Pumping gasoline into a diesel tank

dave17352 wrote:

Charlie D. wrote:

davisenvy wrote:
A buddy of mine accidentally put gas in his Duramax(about 3/4 tank gas). He called his diesel mechanic and asked what to do. The mechanic told him to put a quart of atf in the tank to aid with lubrication of the injectors and go on about his business. This was well over 70k miles ago and his Duramax is still running strong.

Sounds almost like me. I added about 2 1/2 gallons of gasoline in my 2006 D/A,. Called a friend who retired from rebuilding injectors. Said to fill it the rest of the way with diesel and add a quart of the cheapest atf fluid I could find. Did so. Scared me to death. Drove it around and refilled it every 100 miles. We were 200 miles from home with the camper. After the second or third addition of fresh fuel I replaced the fuel filter. Could smell the gas big time. Never an issue with another 70,000 miles

Would a person feel comfortable with the new finicky fuel pumps?

Absolutely not I wouldn't start it

2cycle oil would have been a much better choice to add. It is designed to burn and lubricate.

I know a mechanic trick is to inject ATF fluid into engine cylinders that have stuck rings and let it sit overnight to free them. Interesting about adding it to gasoline tainted diesel fuel.

Charlie D. wrote:

davisenvy wrote:
A buddy of mine accidentally put gas in his Duramax(about 3/4 tank gas). He called his diesel mechanic and asked what to do. The mechanic told him to put a quart of atf in the tank to aid with lubrication of the injectors and go on about his business. This was well over 70k miles ago and his Duramax is still running strong.

Sounds almost like me. I added about 2 1/2 gallons of gasoline in my 2006 D/A,. Called a friend who retired from rebuilding injectors. Said to fill it the rest of the way with diesel and add a quart of the cheapest atf fluid I could find. Did so. Scared me to death. Drove it around and refilled it every 100 miles. We were 200 miles from home with the camper. After the second or third addition of fresh fuel I replaced the fuel filter. Could smell the gas big time. Never an issue with another 70,000 miles

Would a person feel comfortable with the new finicky fuel pumps?

davisenvy wrote:
A buddy of mine accidentally put gas in his Duramax(about 3/4 tank gas). He called his diesel mechanic and asked what to do. The mechanic told him to put a quart of atf in the tank to aid with lubrication of the injectors and go on about his business. This was well over 70k miles ago and his Duramax is still running strong.

Sounds almost like me. I added about 2 1/2 gallons of gasoline in my 2006 D/A,. Called a friend who retired from rebuilding injectors. Said to fill it the rest of the way with diesel and add a quart of the cheapest atf fluid I could find. Did so. Scared me to death. Drove it around and refilled it every 100 miles. We were 200 miles from home with the camper. After the second or third addition of fresh fuel I replaced the fuel filter. Could smell the gas big time. Never an issue with another 70,000 miles

davisenvy wrote:
A buddy of mine accidentally put gas in his Duramax(about 3/4 tank gas). He called his diesel mechanic and asked what to do. The mechanic told him to put a quart of atf in the tank to aid with lubrication of the injectors and go on about his business. This was well over 70k miles ago and his Duramax is still running strong.

That is very interesting!

A buddy of mine accidentally put gas in his Duramax(about 3/4 tank gas). He called his diesel mechanic and asked what to do. The mechanic told him to put a quart of atf in the tank to aid with lubrication of the injectors and go on about his business. This was well over 70k miles ago and his Duramax is still running strong.

larry barnhart wrote:

powderman426 wrote:
I always sniff the nozzle.

I do the same.

chevman

Sniff then taste here.

powderman426 wrote:
I always sniff the nozzle.

I do the same.

chevman

There is no consistent color coding for the plastic covers on nozzles. I've seen red, black, green, yellow and blue on gas. I've seen black, green and yellow on diesel. I've seen yellow, green and blue on E-85. I look for E-85 because if it is at least 10% cheaper it saves me money on a partial fill.

BP gas nozzles will usually be green. That's a trademark color. Some other brands put green on the diesel nozzles and black on gas, but if they are using red on gas, diesel might be black or yellow.

You have to pay attention. But most of the time, what helps to protect you is that the diesel pump has its own selector button or start button, and that section of a mixed pump is usually well marked. So if you push the button for diesel and put in one of the gas nozzles, you get nothing.

Wrong nozzle mistakes are most often a self-service problem. Most fueling mistakes by attendants are "intentional" in the sense that the attendant knows what he is putting in but is putting in the wrong thing because he hasn't been informed about what is wanted/needed.

I lost a friend and his whole family this way when a refueling attendant put Jet A into a large piston-engine business twin that looked like a turboprop. They got to about 1500 feet altitude before the jet fuel reached the engines and they both shut down, about 10 seconds apart.