have thought paraffin would have done serious damage quite quickly if the engine were run - after all it's half way to diesel in terms of use as a fuel. The misfiring alone could do loads of damage.
Good advice
Rubbish. Modern common-rail diesel pumps rely on the lubricity of diesel to prevent devastating damage.
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