Marty Roth Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 On the way home from the Bristol Meet in my 2000 Ford Excursion 7.3 turbo-diesel, pulling a 4000 lb trailer and 1934 Buick, -- started the pump, and in a hurry to get to the restroom -- the pump cut off at $100. About to restart it, I noticed that I had pumped over 26 gallons of 93 octane UNLEADED instead of DIESEL ! I had about 5-10 gallons of diesel already in the tank. The short-term fix was to have a local "technician" come to the station and pump out as much as he could (leaving about 11 gallons of the mixture (80-90% gas to diesel) that he could not get out. I added 37 gallons of diesel to the 11 gallons of mixture, drove 50 miles, added 6 gallons, drove 90 miles, added 9 gallons, and drove home, and topped it off again. It is running fine. A friend later told me that a contact of his suggested that, instead of pumping out the fuel tank, I could have added 5 or 6 gallons of motor oil to the 26 gallons of unleaded -- that it would have smoked a lot, but would have been OK to drive. Your thoughts ?? Is there a safe mixture percentage of motor oil to gasoline to simulate diesel? Is there a variance for 87 octane vs 93 octane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I believe you did the right thing. Any sort of backyard alchemy to "turn" gasoline into diesel seems sketchy at best. I once put about 7 or 8 gallons of gas into my tank before I realized what I was doing. The tank was close to empty at the time, so I did as you did and topped it off with diesel. That was about 100,000 miles ago. No harm done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Old48Truck Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 While in the military, a colleague filled a van's gas tank with jet fuel by mistake. He only got a few hundred yards from the pumps before the van died. It was a few weeks before we got that van back. A complete teardown and flush had to be done. Maybe they should have poured a few quarts of 10-30 in the tank to cure it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Jet fuel is basically kerosene with various additives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 While in the military, a colleague filled a van's gas tank with jet fuel by mistake. He only got a few hundred yards from the pumps before the van died. It was a few weeks before we got that van back. A complete teardown and flush had to be done. Maybe they should have poured a few quarts of 10-30 in the tank to cure it...Hmmm, seems a bit anecdotal to me. You just don't drive up to the pump and select regular, premium, diesel or jet fuel. Jet fuel is dispensed with an entirely different setup, usually from a fuel truck and the nozzle would never come close to fitting anything but an aircraft. Also, a complete teardown would not be required. Just drain the offending fuel and refill with gasoline and Bob's yer uncle.. I think your colleague was pulling your leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Dad was in the tire recapping biz. Employee stole a tank full of "Rubber Solvent" basically laquer thinner and filled up his car. Ran well but not for long, burned a hole thru a piston in short order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billybird Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 If it were a new diesel I would fear. The 7.3 Powerstroke ia a tough old bird. I've heard stories of people going to restaurants and collecting old cooking grease to run in them! The new diesels have a drain cock under the trucks, not sure if the 7.3 has that or not. I think having pumped out what you did I would add a big bottle of MMO and run it dry. Many think the 7.3 is the best Ford diesel ever. I think it will be alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Years ago when I drove a diesel car here in Canada an old diesel mechanic told me I could add up to 10% gasoline to the diesel, in very cold weather to combat waxing or gelling of the fuelHe also told me furnace oil or #2 distillate is the same as diesel but not to use stove oil. Well I could use stove oil in an emergency if I added 1 quart of oil per 10 gallons because stove oil is "too dry".The point is a small amount of gas in the diesel fuel will do no harm. But the injection pump needs lubrication from the fuel. If the fuel is too diluted, or not oily enough, it can damage the pump.In Europe you can buy diesel cars especially made to run on biodiesel or fuel from plant sources. The biodiesel is sold at gas stations.A regular diesel will run on vegetable oil but the special models are optimized for the different fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Was also told by a fuel delivery driver that in summer, diesel fuel is 80% #2 (furnace oil) and 20% stove oil and in the winter, the other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Al Brass Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Hi Marty,You did the correct thing and the solution you chose is least likely to cause you future problems. Modern electronic diesels don't like gasoline much at all.Al(Diesel Engineer, marine and heavy transport) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest South_paw Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 The only other thing I would have done is change the fuel filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Al Brass Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Because Marty hadn't started the engine, it wouldn't help anything. Even if he had run it, the amount of contaminated fuel removed from the sytem would be minimal. In this case, the contaminated fuel would not have damaged the filter or affected it's performance in any way. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50jetback Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Ain't old age great - all this grief because you were busting to get to the restroom.We've all been there and it sounds like things will be fine with you're motor. My youngest son served his apprenticship as an aircraft mechanic some years ago. Everytime they worked on an aircraft which required the avgas to be drained meant the gas was treated as contaminated and couldn't be re-used in a plane. Consequently there was an abundance of avgas and his vehicles ( in particular a 1969 F100 ) ran on avgas for years with no detrimental effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Al Brass Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Avgas has lead in it so a '69 er would be fine but it wouldn't be so good in something modern with pollution gear on it.Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest windjamer Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Hate to admit I never pumped gas in a diesel, but I sure pumped a half a tank a diesel in momas Chevell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) Thanks guys for all of your responses.So far the truck is running well, having covered about 700 miles from the point of (my) senility.I leave Tuesday to head by way of Pennsylvania to Chicago / Oak Brook with the same tow vehicle, trailer , and this time will take the 1914 Buick B-37 Touring to her first AACA Meet.Hope to see some of y'all there Edited September 2, 2011 by Marty Roth typos (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Old48Truck Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) Hmmm, seems a bit anecdotal to me. You just don't drive up to the pump and select regular, premium, diesel or jet fuel. Jet fuel is dispensed with an entirely different setup, usually from a fuel truck and the nozzle would never come close to fitting anything but an aircraft. Also, a complete teardown would not be required. Just drain the offending fuel and refill with gasoline and Bob's yer uncle.. I think your colleague was pulling your leg.He wasn't pulling my leg. I had to go up bring him back to the barracks after they towed the van away. This took place at the Air Force/Navy base in Keflavik, Iceland in 1972. You may be right, though. It could have been diesel, but my (fading and perhaps faulty) memory is of jet fuel. Fred wasn't too bright, so he may have thought it was jet fuel. In any case, it was a long time before we got that van back, and the motor pool said they had to tear it down. Now, they may have been saying that for effect, or to cover themselves for not doing anything with the van for a few weeks.This took place on the runway at Keflavik airport, so I suppose it could have been Avgas...they had small planes there, too. Do they use "normal" gas pumps? Edited September 2, 2011 by Old48Truck (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gary Hearn Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Many think the 7.3 is the best Ford diesel ever. Even if it is an International? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kattosha Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 My uncle was a volkswagen mechanic and growing up I frequently had diesel vehicles (79 thru 87). When I was working in alberta for a winter he told me to use 10-15% unleaded fuel mixed with the diesel to make starting easier. I never had a problem. I would think it would still work with the never diesels, maybe a lower percentage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billybird Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Even if it is an International?Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Getting back to the other question ---Is there a good ratio?. How much motor oil should be added for each gallon of unleaded to make it safe for the diesel engine ?? (in case it is not possible at that time/location to pump out the gas) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dick Whittington Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Even if it is an International?Easy now, be kind to us "Cornbinder" fans.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest prs519 Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Marty, I imagine a petroleum engineer could answer this with some confidence, particularly if he were privy to minimum expectations of the engineers who built the engine and associated system. Were it me, I would simply take a paper cup of the gas, leaving room to add oil until I accomplished the closest mixture in terms of viscosity, and perhaps feel of the mixture as I rubbed it between my fingers. The human senses are sometimes very high level instruments, presuming one can finger some base value thereby. I am thinking, inasmuch as diesel is intimately oily feeling, I would error on the side of the oil because wear, once there, is there. Soot or oily deposits, on the other hand would probably burn away in time, although I dare say nothing about what a sooty burn might do to various sensors, like oxygen, or MAFEngineers? Also engineers...Doesn't diesel contain more energy in its combustible highly compressed form, than an equal amount of gasoline (hence heaveir rods, etc)Perry in Idaho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dick Whittington Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Gasoline lacks the lubricity required by the fuel injection system in a diesel. Assuming the engine is a Power Stroke, the injector pressure is built up by a high pressure (over 3,000 psi) oil pump. The clearance in the injectors is measured in microns. Very easy to score an injector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Wow, Marty, I'd passed over this thread, and looked at it tonight (nothing much else to do in a hotel room in Sacramento), and saw it was you!Hope it worked out. Do you remember the John Ballentine story, he rented a U-haul truck, it had two side tanks...when he switched to the second tank, the truck died. Seems the guy who rented it before had filled up that empty tank with water, so that the fuel guage showed full.........Way, way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I put some diesel in my Cord (a couple gallons in a semi-full tank) when that was the advice to eliminate vapor lock. Car wouldn't start at all with that mixture, so I pushed it to the side of the station and drained the tank on the ground (grassy dirt), then filled again and it started. I know, I know, an awful thing to do, and I'm sure the station later paid the price........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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