Accidentally filled Jaguar XJR with diesel
Discussion
A friend called me today to talk about a bunch of things, and she happened to mention that she accidentally filled her husband's 2016 Jaguar XJR with diesel two weeks ago.
I don't have the entire story, but apparently after realising what she'd done and finding that the car wouldn't start, she called a fuel service who drained the tank, and she has refilled the tank with petrol. The car has somehow got home (I don't know if it was towed or managed to get there under its own steam) and she says that it starts fine, but refuses to move. I don't understand how that can be. If the engine runs, then surely it should move as long as she can get the transmission in drive. The car has been sitting on their driveway for a couple of weeks now as husband has other cars he can drive. I don't know why neither my friend or her husband hasn't done anything with it in the last couple of weeks. I get the impression he isn't very practically inclined and I am the go-to car person.
The fuel rescue service guy apparently told her to get the car to a garage to ask for a new filter and spark plugs. I can sort of see that a new fuel filter might be required, and possibly a new fuel pump. I know those can be damaged by the wrong fuel. But he never mentioned the pump to her. But new plugs? Surely if they are fouled, cleaning them should be sufficient?
She's asked me to go over and have a look at it to see if I can get it to move. I have a good understanding of the theory of operation of engines, transmissions and do my own brake servicing and am happy to replace engine ancillaries. But I've never put the wrong kind of fuel in my car so I don't know the ins and outs of it. I don't want to make the situation worse. But if the engine has already been started and is known to run fine, is there any chance I could make things worse by trying to see why it doesn't want to move? I asked her if there were any warning messages on the dash and she said no, but I'm sure it would say something if there was a transmission issue.
The way I see it, if the engine has been run after the diesel has been extracted and replaced with petrol, then any damage that was going to happen would already have been done. Does diesel permanently damage petrol fuel filters? I would have thought that putting petrol in a diesel car would be far more problematic than diesel in a petrol.
Any ideas before I pop over and potentially make things worse?
I don't have the entire story, but apparently after realising what she'd done and finding that the car wouldn't start, she called a fuel service who drained the tank, and she has refilled the tank with petrol. The car has somehow got home (I don't know if it was towed or managed to get there under its own steam) and she says that it starts fine, but refuses to move. I don't understand how that can be. If the engine runs, then surely it should move as long as she can get the transmission in drive. The car has been sitting on their driveway for a couple of weeks now as husband has other cars he can drive. I don't know why neither my friend or her husband hasn't done anything with it in the last couple of weeks. I get the impression he isn't very practically inclined and I am the go-to car person.
The fuel rescue service guy apparently told her to get the car to a garage to ask for a new filter and spark plugs. I can sort of see that a new fuel filter might be required, and possibly a new fuel pump. I know those can be damaged by the wrong fuel. But he never mentioned the pump to her. But new plugs? Surely if they are fouled, cleaning them should be sufficient?
She's asked me to go over and have a look at it to see if I can get it to move. I have a good understanding of the theory of operation of engines, transmissions and do my own brake servicing and am happy to replace engine ancillaries. But I've never put the wrong kind of fuel in my car so I don't know the ins and outs of it. I don't want to make the situation worse. But if the engine has already been started and is known to run fine, is there any chance I could make things worse by trying to see why it doesn't want to move? I asked her if there were any warning messages on the dash and she said no, but I'm sure it would say something if there was a transmission issue.
The way I see it, if the engine has been run after the diesel has been extracted and replaced with petrol, then any damage that was going to happen would already have been done. Does diesel permanently damage petrol fuel filters? I would have thought that putting petrol in a diesel car would be far more problematic than diesel in a petrol.
Any ideas before I pop over and potentially make things worse?
NNH, please explain? Diesel is slippery, petrol is not, which is why petrol in a diesel is a death for many parts, but the other way around should not be, except as the OP has mentioned. Why would the injectors be damaged?
New plugs? From experience (it was very early morning, filling up after all night at Le Mans) even a little diesel in petrol can gum up the plugs, even after two more tank-fulls of the true gasoline, so a new set might not be amiss.
John
New plugs? From experience (it was very early morning, filling up after all night at Le Mans) even a little diesel in petrol can gum up the plugs, even after two more tank-fulls of the true gasoline, so a new set might not be amiss.
John
tapkaJohnD said:
NNH, please explain? Diesel is slippery, petrol is not, which is why petrol in a diesel is a death for many parts, but the other way around should not be, except as the OP has mentioned. Why would the injectors be damaged?
New plugs? From experience (it was very early morning, filling up after all night at Le Mans) even a little diesel in petrol can gum up the plugs, even after two more tank-fulls of the true gasoline, so a new set might not be amiss.
John
My (limited) understanding is that diesel's greater density and viscosity mean that it needs much higher pressures in the injector to atomise it for combustion. My thought is that it could easily clog petrol injectors. New plugs? From experience (it was very early morning, filling up after all night at Le Mans) even a little diesel in petrol can gum up the plugs, even after two more tank-fulls of the true gasoline, so a new set might not be amiss.
John
MXRod said:
Mark V GTD said:
How is that even possible as diesel pump nozzles are too big to fit in to modern cars petrol fillers?
Exactly !LunarOne said:
MXRod said:
Mark V GTD said:
How is that even possible as diesel pump nozzles are too big to fit in to modern cars petrol fillers?
Exactly !HTP99 said:
Yep diesel nozzle shouldn't fit into a petrol filler, other way round it will, hence why many more people mis-fuel diesel cars.
She tells me that her husband instructed her over the phone to make sure she was filling with V-Power and because the fuel filler is on the opposite side to that on her car, she got confused. I'm vaguely aware that there is such a thing as V-Power diesel, but surely the nozzle for that also wouldn't fit? I'm beginning to think that she never put diesel in to begin with - how could she have if the nozzle won't fit? Could it be that she put regular unleaded in? And then had that pumped out? It's all very odd. I'm about to pop over and see if I can unravel what exactly happened...Personally I'd pop over, new fuel filter
Remove a plug first to see what state it's in
If it was a diesel with petrol I'd add some two stroke oil and crank it over, as it's a petrol engine, I'd use easy start or brake cleaner into the inlet (probably remove the air filter first) and see if it starts, if it starts Keep it running until no more smoke and see from there
Remove a plug first to see what state it's in
If it was a diesel with petrol I'd add some two stroke oil and crank it over, as it's a petrol engine, I'd use easy start or brake cleaner into the inlet (probably remove the air filter first) and see if it starts, if it starts Keep it running until no more smoke and see from there
M4cruiser said:
Lunar, just go with an open mind. It may be nothing to do with the fuel issue.
Perhaps she can't find the handbrake release, or perhaps it won't release because an engine warning light was on and some system needs re-setting.
This. If it runs I can't see the correlation with it now not going into drive.Perhaps she can't find the handbrake release, or perhaps it won't release because an engine warning light was on and some system needs re-setting.
I'm just back home from visiting my friend. The car does start but runs very roughly. It feels like perhaps 3 or 4 out of the 8 cylinders aren't firing. My guess would be injectors rather than spark plugs. I tried revving it gently and it backfires a bit but doesn't clear out. I would definitely not want to drive it like that for fear of bending the crankshaft with uneven pulses. I did test putting it into gear. The transmission seems to work normally I moved it a couple of feet backwards and then the same distance forward in idle. In fact the car was actually driven home from the petrol station but the symptoms have got worse which is why it hasn't moved since. Husband says he has arranged for it to go to a garage and he just needs to arrange for it to be transported.
So basically I don't need to get involved at all. I guess my friend wasn't certain that her hubby was taking the right action due to apparent inaction. But he's actually one of the cleverest people I know as well as being a thoroughly nice chap.
I still have no idea how she managed to get the diesel nozzle in. But she said it was easy. Oh well, that mystery will have to remain unsolved.
So basically I don't need to get involved at all. I guess my friend wasn't certain that her hubby was taking the right action due to apparent inaction. But he's actually one of the cleverest people I know as well as being a thoroughly nice chap.
I still have no idea how she managed to get the diesel nozzle in. But she said it was easy. Oh well, that mystery will have to remain unsolved.
Pica-Pica said:
Are you sure it was not filled with E10 petrol, and the requirement is E5 ?
LOLJust drain the fuel tank entirely, clean and flush lines and filter as best possible, then refill fully with new petrol
After it is running, also worth changing the engine oil perhaps both now, and after a low few hundred miles.
I suspect there is a bit more to the story, and rather than getting the fuel emptied asap, it was driven until it stopped. Do the above and hope.
Gassing Station | Engines & Drivetrain | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff