[jjbirch]

just wanted to know if anyone have had one this, She was filling up looking at are baby in the back of the car, forgeting it was a green end not black,then screamed, when she put it back in, lucky she never started the car. Anyway we towed it in as i have a transit pick up,bmw garage fixed it in one day,total cost with vat £330,dealer said if she started it cost could be over 4k, and my car is chipped. still a kick in the teeth

[TurboFan]

whew. Thank god she never started it. Anyone can make a mistake like that when you're not used to owning diesel. Give her a kiss, and say thank you for noticing in time.

[jjbirch]

yeh thnx, talking to my brother in law about this he has a brand new ml 4x4 diesel, he said the new his new merc has a cut out switch that knows when petrol hit the first fuel filter, is this true

[halB]

From what I read it is OK to run petro on a diesel engine for short durations but I won't try it. In a BMW it probably will screw up the fuel metering system becasue of different fuel density.

[jjbirch]

all done now just had to pay the bill

[tctic]

Wait till more people start putting in Gasoline when more diesel cars come to North America.

[GregL]

Hmm, here in Canada the fuel nozzles themselves are different sizes; you cannot even attempt to put diesel in a gasoline car, but unfortunately the provision stops there and what happened with your wife could happen here too.

What does diesel cost in the UK right now? About £1/litre?

[jjbirch]

true diesel has a bigger end wont fit into petrol,but easy put into diesel,should be star and square shapes,but the cost of everyone getting there car done would be too much

[kabhatti]

When I was in Spain a few years back, and not speaking spanish at all, I had the fuel attendant put in a whole tank of regular fuel into a diesel rentacar. Actually, i can't remember for sure, it could be the other way around. Anyway, I started the car and didn't even make it out of the gas station. Long story short, they had to suck out the fuel and replace with the correct fuel and I was on my way a few hours later. Cost was just the lost fuel and labor to suck out the fuel.

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by halB

From what I read it is OK to run petro on a diesel engine for short durations but I won't try it. In a BMW it probably will screw up the fuel metering system becasue of different fuel density.

I would think it would detonate and tear the hell outta the engine. The internal pressures of a diesel engine would be so great I'd think the gasoline would explode, not burn, well before TDC. Gasoline is sooo much more volatile than deisel.

[Rinos]

My dad filled up my VW Golf TDi with gasoline and did a whole 50 Km before noticing since there was a significant power loss. We took it in and $100 later was just fine. No harm done to the engine

[Max_!]

Originally Posted by TurboFan

I would think it would detonate and tear the hell outta the engine. The internal pressures of a diesel engine would be so great I'd think the gasoline would explode, not burn, well before TDC. Gasoline is sooo much more volatile than deisel.

Exploding fuel is exactly how a diesel engine works, so there's no need to fear damage.

The normal operating mode for a diesel engine is detonation. There's no spark plugs. The mixture explodes due to the high temperature of the compressed air. This is why diesel engines are heavier - they are dimensioned to cope with this detonation - and this weight and slower flame front of diesel is why they can't spin high RPMs.

Diesels with direct injection (like the TDi mentioned above) inject the fuel at TDC, which is why they don't stall on petrol. Diesels with low-presure injection usually inject the before TDC in a smaller chamber in the head, where the glow plug is, these engines would just stall when the fuel is ignited way before TDC.

My guess is that you can run any current BMW diesel on straight petrol without damage, but it won't go anywhere fast.

[sbw]

When we lived in Germany years ago, my mom accidentally filled up our 1988 Volkswagen Vanagon with diesel and not gas. And drove off! The vehicle stalled at a toll booth in France. Had to have it towed and then have the diesel pumped out. Perhaps surprisingly, there was no damage to the engine and we drove the Vanagon for many more years.

[gunner]

I doubt the gasoline vapors would ignite. No spark. So a reduction in power would be noticeable right away. As soon as the diesel in the lines went to all gas you would be walking.

A flush of the fuel system and a change of fuel filters would likely be all that is necessary but I'd guess that would be several thousand dollars when you consider the cost of an out-of-warranty oil change at BMW service centers.

[Max_!]

Originally Posted by gunner

I doubt the gasoline vapors would ignite. No spark.

You forgot about the flaming hot glowplug...and the 20:1 compression ratio.

Diesels are also called compression-ignition engines. The 15-25:1 compression ratio is double (or even triple) of a petrol engine and heats up the air to 800-900 degrees celcius. This is hot enough to ignite any fuel.

[calvino]

Originally Posted by GregL

Hmm, here in Canada the fuel nozzles themselves are different sizes; you cannot even attempt to put diesel in a gasoline car, but unfortunately the provision stops there and what happened with your wife could happen here too.

What does diesel cost in the UK right now? About £1/litre?

tell that to my gradma, I rent her a PT Cruiser and she put Diesel on it

when I ask how? (since here in the US thy are also different size) she told me "it was a old gas station I was thinking there was something worng with the nozzle itself, I just hold it"

I'm glad that I had the rental insurance.

[LEDZEP]

We have a TV show in the States called "Seconds from disaster". This qualifies for an episode!

You are indeed lucky!!