It seems the driver mistakenly filled it to the brim with diesel, then it ended up at Bill's shop. They drained the gas tank, put about 10 gallons of gas in, and were trying to get it to start, but no joy. It would fire a couple times and quit. They were hoping it would be a quick fix after the drained the tank, but no luck. They were still working on it when I left, I'll bet they already had two hours into the job.
Temporarily a diesel Honda Civic
- Thread starter wwillson
- Start date
I think the auto diesel nozzles are small enough to fill some cars, this one for sure.
maybe it gelled up the fuel pump 
would a second drain and fill work?
would a second drain and fill work?
Ohhhh- people WILL find a way......
I have no idea how that would happen. #2 diesel gels around 20°F.
I'm guessing that the lines and injectors are still full of diesel. Maybe pull the injectors. Blow out the lines and have Napa run the injectors on the bench tester to flush them out
some poor 20 something Fella had the opposite problem one day last June (22) when i was filling in a shift at the Gas station....
the second he realized he put Unleaded in his truck, instead of Diesel, you just saw his head hang, shake, and pulls out his phone.
the second he realized he put Unleaded in his truck, instead of Diesel, you just saw his head hang, shake, and pulls out his phone.
He was very smart not to start it. The fix is simple when it's only in the tank.
not exactly the same, but...
one day, back in the mid 90's, while we were on vacation visiting family in rural southern ID (Outside Twin Falls) , Teenage me volunteered to fill the rental car when we pulled in to fill up...
I grabbed the dispenser labeled "regular" go to put the nozzle in the filler, clink clink, won't go in, what the heck? clink clink, "Dad? it won't go in the hole!"
apparently they were still selling leaded fuel (or with some lead replacement premixed in) which was something I'd never encountered...
hung it up, looked again, "oh, that next one over says UNLEADED"
oops, no harm done, just a learning experience for me...
true, and knowing the area, and the age of the kid, and looking at the truck....he was very likely a Student at the Local Auto/Diesel College...
campus is right past those trees along the rail line in the background.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
My boss put 18 gallons of gas in a 2007 duramax company truck with a 26 gallon tank and drove it 65 miles back to the shop. It was driven 15 more miles to the Chevy dealer where they drained the tank and installed a new fuel filter and said see what happens. It ran 4 more years with no issues at all until I retired. Heard an employee bought it still running fine. How can that be possible?
Diesel is the equivalent of ~25 octane with a much higher boiling point and higher viscosity. Assuming it doesn't clog the pump, it would be very difficult to vaporize in a gas engine's low compression (relative) environment which would make ignition difficult, if not impossible, and potentially destructive if it does react to the spark.
This happened to a someone I know down in Florida. As soon as he got on the gas to leave the parking lot, it started misfiring horribly and died. Drained the tank and put in gas, no luck. Pulled the plugs and they were wet with diesel. Worse though, looking in the cylinder with a bore scope and light spotted a busted top ringland on one of the pistons. Pulling the valve cover showed the exhaust rocker had over .050" clearance off the valve stem. A teardown of the head showed a chunk of the piston crown got caught in the exhaust valve, embedded itself in the valve seat, and bent the valve.
This happened to a someone I know down in Florida. As soon as he got on the gas to leave the parking lot, it started misfiring horribly and died. Drained the tank and put in gas, no luck. Pulled the plugs and they were wet with diesel. Worse though, looking in the cylinder with a bore scope and light spotted a busted top ringland on one of the pistons. Pulling the valve cover showed the exhaust rocker had over .050" clearance off the valve stem. A teardown of the head showed a chunk of the piston crown got caught in the exhaust valve, embedded itself in the valve seat, and bent the valve.
That's a much nicer vehicle than I've typically seen with those students
Computer management and low compression? And it wasn't straight gas.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
I posted when it happened and the BITOG unanimous opinion was the fuel pump and injectors were toast, just a matter of time. Apparently not always.
Brakleen will instantly foul the plugs
