Put Diesel in by mistake

[m0l0t0v]

Bollocks.

Well yesterday I put in 6 litres of Diesel by mistake and then after noticing I cursed loudly. Then I filled up the rest of the tank which was about 6 litres with unleaded. I could run the bike but pretty much over 6k revs or it would cut out.

Got to my friend house and we thought about trying to syphon out the peetrol ad then go get some unleaded but it was kidna hard to take the petropl out. We were able to get about 6 or so litres and fill it up with more unleaded. Had to stay over at his house as the bike wouldn't start and it's still not starting.

Any suggestions on what to do save for taking it to a garage and paying lots of money which I don't have? And obviously not filling it up with diesel

Thanks
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'99 Hornet 600 , VFR 400 NC30 '92 , Kasawamasaki GT 550 , '98 Hornet 600
**\Tarmacsurfer/** said: It's that immaculately manly coiffure of yours isn't it. One glimpse of your virile locks and the punters can't wait to buy whatever it is you suggest, as it might let them be just a little bit like the Adonis that is our very own Molly Doovydoo said: Its not my fault I can't get it up properly, I just wasn't blessed

[deanoet]

You shouldnt really run an engine on the wrong petrol as it can cause big damage to the engine

The obvious first option is to drain the tank totally and re-fill it with unleaded. and then try to start it again. (remember to dispose of the petrol safely, down the drain isnt safely)
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CBT Passed 18th July 2007 : Previous Bikes> CG125 : Current Bike> Hornet 600 : PASSED DAS 30th Oct 2007
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[veeeffarr]

Well you've ridden it after filling it with Diesel... Isn't that kind of like still riding your bike even though you know there's no oil in it?

[gadfium]

siphon/drain the tank completely dry, then fill with fresh petrol. Drain the carb float bowls as well (they normally have little screw at the bottom of the bowl. Change the plugs.

If that doesn't work, then it is probably the garage (and a bill )

I agree with the above...you shouldn't have started it knowing there was diesel in it. You should have siphoned the tank there and then (or called the AA/RAC)
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Those who risk nothing, do nothing, achieve nothing, become nothing.

[andrew]

Muppet! You should have drained the tank at the garage. It would have been an easy job and would have saved you a massive pain in the arse! Could easily have got the fuel hose off and brought yourself a plastic jerry can to pour it out into....

Like has already been suggested. Drain the tank and the carb floats... If it still aint starting take it to your local bike shop.

Diesel is black and Petrol green for a reason!

[veeeffarr]

A little bit of diesel is ok, I imagine you've probably fucked it on a 50/50 mix.

T

[gadfium]

If a fresh tank & new plugs doesn't sort it, then it would be worth taking the carbs off and giving them a good clean inside. I am not sure if petrol would dissolve the diesel, or whether it would lurk about in the carbs blocking jets????

Would diesel cause mechanical damage to the engine? Not to sure. I guess if enough of it got into the cylinders, then they could hydraulic lock (similar to when you get water in an engine). That would kill it for sure.

Apart from that, I wouldn't know what other damage it could do to a carbed bike?
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Those who risk nothing, do nothing, achieve nothing, become nothing.

[stinkwheel]

I doubt it will have done any damage at all to be honest. If it is a fuel injected bike, it could have screwed up some of the sensors and made the ECU have a hissy fit.

Assuming it is a normally aspirated bike (with carburettors), as has been said, empty the tank then refill it with fresh petrol. Now open the drain screws at the bottom of the carbs to empty the float bowls.

It would be worth running some fresh fuel through the carbs too. If there is a 'pri' position on the fuel tap, turn it to this and open the carb drains again, this will let fresh fuel run through the float bowls. If there is no 'pri' position, you're left with sucking on the carb vacuum hose to get fuel to run out of the tank into the carbs.

Because you've run it on diesel/petrol mix, your sparkplugs will be covered in soot and carbon deposits, as will the inside of your exhaust system. You'll need to take the plugs out and either clean them or replace them.

When it runs, expect a load of smelly blue smoke and a lack of power until it 'clears itself out'. You may need to check/clean the plugs again a couple of times until all the residue is gone.

It may be worth doing an oil change after covering a few miles depending on the amount of soot contamination in the engine.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[m0l0t0v]

[lllN30lll]

some of the garages have a huge syringe type object with a rubber hose on.

they use it to Syphon out any fuel you've mistakenly put in.
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Turbo R1
CRF450R

[m0l0t0v]

I did ask but the guy didn't even know what syphon out meant. And I asked if they had something to take out petrol that's mistakenly been put in. He just said put more unleaded in and have it to at least 25:75 diesel to petrol ratio. Apart from taht he wasn't any helpful at all.

He did tell me to put in at least 14 litres of unleaded and then I told him I'd be har dpushed to put in 14 litres from a completely dry tank
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'99 Hornet 600 , VFR 400 NC30 '92 , Kasawamasaki GT 550 , '98 Hornet 600
**\Tarmacsurfer/** said: It's that immaculately manly coiffure of yours isn't it. One glimpse of your virile locks and the punters can't wait to buy whatever it is you suggest, as it might let them be just a little bit like the Adonis that is our very own Molly Doovydoo said: Its not my fault I can't get it up properly, I just wasn't blessed

[fazza59]

If it was not a bike and a Range Rover just starting it would have set you back £3k min. New ECU's as well as hours for draining. Dont ask!!!

Was the diesel and the super unleaded Blue???
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[timjim]

i see this all the time as a mechanic so youre not the only one..only thing to say is be more careful in future.As mentioned,drain the tank and carbs,either change the plugs or clean the old ones off thoroughly.Run the bike at first at low revs and leave running at tick over till warm.Make sure the tank is FULL of clean fuel.Allow the bike to cool a little and redrain the carb bowls again... do this as many times as you like..youll probably experience the fuel looking like a dull white gel liquid.Youre lucky the you put diesel in petrol and not petrol in diesel as this IS an expensive mistake..new diesel fuel pumps can cost up to 2 and a half grand jsut for the pump...dont do it again

[Kickstart]

Hi

Petrol in a modern common rail diesel is a very bad idea, small amount in an older diesel you would get away with (indeed, used to be recommended as a way to stop diesel turning waxy in cold weather). Biggest problem is that diesel fuel lubricates the system itself, petrol doesn't.

However diesel in a petrol engine should not cause any great issues.

On an injected engine the injectors might get a bit clogged up. Fuel filter and pump might have a hard time. Would probably wreck the lambda probe and / or cat if you ran it for any length of time

Carbed engine there are far less likely to be any issues. Drain the tank and carbs, change the plugs and you will probably be OK.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[bish777]

My old 2.25 landrover would run merrily on 50/50 petrol and diesel. Well it would run on most things you put in the tankprovided it was thin enough for the carb to atomise it.
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GSXR1100J

[Walloper]

As above. No real damage to a petrol engine. Problems for diesels run on petrol though.
Modern diesel fuels are clean because of emmision controls, waxes, sulfur and ash are refined out more. So it is more or less as 'clean' as petrol.
Petrol will disolve the diesel and your bike will smoke like a train for a tank full.
Let it run to almost empty then fill up (With Petrol).
It should be fine.

Additionaly the diesel will not combust and ends up in the sump.
'Long term' this dilutes the lube oil which drops the viscoisty and lowers oil pressure and it's ability to keep hi load bearing parts that fit together closely from touching. (Mains and Big Ends suffer.)
But this would depend on how far home is.


Putting petrol in diesel as an Anti Kak remedy is not advised.
Diesel vapour will not readily ignite, petrol vapour does.
In a petrol tank there is too much vapour and not enough oxygen for iginition so it's safe.

When diesel is mixed with petrol the theory is that the more volitile petrol fumes build up just enough to become very explosive. Because there is only a slight amount of petrol and not enough to be too rich for combustion.
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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[stinkwheel]

Mind you, a mate of mine runs a 2-stroke bike on petrol with diesel in and an old for escort diesel on diesel with petrol in. He gets it all free from the garage next door who drain gallons of the stuff out of peoples cars when they make exactly the same mistake at the garage.

They're both laughing all the way to the bank. My mate gets free fuel and the garage owner has charged to dispose of the stuff then has it taken off his hands for nothing.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Walloper]

[timjim]

i agree with you in principal Walloper and would laugh my c### off if and when things go wrong.As a workshop,the garage i work at has to charge the customer for waste disposal for the fuel we drain..we have to pay for a waste disposal licence so as a tanker can come in and take it away safely,its all to do with enviroment care.The garage mentioned is cutting out the middle man and making a bit of a saving.
Having run by bike on contaminated fuel from a jerrycan in the past,i learnt my lesson and am more than careful now where i get my fuel.tim

[thegubner]

[Walloper]

Petrol in Africa is adulterated all the time by the gas station operators and tanker drivers.
It is watered down with paraffin, which is a few pennies cheaper than petrol.
1000 gallons of petrol will/could be 850 of petrol and the rest paraffin.

The petrol burns in the engine but the paraffin doesn't and just stinks like fuk. Ruins engines and pollutes the environment.
A horrid chain of events.

But the main effect is that the oil thins and the owner never realises as his consumption of oil is as aggressive as his fuel consumption and it gets worser and worser.....
Poor Africa.
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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[konsoli]