later, Peter Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Local gas station had diesel fuel unloaded into their premium tank... the result is a "neighbor's" new subaru died from the diesel. He took to the local dealer & they are analyzing the results. Potential damage? things to look out for, to inspect, to replace???? Later, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Local gas station had diesel fuel unloaded into their premium tank... the result is a "neighbor's" new subaru died from the diesel. He took to the local dealer & they are analyzing the results.Potential damage? things to look out for, to inspect, to replace???? Later, Peter How much diesel mixed with how much gas? How long did it run before dying? I don't know what might happen to a newer engine, but the older ones usually just needed a complete fuel system/carbureator purge if it stopped running quickly. Diesel is designed to autoignite easily, but otherwise is sort of thick gummy stuff compared to gas, while gas is designed to not auto ignite, but is very explosive otherwise. So if you had too much diesel in there, the old ones wouldn't carbureate any more and would just stop. On a fuel injected car it might get into the pistons, but it should start knocking from preignition, and stop running. And probably gum all the injectors and filters and stuff up. If the knock sensors threw a code and shut it off, nothing really bad may have happened. Except for having to degunk everything in the fuel system. It's better than running gas in a diesel engine. That usually causes various explosions in the pistons or in the turbo or the exhaust system, in addition to destroying injector pumps at times, because they assume a well lubricating fuel, that auto ignites under compression easily but doesn't create a fuel vapor air mixture. Diesels always run with excess oxygen too. I hope the gas station is paying for any work? Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 I doubt that any damage was done. The tank would need to be drained and re-filled with gasoline. The fuel line(s) and the fuel filter would need to be purged. I'd think that removing the line that exits the far-side (passenger-side) fuel rail and briefely turning the key would allow the fuel pump to purge the diesel out of the removed hose and into a container. The return line will puge itself back to the tank once everything is re-connected and the engine is started the but that small amount would be OK. You may wanna get some other opinions besides mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 yeah like they said, have a dealership flush everything, maybe change the oil. I suppsoe you could push for the gas station to buy some kinda extended warranty or put some money in escrow fro fuel system/emmisions work for a year or so. prolly need a 'mouthpiece' (lawyer) for something like that. Can you find the other folks thois happend to? maybe pool funds for a lawyer. I dunno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 no real damage to be done here, because th car cant rin on deisel, as opposed to putting gasoline in a diesel. Relapce all the filters, inclding in the tank, flush the entire fuel system, the fuel pressure regulator may not be happy, i wouldnt know without knowing what the internals were made of, clean the injectors and plugs, and have the 02 and cat tested for function. its possible the cat got damaged, and thats not cheap. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 Nice one on the Cat, Nipper. Expensive failure that might take some time to show up. Make sure "potential cat failure" is covered - or insist on replacing the cat(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitz Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 Nice one on the Cat, Nipper. Expensive failure that might take some time to show up. Make sure "potential cat failure" is covered - or insist on replacing the cat(s). Good advice to cover any potential future problems that could develop. To put your neighbor's mind at ease Peter, a lot of name brand fuel injector cleaner products are primarily fuel oil (jet A). At the worst, I'd say the cat and O2 sensors might have some soot on them, which will burn away after a good long highway drive to get the cats up to temp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulwnkl Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 There's really nothing in particular to worry about. Diesel fuel won't burn properly in a gasoline engine; that's why a car filled with diesel fuel on an empty tank won't run. I doubt there's trouble with the cat given the very limited amount of diesel that probably got through the engine, but I suppose anything's possible. Drain and re-fill fuel tank (with gasoline this time ), bleed supply lines and off-side injector rail, and drive away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subyrally Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 i9f the car ran at all with deisel, the cat mgiht be toast. there was an elderly guy that put deisel in his legacy and the car still ran, but it destroyed the cats and it needed a major fuel and intake system clensing. the car never really ran right after that though. good luck with getting it fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 The concern with the cat is that diesel has traditionally had a high sulfer content, which can clog the convertor over time. It's really unlikely the engine managed to run long enough to put out enough sulfur to harm the convertor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstSubaruGLwagon Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Don't be suprised if the "Dealership" says it needs new injectors:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 9, 2005 Share Posted November 9, 2005 Its just one of those things that you want to cover, Doesnt mean it DID any damage .... but just have it written down someplace to make sure its noted. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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