Mistakenly put diesel fuel into a gas lawn mower

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My neighbor mistakenly put diesel fuel into a new Kubota riding lawn mower that would normally require gasoline. We drain the fuel tank and replaced the fuel filter. I shot starter fluid down the carb and it smoked the yard. It would not continue to run. The fuel filter did not look like it was getting any gas. He had to leave on a trip and we are going to work on it this weekend. Any suggestions on fixing this issue.
 
Flush out the fuel tank, drop the carb bowl and empty it. Then disconnect the fuel line from the carb and flush the carb out with some carb cleaner. Put it together add some fresh gas, change or clean the spark plug and give it a try. You might need a bit of ether/starting fluid to get it running.
 
You'll have to clear the fuel line and the carb. Most of the time there is a nut on the bottom of the carb bowl, loosen it holding a container underneath and let it drain. Remove the spark plugs, you will need to clean them, and with the plugs out the engine will spin faster in the next step. Disconnect the fuel hose input to the carb and hold it on a container, turn the key and crank until clean gas (that you have poured into the tank) comes out. Then tighten the nut, reattach the line, crank to fill up the bowl, reinstall plugs, and start.
 
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mk378 described the way I would attack the issue.
Attach a label close to the filler "Gas only"
 
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My best answer,,,,don't do thattttttttttttttt anymore.
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True story:Buddy of mine goes for a ride on his motorcycle,,stops, fills it up, not paying attention puts diesel in it,,,,why,,,I do not know,,,starts the engine and gets about 10 feet....after he gets it to the shop the next day, the bill was 150 to fix the mess..lol
 
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Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Flush out the fuel tank, drop the carb bowl and empty it. Then disconnect the fuel line from the carb and flush the carb out with some carb cleaner. Put it together add some fresh gas, change or clean the spark plug and give it a try. You might need a bit of ether/starting fluid to get it running.

This. That's pretty much what I did some years ago when my younger brother put diesel in the gasoline rototiller.
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It smoked a bit, of course, too, until things were normal again.
 
Shouldn't have done any real damage, just get it flushed out and change the spark plug. Might smoke a bit if it ran at all with the diesel until any in the muffler gets burned off.
 
Originally Posted By: ironman_gq
Shouldn't have done any real damage, just get it flushed out and change the spark plug. Might smoke a bit if it ran at all with the diesel until any in the muffler gets burned off.


This.

Diesel in a gas engine just makes a mess of the fuel system but won't cause any real damage. Gas in a diesel is where you get damage.
 
Well, I talked with his wife. He is going to have the Kubota dealer work on it. They say it is fuel injected and needs a special flush to clean it out. 250 bucks and they can get to it in a week or so.

I offered to work on it for him but I think he just wants the dealership to work on it.

Some people are just not mechanically inclined.
 
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