Any car owner knows how to distinguish a diesel vehicle from a gasoline-powered one. Some "diesel" tanks even have special necks that do not "let in" gasoline filling nozzles. However, all this does not stop inattentive car owners and not very responsible gas station workers who manage to shove the unimpressed just to get rid of the client faster.
It often happens that a motorist simply moved from a gasoline passenger car to a diesel SUV and, out of habit, filled in his favorite fuel. If this happens, then you should not panic ahead of time and tearfully count the losses. Although gasoline and diesel fuel are fundamentally different, the damage is not always so great.
What can happen
In a diesel engine, the fuel is supplied separately from the air mixture, which is highly compressed. Diesel fuel enters the cylinders as a result of pressure at the very end of the air compression. At the next stage, the fuel is split into tiny particles and sprayed in the chamber, spontaneously igniting from compressed air. In this case, the largest amount of fuel burns out even before the piston reaches the so-called top dead center. If the fuel mixture begins to ignite earlier (without the necessary delay), this will disrupt the operation of the motor.
Just in gasoline-type units, air is mixed with fuel even in the intake manifold, and only then the mixture enters the cylinders. Ignition is carried out by a spark plug, which creates a spark at the right time.
An important point is the different indicators of fuel mixtures. One of the most important characteristics of gasoline is its octane number. It means how much the liquid is able to withstand too rapid ignition. For a diesel engine, the main characteristic is the cetane number, which shows how quickly the fuel can ignite. The higher the octane number, respectively, the lower the cetane will be. This will lead to the fact that the delay before ignition of the fuel increases markedly. As a result, the motorist will begin to hear a knock in the engine, notice a drop in efficiency and a sharp increase in the operating temperature of the power unit.
If gasoline is poured into the tank of a diesel engine, then a lot depends on when exactly the driver noticed such an oversight.
If the movement on gasoline instead of diesel has not yet begun
If you managed to understand your mistake in time, then first of all you need to evaluate how much "wrong" fuel got into the tank. If the volume of the container is 50 and less than 10 liters of gasoline is poured into it, then there is a chance to try to do without a tow truck. To do this, you need to fill the rest of the tank with diesel to the brim and start moving, avoiding high speeds.
Healthy! On the road, you need to monitor the "behavior" of the motor. If it does not work stably, then it is better to stop, turn off the engine and call a car service employee.
When the gas tank is ¼ empty, you need to go to the gas station again and add diesel fuel (again to a full tank). This must be repeated until the entire tank is cleaned of gasoline.
Healthy! If the car has twice as much gasoline as diesel fuel and the car owner does not take any measures, then the car will still be able to continue its movement. But, after a few thousand kilometers, you will have to replace the filters and repair the fuel line.
However, experts do not advise resorting to such a complex method. If the movement on the “wrong” fuel has not yet begun, then you must immediately drain all the gasoline. After that, 2 liters of diesel fuel are poured into the tank and the liquid is drained again. Only then can you fill up the car and hit the road. This is the easiest way to clean.
Some "experienced" in such cases pour oil for two-stroke diesel engines into the gas tank in the proportion of 40-50 ml per liter of mistakenly filled gasoline. Also suitable are special additives that increase the cetane number of the mixture. However, this method is also quite controversial and does not guarantee the normal operation of the machine.
Healthy! If oil and additives are used, they must be added to the tank until it is completely filled. Then they will mix with the fuel fluid and will work better.
But, it is far from always possible to notice an oversight "on the spot". Sometimes even when the engine "hints" to problems, some refer to the poor quality of the fuel mixture and continue driving.
If the movement on gasoline has already begun
If the driver arrived at the gas station already “on a light bulb” and filled in a full tank of the “wrong” fuel, then the gasoline will inevitably immediately go to the engine. In this case, it will turn out to drive such a car for several kilometers, after which the power unit will stall. If everything happens so fast, then it all depends on the "endurance" of the car.
For example, owners of tractors or KamAZ trucks even practice mixing gasoline with diesel fuel in winter. There is an opinion that if you add 8-10% gasoline to the "native" mixture, then the fuel will not lose its fluidity. However, if nothing happens with such units, then a modern diesel passenger car, as the manufacturers themselves say, will need:
- Remove all fuel from the gas tank.
- Check the booster pump (its clip).
- If no metal chips have formed in it, then drain the fuel from the system.
- Completely flush the power system and change the fuel filters.
The last point is more often imposed by employees of service centers. In fact, it is usually enough to drain the tank and fill it with the required diesel fuel. The situation is slightly different if there is diesel fuel in the gasoline tank.
If you accidentally filled in diesel fuel instead of gasoline
If there is diesel fuel in an empty gas tank, then the manipulations to add the desired composition will not work. The fact is that diesel fuel has a higher density, so no matter how much the car owner adds the “correct” fuel, diesel fuel will still sink to the bottom of the tank and travel along the fuel line. Therefore, having driven a few meters from the gas station, the driver will notice knocks in the engine and black smoke coming from the muffler. After that, the vehicle will simply stop and stop showing signs of life. The good news is that this happens so quickly that it cannot harm the power unit. In this situation, it is better not to experiment and not spare money for the spent fuel. It is necessary to clean the tank of diesel fuel and fill in the correct type of fuel.
The situation is worse if the owner of the vehicle arrived at the gas station not “empty” and filled in half a tank of diesel fuel. In such a case, the vehicle can drive a couple of kilometers, but this is enough to clog the filters and engine nozzles. If for some reason the car owner does not notice changes in the operation of the car, then after a longer drive there will be a risk of damage to the power unit, which will stop synchronizing the cylinders normally. In addition, paraffin is present in diesel fuel. It clogs filter membranes and lines very quickly. Especially actively destruction occurs in winter frosts. Therefore, you should not bring it to this, as the consequences can be disastrous.
Even attentive car owners sometimes confuse "pistols" with fuel at gas stations. It is important to know what threatens refueling a diesel engine with gasoline and what to do so that the consequences do not occur.
A bit of theory: what is the difference between gasoline and diesel fuel
Gasoline and diesel fuel differ in chemical composition and combustion characteristics, including ignition temperature.
- Diesel fuel is obtained as follows: crude oil is heated to produce diesel fractions. Then the fractions are split (this is called cracking) at different temperature conditions. Next is the hydrotreatment stage, where sulfur compounds are removed from diesel fuel. At the final stage - the addition of additives that improve viscosity and fluidity, and for winter diesel fuel - the process of separating paraffins.
- To get gasoline, crude oil is heated, separating gasoline fractions with a large amount of sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbons. In the process of cracking (fraction splitting), hydrocarbons and sulfur are removed from the fuel and the octane number is increased. Then, depending on the type of gasoline, additives are added.
At first glance, both types of fuel are obtained from oil, by direct distillation, splitting into fractions, purification from sulfur and the addition of an additive package.
So what's the difference?
Both oil and the fuel obtained from it, and even associated gases (Methane, butane, propane, etc.) - all this belongs to the group of hydrocarbons. That is, these chemical compounds consist of two elements, carbon + hydrogen.
Differ only chains of molecules. The more atoms that enter a molecule of a substance, the longer the chain of molecules - and the higher the boiling point when the liquid turns into a gas.
- For example, ethane (C2H6) will boil at -67°C, butane (C4H10) already at -18°C.
Based on these data, it is possible to separate mixed gases (heat to the required temperature and pump out those that have turned into gas) and extract gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel from oil.
Depending on the brand of gasoline, its formula is from C7H16 to C11H24 (the shorter the chain, the better the quality of gasoline). Kerosene chains are longer, from C12 to C16. Diesel fuel has even more.
Accordingly, fuel production is based on bringing oil to the required temperature:
- oil is heated to 33-205 (depending on the type of gasoline), gasoline in the form of gas is fed into the chamber for cooling to a liquid state;
- in the same way, by raising the boiling point, kerosene is obtained from oil, and then diesel fuel;
- as a result of all the heating, oil remains an oily liquid - fuel oil.
Thus, the length of hydrocarbon chains determines the boiling point (ignition) and the degree of combustibility. This, as well as parameters such as density and viscosity, is the difference between gasoline and diesel fuel.
Diesel fuel- a mixture of paraffinic, naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons, which boil away at a temperature of 170 to 380°C. The viscosity of diesel fuel is about 2-4.5 mm2 / s.
Petrol ignites at a lower temperature, does not have the lubricating properties of diesel fuel and is more fluid.
Consequences of refueling a diesel car with gasoline
If you mix up the type of fuel at a gas station and pour diesel fuel into the tank of a gasoline car, he will go. At least as long as gasoline remains in the fuel system.
When only diesel remains, the car will stall, and it will be necessary to flush the engine, fuel system and change consumables (filters, spark plugs, etc.). But in general, this is a more optimistic forecast.
But if a diesel car is filled with gasoline, the consequences will be much worse.
It's all about two factors:
- the modern fuel system of diesel cars is extremely sensitive to fuel quality;
- elements of diesel fuel equipment are lubricated with diesel fuel, and gasoline has a different degree of viscosity - it is “dry”, and this can damage the injection pump or nozzles.
If you pour gasoline into the tank of a diesel car, it can even run on such fuel for a while. But the lack of lubrication and other heat transfer during the combustion of gasoline will cause the engine to overheat, up to its total damage.
The specific prognosis depends on many factors. The amount of fuel poured (and available in the diesel fuel system) and the design features of the car and its fuel system also matter.
So, drivers in cold regions still add a little gasoline or kerosene to diesel fuel in order to combat the paraffinization of fuel in the cold - and do not think that this somehow harms the engine.
However, in the case of refueling a diesel car with gasoline, the owner risks the engine resource and the correct operation of the fuel supply system.
Engine resource
Gasoline added to diesel fuel lowers the cetane number of diesel fuel. As a result, the ability of the fuel to self-ignite changes (as we remember, diesel fuel ignites from strong compression in the cylinder).
That is, with the added gasoline, the fuel in the engine will ignite with a delay, and burn out under increased load. Such hard work will not be reflected in the best way on the details of the crank mechanism of the engine.
If there is a lot of gasoline in the diesel engine, this will make it difficult to start the diesel engine in cold weather. And the exhaust will become more smoky.
Failure of the fuel equipment
As we have already mentioned, the friction parts of the diesel fuel system are lubricated during operation with fuel.
When gasoline is added to the fuel, the lubricating properties of diesel fuel deteriorate, the loaded elements run dry, which is fraught with chipping of the metal in the nodes and the ingress of metal dust and crumbs into the fuel lines.
Any car owner knows how to distinguish a diesel vehicle from a gasoline-powered one. Some "diesel" tanks even have special necks that do not "let in" gasoline filling nozzles. However, all this does not stop inattentive car owners and not very responsible gas station workers who manage to shove the unimpressed just to get rid of the client faster.
It often happens that a motorist simply moved from a gasoline passenger car to a diesel SUV and, out of habit, filled in his favorite fuel. If this happens, then you should not panic ahead of time and tearfully count the losses. Although gasoline and diesel fuel are fundamentally different, the damage is not always so great.
What can happen
In a diesel engine, the fuel is supplied separately from the air mixture, which is highly compressed. Diesel fuel enters the cylinders as a result of pressure at the very end of the air compression. At the next stage, the fuel is split into tiny particles and sprayed in the chamber, spontaneously igniting from compressed air. In this case, the largest amount of fuel burns out even before the piston reaches the so-called top dead center. If the fuel mixture begins to ignite earlier (without the necessary delay), this will disrupt the operation of the motor.
Just in gasoline-type units, air is mixed with fuel even in the intake manifold, and only then the mixture enters the cylinders. Ignition is carried out by a spark plug, which creates a spark at the right time.
An important point is the different indicators of fuel mixtures. One of the most important characteristics of gasoline is its octane number. It means how much the liquid is able to withstand too rapid ignition. For a diesel engine, the main characteristic is the cetane number, which shows how quickly the fuel can ignite. The higher the octane number, respectively, the lower the cetane will be. This will lead to the fact that the delay before ignition of the fuel increases markedly. As a result, the motorist will begin to hear a knock in the engine, notice a drop in efficiency and a sharp increase in the operating temperature of the power unit.
If gasoline is poured into the tank of a diesel engine, then a lot depends on when exactly the driver noticed such an oversight.
If the movement on gasoline instead of diesel has not yet begun
If you managed to understand your mistake in time, then first of all you need to evaluate how much "wrong" fuel got into the tank. If the volume of the container is 50 and less than 10 liters of gasoline is poured into it, then there is a chance to try to do without a tow truck. To do this, you need to fill the rest of the tank with diesel to the brim and start moving, avoiding high speeds.
Healthy! On the road, you need to monitor the "behavior" of the motor. If it does not work stably, then it is better to stop, turn off the engine and call a car service employee.
When the gas tank is ¼ empty, you need to go to the gas station again and add diesel fuel (again to a full tank). This must be repeated until the entire tank is cleaned of gasoline.
Healthy! If the car has twice as much gasoline as diesel fuel and the car owner does not take any measures, then the car will still be able to continue its movement. But, after a few thousand kilometers, you will have to replace the filters and repair the fuel line.
However, experts do not advise resorting to such a complex method. If the movement on the “wrong” fuel has not yet begun, then you must immediately drain all the gasoline. After that, 2 liters of diesel fuel are poured into the tank and the liquid is drained again. Only then can you fill up the car and hit the road. This is the easiest way to clean.
Some "experienced" in such cases pour oil for two-stroke diesel engines into the gas tank in the proportion of 40-50 ml per liter of mistakenly filled gasoline. Also suitable are special additives that increase the cetane number of the mixture. However, this method is also quite controversial and does not guarantee the normal operation of the machine.
Healthy! If oil and additives are used, they must be added to the tank until it is completely filled. Then they will mix with the fuel fluid and will work better.
But, it is far from always possible to notice an oversight "on the spot". Sometimes even when the engine "hints" to problems, some refer to the poor quality of the fuel mixture and continue driving.
If the movement on gasoline has already begun
If the driver arrived at the gas station already “on a light bulb” and filled in a full tank of the “wrong” fuel, then the gasoline will inevitably immediately go to the engine. In this case, it will turn out to drive such a car for several kilometers, after which the power unit will stall. If everything happens so fast, then it all depends on the "endurance" of the car.
For example, owners of tractors or KamAZ trucks even practice mixing gasoline with diesel fuel in winter. There is an opinion that if you add 8-10% gasoline to the "native" mixture, then the fuel will not lose its fluidity. However, if nothing happens with such units, then a modern diesel passenger car, as the manufacturers themselves say, will need:
- Remove all fuel from the gas tank.
- Check the booster pump (its clip).
- If no metal chips have formed in it, then drain the fuel from the system.
- Completely flush the power system and change the fuel filters.
The last point is more often imposed by employees of service centers. In fact, it is usually enough to drain the tank and fill it with the required diesel fuel. The situation is slightly different if there is diesel fuel in the gasoline tank.
If you accidentally filled in diesel fuel instead of gasoline
If there is diesel fuel in an empty gas tank, then the manipulations to add the desired composition will not work. The fact is that diesel fuel has a higher density, so no matter how much the car owner adds the “correct” fuel, diesel fuel will still sink to the bottom of the tank and travel along the fuel line. Therefore, having driven a few meters from the gas station, the driver will notice knocks in the engine and black smoke coming from the muffler. After that, the vehicle will simply stop and stop showing signs of life. The good news is that this happens so quickly that it cannot harm the power unit. In this situation, it is better not to experiment and not spare money for the spent fuel. It is necessary to clean the tank of diesel fuel and fill in the correct type of fuel.
The situation is worse if the owner of the vehicle arrived at the gas station not “empty” and filled in half a tank of diesel fuel. In such a case, the vehicle can drive a couple of kilometers, but this is enough to clog the filters and engine nozzles. If for some reason the car owner does not notice changes in the operation of the car, then after a longer drive there will be a risk of damage to the power unit, which will stop synchronizing the cylinders normally. In addition, paraffin is present in diesel fuel. It clogs filter membranes and lines very quickly. Especially actively destruction occurs in winter frosts. Therefore, you should not bring it to this, as the consequences can be disastrous.
He learned about it from the cashier-operator, who voiced the contents of the check. and called the company's emergency team. Large fuel companies, it turns out, are ready to promptly solve such problems not far from big cities.
The masters drained the entire system, washed the fuel path, then filled the tank with the correct gasoline to the full - at the expense of the institution (or rather, the unfortunate refueler), apologized and wished a good journey. The day was ruined - it took about four hours for all the procedures, but the car was saved.
What if everything is done the other way around?
Popular rumor says, however, that in Russia they are more often mistaken in the other direction - they fill diesel with gasoline, since « the muzzle" of a diesel gun is often wider than the neck of a gasoline tank. Force of habit. Suppose no one noticed the substitution, the driver sat down and drove off. Suppose he does not understand anything in technology and did not feel any change in the behavior of the machine. But any modern car will certainly turn it on - many sensors will notify you that something has gone wrong.
Although the external symptoms are quite noticeable - the engine will most likely begin to twitch and rumble more than usual. At the same time, power will drop, and the exhaust will begin to systematically destroy - when the wrong mixture is burned, the wrong set of combustion products is obtained.
The density of diesel fuel is higher than the density of gasoline, and it is likely that the pump will first draw exactly its remains from the tank, and therefore nothing will happen to the car right away (the situation is reversed with gasoline cars - mistakenly filled diesel fuel enters the system instantly).
If you catch yourself in time and turn off the engine, then big trouble will not happen. If you do not react, then the injection pump will take the first blow - pumps of this type are very sensitive to fuel quality. Next you will condemn the injection system. In the common common rail, health is highly dependent on the lubricating properties of the fuel; gasoline is contraindicated for it. The engine will also not like the presence of foreign hydrocarbons in the mixture - the control electronics will go crazy, the stability of the work will be broken. The possible consequences are varied.
Complex of events
With a high content of gasoline in diesel fuel, the diesel engine will quickly stall, and it will not be possible to start it again. At low, options are possible, but in any case, there is no benefit from this. With the timely detection of an error, you can get off by flushing the tank, fuel lines and replacing the filter.
To bring the process to extremes is completely unprofitable for reasons of cost savings. With the timely detection of an error, you can get rid of flushing the tank, fuel line and replacing filters. For a diesel engine, servicemen will certainly also offer in-depth cleaning of the pump and nozzles and something else. It doesn't make sense if the engine has been running on petrol for just a couple of seconds, so don't be tempted.
But if you persevere and go, no matter what, then it is quite possible to achieve the death of the engine and fuel units. Which, of course, we do not want anyone to fill diesel with gasoline.
And, just in case, always read the gas station receipts.
Does the question seem stupid? But without looking at
this, not once every month they come to the service station
car in this condition on gun carriages. Some manage to get on their own,
with a black cloud behind him, having a diagnosis: “erroneous refueling of the car with the wrong fuel that the factory predicted
manufacturer". Someone in a hurry grabbed the wrong gun at the gas station, someone
asked his wife to go to the gas station, someone recently changed
car and is not yet accustomed to the new fuel.
Who is to blame?
The prerequisite in any case is the carelessness of the owner, but we are most interested in
the question of what to do next after making such an error.
Internal combustion engines for these types of fuel differ significantly: in an internal combustion engine
the air-fuel mixture enters the cylinders, where ignition occurs
by means of an electronic spark. The main difference between a diesel engine (for
exception to many others) will be that heating and ignition
fuel-air consistency is carried out due to compression inside the cylinder. IN
internal combustion engine, the pressure at which the mixture enters the cylinders is less, and
because it is not enough to set fire to diesel fuel. Therefore, while
the system has a small amount of gasoline left - it does not change significantly
combustion process, because the solarium will not burn in full, in
As a result, a huge amount of soot will be created. After hit
diesel fuel in the gasoline system line, they will become blocked, which will make it more difficult
fuel passage to the engine. Big
the possibility that diesel fuel will be able to penetrate into the crankcase
through the cylinders, in which case the engine oil will not be applicable for the upcoming
use. After the gasoline in the system is completely over, the engine
stops. Diesel fuel has very different chemical
qualities unlike gasoline, because these two fuels have different properties
combustion, differ markedly in viscosity, the amount of content of different
impurities, by density and temperature required for ignition. diesel fuel,
Once in the fuel system of a gasoline car, it is disastrous for the engine.
How
But what if you are faced head-on with such a discrepancy?
If you haven't left yet
gas stations and saw the fact that you confused the gun and filled diesel fuel instead of gasoline, in no way
do not start the vehicle or turn on the ignition. In that case, you
prevent the car's fuel pump from turning on and limit the ingress of
diesel fuel into your vehicle's fuel system.
But in most cases there are cases when,
filling the car with the wrong fuel, the driver leaves the gas station, passes
a certain distance and the car stalls. After that, thoughts already appear, how it happened.
Everything was great, the car never gave cause for frustration here.
such. Ultimately, insight comes. Either way, call a tow truck.
or in tow to deliver your car to the nearest car service station that produces
fuel system repair. Destroy yourself that stereotype that they will decide for you in an hour
question of such difficulty. Such repairs can take more than one day, it all depends
from the difficulty of fouling your fuel system.
On
car service, you need to perform the following steps:
- Indispensable tank cleaning and fuel drain,
- Flushing of all coils,
through which fuel flows from the tank to the car engine, - Change of fuel to the right one,
- fuel filter replacement,
- Oil and oil filter change,
- Wash the fuel system
special flushing for injectors. - Ability to change spark plugs
ignition, such manipulation is carried out at the end of flushing.
You see, it's not so fast
procedure, it will take more than 6 hours.
Why
but you need to observe all the above points of healing your
car "after poisoning"? The thing is that diesel fuel in
diesel system does the so-called lubrication function. But in case
diesel fuel entering the gasoline system, which does not experience
desire for lubrication, diesel fuel sticks like glue
oil scraper rings, and this happens
effect as sticking of oil scraper rings, as a result of which begins
loss of compression in the cylinders of the car and, as a result, the car
refuses to start. The presence of even a very small amount
diesel fuel in the system of a gasoline vehicle can lead to such
effect. But on top of that, valve sticking can also occur, which, if
starting the engine can cause it to crash.
Costs
note the fact that carbureted engines are somewhat more "accommodating" with
diesel fuel than injectors. That will save your time and your money resources.
IN
eventually
So what can we take away from
of the above: if you saw in time that you filled the car with the wrong
fuel - it is strictly forbidden to start the engine. If you do not start the engine,
everything can cost you a slight fright and flushing the tank of your car.
An internal combustion engine cannot work with an admixture of diesel fuel in any way.
own fuel system, so experiment and try the rest
fill the tank up to the neck even with high-quality gasoline
costs.
If you fill the tank up to 10%, the car
will go, but with great difficulty, the movement of the car may be accompanied
knocking in the area of \u200b\u200bthe motor, but this will not bring serious harm. In some
countries, cunning tankers even mix these
the aforementioned 10% diesel fuel to gasoline to increase its amount
means of low cost. But you can’t drive on this type of fuel all the time
recommended, evenly the engine of your steel stallion will become unusable.
