petrol in diesel tank

Yuk, petrol tastes foul in either type and I'm not aware of any difference but then it's long time since I tasted leaded and the overwhelming taste is YUK SPIT SPIT YUK SPIT anyway!

I'd not risk it in a engine fitted with a cat. It doesn't take much lead to kill the cat, of course if the engine isn't subject to a test that will spot the dead cat...

Keep it for the lawnmower/strimmer/chain saw WHY they won't care. If you don't have those things you probably know someone who does a gallon will keeps someones lawn cut for a year or two... Make sure you tell 'em it might be leaded and not to put it in their car.

!!! unfortunately not being a connisseur, that avenue's probably not open to me; especially as I can't get hold of a known sample of leaded to compare with the stuff currently on sale...

Somewhere between I suspect. Probably nearer the latter than the former.

Well I was about to say 'bollocks', because I got rid of my last non-unleaded-petrol-requiring car (a Sierra) only 6 years ago; but thinking about it now, IIRC that ran on some form of lead-replacement petrol instead? So you're probably right!

Out of interest, would that stuff screw up an 'unleaded' car (/cat) the same way as leaded petrol?

Anyway, whatever, it sounds like my best course of action is to not to stick the stuff in the car due to it's possible age, so thanks to you and Roger for the advice.

David

Lobster gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Any car without a cat will run fine on leaded or LRP. Most cars without a cat will run fine on unleaded, some might prefer 98 to 95 because of timing adjustment.

No, a cat won't have a problem with LRP. Mind you, even LRP hasn't been about for probably five years plus...

It's the catalytic convertor that can't cope with lead.

Give it to someone with a lawn mower, etc. It's really not worth the risk to your cat. for the sake of a few quid. Or keep it for cleaning greasy things.

I thought most Fords of that age were designed for unleaded? Although might run better on the higher octane leaded.

Don't think so. But then they didn't protect vulnerable engines like older Minis etc very well either.

Probably best kept from a petrol stove as well.

Hooray for diesel - the years-old can of diesel I keep worked in the car fine when I ran out early in the morning in France.

"Dave Plowman (News)" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Anything sold in the UK post 1985 (IIRC) had to run on 95 unleaded without modification. A quick google suggests that mass leaded petrol sale was barred in the UK in 2000, but was a very rare sight by then. Unleaded was just being phased in, at the expense of 2*, around 1989 - I'd just got my first car on the road, and used to have to hunt about for

Timewarp -

Actually I did have occasion to taste unleaded quite recently while playing with a syphon tube... got the absolutely tiniest bit in my mouth (YUK SPIT indeed), and of that I managed to swallow a teeny-tiny fraction. The odd thing was that for the rest of the morning, I was burping petrol fumes which was decidedly weird...

David

Luckily my 'fun' car from the 70s onwards has always had a Rover V-8 - and these seem perfectly happy on unleaded as regards valve damage. Provided you use the high octane stuff they also perform well. But what is noticeable is they suffer much more from evaporation on a hot day - my P6 was a nightmare for that when the lead content was reduced. Even my SD1 which has injection suffers. Stop the hot engine on a hot day and it doesn't want to restart. The way round is to run the fuel pump to circulate the fuel for a couple of minutes before attempting. Which is fine if the injectors don't leak. ;-)

I just want to make sure - you were kidding when you said that? (visions of exploding manholes and poisoned sewage plants - followed by police/EA action...)

Andy

Urgh, yeah, I remember the 2000SC being horrible for it too, so was my Stag - on the worst days I'd pop the bonnet and have to just sit there for five minutes. Immediate restarts seemed to be fine, as was leaving it for an hour or two to cool off, but return in 30 mins or whatever - forget it; the heat trapped in the engine bay would just roast everything.