Owners sometimes face such a situation when at the gas station, instead of diesel fuel, the car was mistakenly filled with gasoline. Such cases can arise for various reasons, but the drivers themselves are most often to blame. Gasoline is poured into a diesel engine out of habit, and the cases of refueling with the wrong type of fuel themselves occur after a recent change from a gasoline car to a car with.
At the very beginning, it should be noted that refueling a diesel engine with gasoline in some cases threatens with serious consequences for a diesel engine, but with several reservations. Potential options:
- A completely empty diesel engine was mistakenly filled with gasoline;
- Gasoline was partially mixed with diesel fuel, since diesel fuel was present in the tank;
In the first case, starting a diesel engine and starting the car becomes possible only due to the fact that a certain amount of diesel fuel remains in the fuel system. After the moment when gasoline begins to flow into the fuel lines, the engine will simply stall. The subsequent start of the motor will no longer be possible.
This situation is less dangerous, since in most cases the car is evacuated to the service station, gasoline is drained from the tank, the tank and fuel lines are washed, and changed. Often major repairs can be avoided.
The second case is much more dangerous. After refueling with gasoline, the diesel engine normally starts on the remains of diesel fuel in the engine power system and the car drives, but then a mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline begins to flow into the engine.
The further outcome will depend on the ratio of the amount of diesel fuel and gasoline in the tank. If there is much more gasoline, then the engine will stall, repeating the situation described in the first case. Another option is a longer ride on a mixture of two different types of fuel, during which the driver notices a drop in power, hard work is observed. It can also increase noticeably, the motor starts to work unstably.
A similar situation is detrimental to a diesel engine, since driving on a mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline causes mechanical destruction of the power unit. Let's understand why gasoline is so harmful to a diesel engine.
The diesel engine is designed in such a way that the principle of supplying and igniting the working mixture in it is fundamentally different from gasoline units. In a diesel engine, air is supplied separately, then highly compressed. Diesel fuel is injected directly into the cylinders under high pressure at the very end of the compression stroke, sprayed into small particles throughout the volume of the working chamber and ignites on its own from contact with the air heated from the specified compression. There is a slight delay until the moment of ignition after injection.
First of all, gasoline is a "lighter" and less viscous fuel compared to diesel fuel. One of the key characteristics of gasoline is the octane number. This characteristic should be understood as the resistance of gasoline to the property of premature ignition.
An important characteristic of diesel fuel is the cetane number. The cetane number indicates the ignition speed of diesel fuel. An increase in cetane number will mean a reduction in ignition delay. The octane and cetane ratings of a fuel depend on each other so that the higher the octane rating, the lower the cetane rating.
For gasoline engines, it is important to avoid the fuel-air mixture detonating prematurely. In a diesel engine, it turns out that it is necessary to achieve ignition of the mixture with a delay. It turns out that gasoline with a high octane number in diesel fuel will reduce the cetane number of diesel fuel, the ignition delay period of such a mixture increases markedly. A similar mixture in a diesel cylinder burns out later than the set time, the power and output from the internal combustion engine decrease.
Another feature of the fuel supply in a diesel engine is that at first the diesel injector makes a small injection, and only then doses the main portion of the fuel. This solution was created to ensure that the mixture burns as “calmly” and fully as possible. In the cylinder, first, a small portion of diesel fuel from the injection burns, and only then the main volume of diesel fuel, which is supplied with a slight delay, lights up from this torch. Due to this, the gas pressure on the piston increases evenly, the small and main portions of diesel fuel burn with maximum efficiency. The diesel engine itself, thanks to two-stage injection, runs softer and quieter, the combustion process of the mixture loses its tendency to explosive and shock character.
A decrease in cetane number due to gasoline ingress increases the ignition delay period. This leads to the fact that at the time of post-injection, the fuel does not light up. Further, the nozzle supplies the main dose of fuel to the chamber, but ignition does not occur again. The mixture will ignite when the piston compresses it as much as possible in the cylinder.
The result is an instantaneous explosion of the entire volume of fuel in the combustion chamber. The energy of rapidly expanding gases begins to catch up with the descending piston, creating a strong pressure on the cylinder walls. Suffering from such shock loads,. The diesel engine starts to work rough and loud, a distinct metallic sound is created.
Pressure resulting from untimely and explosive combustion of the mixture greatly reduces the life of a diesel engine, can lead to cracks in the cylinder wall, destruction of the piston, etc. The more gasoline reduces the cetane number of diesel fuel, the more serious the consequences for diesel will be.
Gasoline and diesel fuel equipment
Another distinguishing feature of gasoline is its much lower lubricity compared to diesel fuel. The creators of diesel engines take into account the lubricity of diesel fuel when creating diesel fuel supply equipment, which makes it possible to lubricate parts with diesel fuel, rather than using the engine lubrication system.
If diesel is diluted with gasoline, for key elements of diesel fuel equipment ( , ) this means a very quick failure of pump plunger pairs and other parts subject to stress. The result is very rapid wear of rubbing parts. Particles of such wear enter the fuel system and the engine itself, disable diesel injectors, and destroy the cylinder-piston group.
What to do if diesel is filled with gasoline
Let's start with the fact that among experienced domestic diesel drivers there is a way when truck drivers deliberately add gasoline to diesel fuel in winter. This is done so that the fuel does not lose its fluidity. Pour gasoline so that its amount does not exceed 8-10% of the total amount of fuel in the tank.
For this reason, there is an erroneous opinion that a small amount of gasoline will not harm a diesel engine. We note right away that this is real for a Soviet tractor or KamAZ. As for the diesel engine of a modern truck or car, then it is impossible to resort to such methods.
Foreign manufacturers even indicate that if the diesel was filled with gasoline, the engine then started and the car moved, then the following actions are necessary:
- complete removal of fuel from the tank;
- checking the clip of the booster pump for the appearance of metal chips;
- in the absence of chips, drain the fuel from the fuel supply system;
- carry out a complete flushing of the power supply system according to the manufacturer's recommendations;
- replace fuel filters;
The presence of chips, which is detected by means of a magnet, will require the replacement of the entire diesel engine power system: injection pump, injectors, fuel filters, fuel tank, etc.
Now back to the practical situation. If you filled in gasoline, and the diesel car does not start, then it is quite possible to get off by flushing the fuel system and replacing filters. Don't try to start the engine again! Immediately call a tow truck for the speedy transportation of the car to the service station.
It will be necessary to dismantle and drain the fuel tank, replace filters, flush the fuel system. As practice shows, these actions are enough, costly repairs can be avoided. In the event that you have traveled a certain distance after refueling and stalled, after which the engine will no longer start again, then two scenarios are likely:
- flushing the diesel power system;
- replacement of the power supply system or its individual elements;
Everything will directly depend on the damage caused by gasoline to the fuel equipment. If after refueling there is a sharp drop in engine power, harsh diesel operation and other symptoms noted above, then there is a high probability of driving on a mixture of gasoline and diesel fuel. In this case, you must immediately stop driving, turn off the engine and take appropriate measures for high-quality diagnostics, flushing and / or repair of the power system.
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To distinguish between diesel and gasoline cars, there are many clues: the operation of the tachometer, the soundtrack. Finally, for those who are especially inattentive, there are inscriptions on the gas tank cap, in addition, many tanks are equipped with necks that will not let a gasoline pistol at a gas station into a diesel tank. Nevertheless, mistakes do happen - because of automatism or because of not very smart gas stations, which abound in gas stations in Russia. It also happens that the "Tajik" forcibly manages to shove an unsuitable pistol into the neck ...
At the same time, the devices of modern cars with each new generation are becoming more complex and therefore more sensitive to fuel quality, so damage to fuel systems and internal combustion engines appears earlier than on older cars. The fact is that gasoline and diesel work according to completely opposite algorithms. And the consequences of the error are different - depending on the type of car.
Gasoline in diesel
The situation when gasoline is poured into a diesel car is most common. People are switching to heavy SUVs, buying a second car for traveling, taking a premium jeep, the basic versions of which are often offered with diesel engines. As a result, at the gas station, drivers out of habit pour gasoline into their new car - or gas station employees, whose services often cannot be avoided, pour the wrong fuel.
So, gasoline splashes in your tank instead of "fragrant" diesel fuel. What to do?
Starting the car in this case is not difficult: diesel fuel remains in the fuel system, which is enough to start the engine and a few minutes of operation. But you should not do this before you remember exactly how much fuel you had before refueling and how much you poured into the tank. If the car drove up to the gas station “on a light bulb”, then after a few minutes gasoline will inevitably get into the engine. In this case, you need to call a tow truck and take the car to the service station. This is the most painless option for your wallet, since the repairmen just need to drain the tank and pour diesel into it. In this case, do not even agree to replace filters, clean pumps and other divorce.
The same actions are enough if there was a sufficient amount of diesel in the tank.
However, after refueling, many do not even suspect that they mixed up the pistols and set off. So, when filling an almost empty tank with gasoline, a diesel car will not drive for a long time. After a few kilometers, the car will simply stall, and it will no longer be possible to start it. And this is even the most favorable course of events, since in the service you will get off with just cleaning the fuel system: flushing the fuel tank, lines, replacing the fuel filter.
When mixed, diesel and gasoline form a fuel that is extremely harmful to the engine. In this case, the car will begin to lose power, the engine will rumble, and the engine temperature will creep up. Often, the owners sin on the quality of the diesel fuel of a particular gas station and do not even suspect that they screwed up themselves, which is why they continue on their way and try to press the trigger harder into the floor in order to quickly get rid of "low-quality" fuel.
The octane rating of gasoline is a measure of its ability to resist pre-ignition, while the cetane rating of diesel is a measure of how quickly a fuel can ignite. That is, the higher the octane number, the lower the cetane, and vice versa. As a result, chaos is created in the combustion chamber, and the driver, in addition to everything else, hears metal strikes inside the engine. As a result, the engine wears out many times faster and can simply fail.
In addition, modern cars are completely equipped with a common rail injection system, which is lubricated due to the corresponding properties of diesel fuel, while gasoline does not have these properties, which also leads to wear of the high pressure fuel pump. So do not be lazy, unscrew the cap of the gas tank and smell: maybe it smells of gasoline from there.
If you started refueling a diesel car with gasoline, but realized your mistake in time, then do not rush to call the technical services. First, look at how much fuel you had a chance to strain. With a tank volume of 50 liters, you can pour in about 10 liters of gasoline, then fill it to capacity with diesel fuel and, without resorting to high speeds and especially noting all changes in the behavior of the car, continue driving. As soon as a quarter of the tank is empty, visit the gas station again and fill diesel fuel to the brim. Do this until, by your count, the entire tank is refreshed. You can also add oil for two-stroke internal combustion engines to the tank to improve the lubricity of the fuel at the rate of 30-50 ml per liter of gasoline filled in by mistake. Instead of oil, you can use additives to increase the cetane number, but you need to fill it all up until the tank is full of diesel fuel, so that everything mixes well.
Diesel in gasoline
The reverse situation also happens. But when diesel fuel gets into a gasoline car, the situation changes dramatically. The density of gasoline is less than diesel fuel, therefore, already during refueling, the entire solarium sinks to the bottom of the gas tank and strives to immediately get into the fuel line. That is, almost immediately, drivers begin to feel the same knocks in the engine, loss of dynamics, and downstream neighbors also see clouds of black smoke erupting from the exhaust pipe ...
The initial actions in case of erroneous refueling are the same as described above: you must immediately drain the tank and fill in the correct fuel. However, getting diesel fuel into a gasoline engine for the most part does not threaten dire consequences. If the tank was empty, and the diesel fuel in it is the predominant substance, then the engine will stall almost instantly and will not have time to deteriorate. The compression ratio of an internal combustion engine and a spark from a candle are simply not enough to ignite a diesel engine.
If the car was filled half or more before entering the gas station, then the movement may work out. During the kilometers allotted to the car on such a fuel mixture, filters, engine injectors will begin to become clogged, and with long-term operation, the engine may be damaged, which will not be able to correctly synchronize the operation of the cylinders. Diesel contains a lot of paraffin, which clogs all lines and filter membranes, which occurs at a double rate at low temperatures. However, for this you need to have complete indifference to the symptoms that the car shows.
If you managed to stop refueling a gasoline car at the very beginning - say, about five liters of solarium fell on a 50-liter tank - then, most likely, the car will not feel it. It is only important to remember that the tank must be filled to capacity with gasoline, preferably with an octane rating higher than recommended.
Thus, the error at the gas station is not catastrophic. If you realize it in time and act according to the correct algorithm, the situation can be corrected quite simply and without sacrifice. Or at least minimize the damage, if you do not ignore the signals of the car.
Since the fuel systems of modern vehicles have good sensitivity, an error when filling with another fuel can significantly affect engine performance. This is due to the different functioning of the DVG and the technical characteristics of fuel and lubricants.
Many owners are interested in what will happen if you pour gasoline into a diesel engine. This situation occurs frequently, so the question is of high relevance. Each owner should know how to act and what not to do if gasoline was filled instead of diesel.
Differences between gasoline and diesel fuel
To understand why a vehicle can have problems when using the wrong type of fuel, it is necessary to study the differences between gasoline and diesel.
Despite the presence of pistons and crankshafts in both cases, the very principle of operation of the internal combustion engine is different, which becomes the main reason for the ban on the use of other fuels.
The list of differences includes:
- Ignition principle. In the situation with gasoline, this process occurs due to spark plugs. They ignite the mixture of fuel and air in the cylinder that enters through the intake manifold. Diesel engines do not have spark plugs. Fuel and lubricants ignite due to strong compression.
- fuel mixture. Gasoline is characterized by the fusion of air and fuel; diesel does not have such a process. In the second case, all elements arrive separately.
- Cylinder compression. For vehicles on diesel fuel, it is greater and reaches about 20 atmospheres. When using gasoline, this figure is in the range of 9-11 atmospheres.
- Flammability characteristics. Diesel fuel has a cetane number, which indicates how quickly a fire can occur. Gasoline has the opposite octane rating, which indicates the level of resistance to ignition.
Another distinguishing feature is the injection system; for solar engines, a common rail is used, which is lubricated by the fuel itself. However, gasoline does not have this property.
The above differences prove that if the car owner refueled diesel with gasoline, then problems in the operation of the car should be expected. However, depending on certain circumstances, they may occur immediately or after a certain amount of time or distance.
What happens if you pour gasoline into a diesel
The situation in which gasoline is poured into the tank instead of diesel fuel is not uncommon. It can occur due to a mistake by a gas station employee or due to the driver’s own inattention. However, it is important to know what consequences to expect in such circumstances.
It should be noted right away that the final result will depend on many factors. However, in any case, this is not very good for a car.
If the car owner is faced with such a problem, it is necessary to assume how much fuel was left in the tank. If the tank was almost full or half full, then pouring 1-3 liters of gasoline will not harm the system. The engine may not notice such an error.
If the engine has not started yet
The best prospect is if the mistake is noticed in time. The car has not yet been started. In such a situation, gasoline will not enter the engine. It will only be in contact with the fuel system and tank.
The same outcome will be if an attempt was made to start, but the system did not ignite due to insufficient compression of the cylinders. With the required indicator of 20 atmospheres, gasoline can only produce no more than 11. This situation can only arise if there is practically no diesel fuel left in the tank.
If an employee of a gas station filled the car with gasoline instead of diesel, then you need to keep the check and further papers for repairs. All stages from evacuation to maintenance will have to be paid by the station administration.
The engine started
If there was enough diesel fuel in the tank, then the vehicle can easily start even if gasoline enters the system. Not infrequently, the owner can still drive a good distance before the car begins to show the first signs of a problem - gasoline getting into the diesel engine. Unusual sounds and detonation will be heard from under the hood, black smoke will come out of the muffler, the temperature will rise sharply, and power will drop. The last sign is formed due to only partial combustion of the fuel mixture.
However, with each kilometer traveled, the engine system will gradually collapse:
- due to the lack of the necessary lubrication under high pressure, parts will be deformed, especially the common rail injection system;
- high-pressure fuel pump pumps will fail due to high sensitivity to fuel quality;
- foreign carbohydrates originating from gasoline will cause the control electronics to fail.
When mixing two types of fuel, a mixture is obtained that has the most negative effect on all parts of the vehicle. Depending on the distance traveled, the condition of the engine and other characteristics, the damage may not be limited to the listed problems, but be much larger.
What to do in such a case
Every driver should know what to do in case of pouring gasoline into the tank instead of diesel fuel. So, the main advice of all experts - you can not start the engine. The more he works, the more problems, and therefore the cost, will be waiting for the owner.
If an error is found:
- Call a tow truck to tow the vehicle to a service station. At the same time, at many large gas stations, if the error lies on the shoulders of an employee, there is a special service that takes care of all the work of cleaning and repairing the engine.
- Flush the fuel system and tank. If the ignition in the car was not turned on, and, therefore, the pump did not work, then it will be enough just to wash the tank and dry it. If gasoline has entered the system, then filters must be replaced, and pumps, lines and other elements will need to be cleaned.
- Replace spark plugs. This step is taken eventually.
It is important to understand that such events are also carried out if gasoline is poured into a diesel engine. The reverse situation is also disastrous for the entire car.
Thus, the error of filling the system with gasoline instead of diesel can cost the owner not a small amount.
The main rule in such a situation is to avoid starting the engine or ignition. Then you can reduce the risk of big expenses by just flushing the tank.
If the problem was noticed while driving, then you need to be prepared for more serious consequences, since gasoline and diesel fuel have different characteristics that directly affect the operation of the vehicle's engine.
Borschik is red, but without beetroot. Well, or something like that. It is possible to describe the technology of a diesel engine that fully uses gasoline as a fuel. It's Mazda baby, developed the innovative Skyactive-X engine.
Engineers at the Japanese automaker Mazda have developed a new internal combustion engine Skyactive-X, which will be installed on new cars from 2019. The Japanese used the diesel cycle, but gasoline is used as fuel.
We are talking about a fundamentally new power plant that combines the diesel cycle and gasoline as an engine.
As is known, diesel is a piston internal combustion engine with compression ignition. It uses diesel fuel and is very economical. The difference between a diesel engine and a gasoline engine is that in the first case, the fuel spontaneously ignites when fed into a cylinder with pre-compressed air. A diesel engine has a much higher compression ratio than a gasoline engine. In general, diesel is simpler in design than gasoline counterparts, and its cycle is more economical.
The new SkyActiv-X ignites the air-fuel mixture without a spark - through compression, just like a diesel engine. By combining a compression system with a supercharger, Mazda was able to increase torque. The concept used allowed the Japanese to simultaneously increase engine power and reduce environmental pollution.
The ideal diesel cycle is characterized by four stages: adiabatic compression of the working fluid, isobaric heat supply to the working fluid, adiabatic expansion of the working fluid and isochoric cooling of the working fluid.
Note that now all automotive companies are actively working to improve the efficiency of their offspring, which is not least due to the rapid spread of electric cars. Mazda itself says that Skyactive-X will be 20-30% more economical than other company gasoline engines. Such giants of the global automotive industry as Daimler and General Motors are already interested in the new development of the Japanese. With the details of the new product, Mazda will probably share later. It is known that the company's management plans to start installing Skyactive-X on cars starting in 2019.
The new engine is part of the Japanese automaker's strategic plan to electrify and minimize emissions. The plan is up to 2030. Mazda wants to join forces with Toyota and create new electric vehicles. Meanwhile, Japanese experts are clearly in no hurry to abandon the "gasoline" direction, which has been repeatedly made clear.
How are things at the moment? What will happen if gasoline is poured into a diesel engine and how will a gasoline engine behave when using diesel fuel?
Not always "dummies" or "blondes" get into such situations, often even experienced drivers can get into a mess. You know, I myself witnessed such a situation - I have a friend who bought a second car for his family (he also has one worker) - that is, only three cars. For a long time he dreamed of a powerful SUV - in his opinion, in order to save money, he still took a diesel engine (for a long time he chose diesel or gasoline). And he left his old car, his sedan, to his wife. In general, as usual, I drove to the gas station after a really difficult working day (it’s easier to say the brain was taken out) and stood at the gas station with gasoline, purely by inertia - then I just poured gasoline into the diesel engine! Awareness came only after a couple of kilometers, when the car began to twitch and somehow behave strangely.
To begin with, it is worth noting that gasoline and diesel are essentially different, two types of fuel. Engines work on different principles, although both have pistons and a crankshaft with connecting rods.
Principles of ignition of liquids
Petrol. The most common type of engine, and therefore remember it first.
Remember that it is a four-stroke (injection, compression, ignition, exhaust). But the principle of ignition here is based on spark plugs, and they ignite the fuel mixture (gasoline + air), which is supplied through the intake manifold. Without spark plugs, the fuel would not ignite, although in fairness sometimes “detonations” occur, but very rarely. It is also worth noting that the compression in the cylinders is approximately from 9.5 to 11 atmospheres, this is important! Of course, now there are SKYACTIVE engines from MAZDA, where the compression reaches 13.5, but still this is an exception to the rule rather than a general trend.
Diesel(in Russia it is also called - "solar oil").
There are also four cycles (injection, compression, ignition, exhaust gas). But the ignition of the fuel is different, there are no spark plugs at all, and the injection here is completely different. Firstly, I would like to say that the ignition of diesel fuel occurs due to compression (compression on diesel engines reaches 20 atmospheres). Secondly, the fuel does not mix with air and is not supplied as a fuel mixture - there is separate air and separate diesel fuel. How it all happens - the piston compresses the air in the cylinder, which is why it heats up very much, then almost at the peak point, fuel is injected under very high pressure (through the nozzles), after which it ignites.
As you can see, the differences are significant, outwardly similar units are very different inside, and the fuel supply system is different here.
What happens if you pour gasoline into a diesel?
To put it mildly, this is not very good. However, it all depends on how much gasoline you added, it happens that you have a 100-liter tank, and you “splashed” only 5 liters, then the diesel engine most likely simply will not notice this - it will “chew” like a pretty one. I talked with seasoned truckers, so before the advent of "diesel anti-gels" they added a little gasoline to the tank so that the diesel would not be so thick in the cold, they say it really helps. However, the addition should be within 3%, well, a maximum of 4 - 5, no more!
However, if you filled in a lot, more than half or even almost a full tank, then this can adversely affect the diesel engine, or rather, its systems. What will happen at the beginning? Yes, everything is just your car will get up and will not start. The thing is that, as I wrote above, gasoline needs a spark, but compression is, as it were, “on the drum”. Accordingly, normal operation will not work, and the engine will stall.
In the tank and system of the car, there are fine and coarse filters, they are designed for diesel fuel, and if gasoline gets into them, and it is more “active” and liquid, then it will simply “kill” them. Definitely a replacement.
A terrible word for all owners of diesel engines - high pressure fuel pump (high pressure fuel pump) + associated injectors that this fuel is injected into the cylinders.
So they are “sharpened” specifically for diesel! "How does it manifest itself?" - you ask. Yes, everything is simple, modern diesel fuel, so to speak, is oily fuel, it contains a small amount of lubricating compounds, it is they that lubricate the injection pump and nozzles, prolonging their life. But this is not the case in gasoline, on the contrary, it is an excellent solvent, that is, it washes away all lubricants. Gasoline is also much thinner, it has a completely different consistency. Thus, these important elements can fail - and oh, how not cheap, if you change all 4 nozzles + the pump itself, then this is about 20-30% of the cost of your car. I remember that cleaning one nozzle with disassembly on a VOLKSWAGEN TUAREG came out at 14,000 rubles, and this is not a replacement - just cleaning!
In general, that's all - the engine itself will not suffer, the fuel system and filters can “cover up”.
Actions after being noticed
I want to reassure a little - if you noticed immediately, for example - at a gas station, or after a couple of minutes of work. Then in 80% of cases nothing terrible will happen, gasoline simply may not be pumped into the system. However, you need to follow a few simple steps:
- We turn off the car and do not start it again! This needs to be learned!
- We call a tow truck or a friend with a cable to be towed to the service station.
- At the service station, they remove the tank and wash it - it is necessary, it is necessary - so that gasoline is completely removed.
- They flush the entire fuel supply system, usually with compressed air, and again remove the residue from the system.
- Replacement of fuel filters, fine and coarse cleaning.
DIESEL IN GASOLINE
The reverse situation also happens. But when diesel fuel gets into a gasoline car, the situation changes dramatically. The density of gasoline is less than the density of diesel, therefore, already during refueling, the entire solarium sinks to the bottom of the gas tank and strives to immediately get into the fuel line. That is, almost immediately, drivers begin to feel the same knocks in the engine, loss of dynamics, and neighbors downstream also see clouds of black smoke erupting from the exhaust pipe.
The initial actions in case of erroneous refueling are the same as described above: you must immediately drain the tank and fill in the correct fuel. However, getting diesel fuel into a gasoline engine for the most part does not threaten dire consequences. If the tank was empty and the diesel fuel in it is the predominant substance, then the engine will stall almost instantly and will not have time to deteriorate. The compression ratio of an internal combustion engine and a spark from a candle are simply not enough to ignite a diesel engine.
If the car was filled half or more before entering the gas station, then the movement may work out. During the kilometers allotted to the car on such a fuel mixture, filters, engine injectors will begin to become clogged, and with long-term operation, the engine may be damaged, which will not be able to correctly synchronize the operation of the cylinders. Diesel contains a lot of paraffin, which clogs all lines and filter membranes, which occurs at a double rate at low temperatures. However, for this you need to have complete indifference to the symptoms that the car shows.
If it was possible to stop refueling a gasoline car at the very beginning, say, about five liters of solarium fell on a 50-liter tank, then most likely the car will not feel it. It is only important to remember that the tank must be filled to capacity with gasoline, preferably with an octane rating higher than recommended.
Thus, the error at the gas station is not catastrophic. If you realize it in time and act according to the correct algorithm, the situation can be corrected quite simply and without sacrifice. Or at least minimize the damage, if you do not ignore the signals of the car.
Share your experience and impressions if you find yourself in an awkward situation due to mixed fuel.
Sources:
Answer to the question “What happens to a gasoline engine if diesel fuel is poured into it?”, probably, 99.99% of motorists will not cause difficulty *.
* True, it’s worth making a small digression that there are 0.01% of “witnesses of the miraculous diesel fuel” (I personally saw the threads on the forums), where inexperienced motorists seriously argue that if you pour diesel fuel into a gasoline engine, it will become . So they wrote, they say, advise, is it true or a myth that if I fill my gasoline-powered car with diesel fuel, it will consume less fuel? This is what local jokers advised them ... Horror is simple!
For everyone else who is friends with logic and perfectly understands what such experiments can lead to, it is obvious that such an execution will obviously not be good for a gasoline engine. Only one question remains to be answered: will the consequences be catastrophic? Here the opinions of the autobrothers are clearly divided.
One part will assume that the engine will instantly stall or the car will simply not start. Others will say that the car will theoretically be able to drive some distance, perhaps even continue to work on diesel fuel, but the consequences will be so catastrophic that it will be necessary to flush not only the fuel system, but also “capitalize” the engine. Still others will probably put forward a neutral version, something in between... and so on and so forth. There can be many opinions. But what will actually happen?
In order to find out, we turned to knowledgeable people and to numerous Internet portals competent in matters of motor skills.
The first thing the mechanics warn about: gasoline and diesel fuel are combustible mixtures that are completely different in their chemical structure. If gasoline consists of light hydrocarbons, the main feature of which is easy ignition (not for nothing that gasoline engines use electric spark plugs that ignite a mixture of fuel and air), then diesel fuel will simply be impossible to ignite from a spark. And it's easy to check.
Anyone who has a house in a village or in a dacha has probably come across such a situation: you need to light a fire from the tops collected the day before. The weed has not completely dried out yet, and there is no time to wait for the “weather by the sea”. In order for the fire to start, you need a catalyst. As a "dope" you can use kerosene or gasoline. It is enough to irrigate the organic matter a little, strike a match and, from a safe distance, throw it onto a surface moist with fuel. The result will be instant: the combustible mixture will instantly ignite, and things will go like clockwork.
But it happens that only diesel fuel is at hand. Experienced people know that they will have to tinker with it for some time to set it on fire. And when the fire nevertheless spreads to diesel, it will spread slowly over the wet surface, gradually capturing the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe future fire.
The same will happen in a gasoline internal combustion engine with the only important difference - technically the process will be somewhat more complicated.
Let's take a look at what happens when you fill a gasoline engine with diesel fuel.
1. It won't be easy for you to do this. The diesel “pistol” at the gas station is wider in diameter than its gasoline counterpart (the diameter of the diesel “sting” is 25 mm, the diameter of the gasoline one is 21 mm), that is, it will be impossible to place a “diesel” hose into the filler neck of a gasoline car tank. Or rather, it is almost impossible, because for any cunning lock there is a scattered “cracker”, and it is not for nothing that, according to statistics, every year thousands of people manage to fill their cars with the wrong fuel.
Therefore, if the sting does not fit into the neck, this is a clear sign that you have mixed up the hose. Stop and double-check if the pistol says "DT" on it.
2. If you still manage to fill the fuel, the following will happen:
Even if the fuel in the gas tank was at a minimum, the engine will work for some time. It will start, the car will even drive away from the gas station, but at that time an irreversible process of mixing two types of fuel will take place in the gas tank, or rather, one - denser (DF) - will fall, and gasoline will float to the surface. The fact is that diesel fuel is a heavier fraction, and it will begin its journey to the lowest point of the gas tank, from where foreign fuel will begin to flow into the engine through a mesh fuel supply pipe using a gasoline pump.
If there was a lot of gasoline in the gas tank, this process will take a little more time, but the result will be the same.
Further, extraneous noises will appear in the engine - it will start knocking. The car will lose momentum, it will practically not respond to pressing the gas pedal, it will begin to shake, with every meter the engine will strive to stall, and black smoke will pour out of the exhaust pipe.
More and more diesel fuel will flow into the cylinders, and very soon the car will stall. I think you have already guessed why this happened. We gave an example about fires above. It's just that diesel fuel cannot be ignited by a spark, and the compression ratio of a gasoline power unit is not enough to ignite heavy fuel (11.1: 1 or 14: 1 for gasoline engines versus 18-22: 1 for diesel units).
This is where the journey ends, and sad everyday life begins.
What to prepare for after "treating" a gasoline engine with diesel fuel?
Again, everything will depend on the will of His Majesty the case. If you're lucky, at a car service flush the fuel system from residual fuel. Will definitely replace fuel filters , since an oily coating will remain on them, and the paraffins that the solarium is rich in will clog the nets and membranes of the cleaning device. Not without cleaning motor injectors or carburetor and replacements spark plugs . Plus, you will have to drain all the fuel from the gas tank and rinse it. That's if you're lucky.
If not, the mechanics will take over. With medium damage to the engine, Change of oil , into which diesel fuel can seep through the cylinders and out of oil filter .
Well, if you ignore the shocks and uneven operation of the machine, you will need power unit up to the overhaul.
That's it. Straight out of a Thousand and One Nights...
