Rick's Free Auto Repair Advice

Putting Diesel in a Gasoline Vehicle — What It Does

Putting Diesel in a Gasoline Vehicle Will Cost About $500

Putting diesel in a gasoline vehicle will cause the vehicle stall right after, if it starts at all. Diesel fuel can clog the fuel filter and fuel injectors. It’s not as easily ignited as gasoline, so the engine won’t run on it.

What to do it you put diesel in a gasoline vehicle

If you added just a few gallons, your gasoline engine will still run, diesel fuelbut not well. It won’t harm your engine. But you should add regular gas as soon as possible to dilute the diesel and then drive as much as possibly to get it out or your tank.

If you somehow managed to fill your entire tank with diesel, chances are it won’t ever start and you shouldn’t even try to start it. Have it towed to a shop, where they will drain the tank and flush the fuel lines and then refill it with gasoline.

What a shop will do to fix the problem

The shop will drain the fuel tank and refill with gasoline. If the fuel pump is still working, they’ll use the pump to flush the fuel filter, fuel lines and the injectors. If that doesn’t work, they’ll have to replace the fuel filter and flush the fuel lines and injectors by hand.

Are there any long lasting issues?

Usually not. Once the tank, lines and injectors are flushed, there’s rarely any long term damage. In other words, putting diesel in a gasoline vehicle isn’t nearly as bad as the reverse. Running a diesel engine on gasoline can cause a lot of damage to the fuel pump and injectors.

©, 2022 Rick Muscoplat

Posted on by Rick Muscoplat



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