Petrol in a diesel does not go!

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Johann

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Did something really stupid the weekend coming back from sightseeing in Rochester… I put 20 litres of unleaded in my car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Realised it before the last click thankfully so did not switch the engine on. Still had to wait 3 hours for Audi Assistance to bring a flatbed around and take me to the dealer that is 15 minutes walk from my house (thankfully). No car Sunday (as you don’t get a courtesy car if it is your own mistake). Got it back this morning: £288 of which £30 was a full tank of diesel ON TOP of the £17 worth of unleaded I put in… So you learn. Why in 70000miles I've never even had a near miss… and then out of blue… grrr… I was the 4th one they had this week at the dealer that had done the same thing! Stupid how an unleaded pump fits a diesel and a diesel pump won’t fit an unleaded car even though a bit of diesel will do a petrol car no real harm… though petrol being so volatile under compression it does not work this way around at all…

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[img=left]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-2/11882/a2andme2.gif[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.a2oc.net/pic_show.asp?picid=1572&type=1 On www.A2OC.net pictures UK160 to UK183
 
My sympathies to you. Although I thought A2's were so light you could pick it up and turn it upside down to empty the petrol out ;)
 
There was a solution proposed which involved different shaped nozzles/fillers but then there is this huge pool of existing cars to modify before anyone will fit the pumps.

I thought it was the other way round, up to 25% petrol in the diesel is no problem (may be on the later pumpe duse engines) but diesel in the petrol screws up ingnition system and it won't run.

Since we are back to one petrol and one diesel it will happen to me - sooner or later!
Ian

2002 1.4 Petrol SE, silver with climate control for SWMBO, Honda Accord Tourer 2.2 iCDTi for me.
 
I think either one in in the other has different problems... but petrol is far more flammable and explodes far harder under compression (even sans spark plug that a diesel car lacks obviously) so it will just send your cylinders the wrong way and do it no good at all... I also think diesel floats on petrol (correct?) so it does not really mix... hence even 25% petrol in a diesel tank will probably send a 95% clean squirt of petrol into your engine as fuel is taken from the bottom of a tank...

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[img=left]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-2/11882/a2andme2.gif[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.a2oc.net/pic_show.asp?picid=1572&type=1 On www.A2OC.net pictures UK160 to UK183
 
Petrol and diesel will physically mix. But petrol is the more volatile and ignites more easily, so it would make a diesel engine misfire if there was much in the tank. Diesel would not vaporise properly in a petrol car and I suspect it would trash the catalytic convertor by filling it with soot.

Chivers ':)'
'02 A2 1.4TDi SE
 
I did this before but the other way round, I just got a fuel pump and spent a few hours pumping it back out of the tank on the forecourt, straight back into the service stations tank.

I hadn't driven off as I realsied what I had done, does this not work anymore? It is certainly a lot cheaper as the service station only charged me for both sets of fuel and £30 for the use of the 12v car fuel pump.. I laugh now as the fuel pump only cost £12 to buy and the fuel that I took out and put straight back into their tank was resold again.

We live and learn, all be it the hard way.
 
The mechanic at the service station would have done that on an older Audi he said but mine is too new. The Audi Assistance people said the same. Older Audis fine to just do that, newer ones not - but I was not really listening to the exact reason he said as I was standing stranded in 29 degree heat on a fuel forecourt! hehehe

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[img=left]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-2/11882/a2andme2.gif[/img=left]
2001 A2 TDI SE Crystal Blue with Open Sky, 6CD Symphony II, BOSE upgrade, DIS and HALF a winterpack!

iPAQ 3970 with Sat-Nav sleeve, rear cupholders, luggage net and floppy wiper!

http://www.a2oc.net/pic_show.asp?picid=1572&type=1 On www.A2OC.net pictures UK160 to UK183
 
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