My xxxx son

Filled the near empty car with gas. Ran it about two blocks till it quit.
1 How best to empty tank?
2 Is the engine ruined?
3 How to get diesel to the engine and attempt to start


thanks
mark

1) see below, siphoning is easiest if the "from" tank is raised up. Just make sure the hose you use can handle gasoline.
2) not likely, but don't do it again.
3) see below.


Siphon out all the gas. This will be easier if you pull the lift pump / sending unit from under the panel in the cargo area / trunk.

Fill the tank 1/2 way with fresh diesel.

Pull the fuel filter and discard.

Put the supply line coming from the tank into a clear container and cycle the ignition key to "run" in order to run the lift pump several times, until the fuel coming from the line smells like diesel and not gas. Helps here if your local station's diesel has the slight yellow/green dye so that you can identify by colour.

Install a new fuel filter, fill the filter with new diesel through the thermostatic T hole.

Pull the line from the filter to the tandem pump and put it into a clear container - cycle key again until you get a stream of diesel with no bubbles.

Reinstall the line back onto the tandem pump and crank the car in 15 second increments until it starts. Allow 3-4 minutes between attempts so that the starter can cool down.

This is what I would do if it were mine.

Thanks Windex,
What is most likely to get ruined by the gas?
Injectors
Tandem pump
Pistons
In tank pump

What stopped the car from running? The ECU via some sensor?

HPFP is most likely to be damaged, I'd run some extra diesel additives for the first few tanks where you might have residual gasoline left in the tank.

The lack of Diesel fuel is what stopped the engine..

Luckily there is not a HPFP on these cars. The pressure is made in the injectors by the camshaft.

ah my bad.. brain fart, chances of damage are quite minimal if you dont have that grenade under the hood..

I'd still run some extra lube through the tank, Biodiesel or something.. that gasoline is basically solvent removing lubrication from the parts that need it.

Agreed. Some optilube or even two-stroke oil would not be a bad idea for the fist tank or two.

PD cars like VE cars before them are relatively tolerant to misfuelling once the gasoline is drained and purged. Unlike the CR cars and their HPFP's made of glass.

Just don't make it a habit

I am reasonably sure it will never happen again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


And thanks for the reassurance.

I keep an old CR auxiliary electric fuel pump on hand for these events. I just hook up to the outlet side of the fuel filter and suck the tank dry, then fill it with diesel, and pull it back through the filter. Then I push it into the tandem pump and crank the engine until it sputters. Unhook everything, and start the engine and run it for a bit before shutting it off.

Oilhammer, what is a CR fuel pump?

The CBEA and CJAA commonrail TDIs have a third electric fuel pump mounted in the engine compartment. At its heart, the pump itself looks essentially like the same Bosch fuel pump they've had for decades on all sorts of stuff, even back in the 1970s on L-jet EFI systems.

Thanks, doesn't look like I will have one available. Would a normal 7 psi electric fuel pump work?

Yes, as long as it is self priming.

Alternatively, you can use the in-tank pump and just cycle the key multiple times to empty the tank.

I seem to remember that there is some way to make the in tank pump run continuously.
How, and would that damage it to pump gas?

You would have to jumper the relay, and no - it's made of the same stuff the fuel pumps in the gas cars are made of.

...and it's designed to run continuously

Thanks,
That is the plan.

Happily the plan worked. I also used the mitivac on the line to the tandem pump which sucked some fuel, about three ounces. Changed fuel filter and primed it and it started instantly and ran smoothly..
Thanks to those who helped me with it here!!!

Windex said:

Some optilube or even two-stroke oil would not be a bad idea for the fist tank or two.

Click to expand...

Regarding the above suggestion; is it a good idea to do this once in a while even if there was no fuel misfill? If so, how much 2 stroke would you put in the tank?

My understanding of the situation regarding additives is that if you stick with one of the top name brand companies they will have have an adequate lubricity additive package.
I tend to stay away from the bargain stations. If you want to add optilube or whatever, I am sure the respective companies will be happy to sell to you.
I did add a heavy dose of Howes which I had on hand in this instance.

If you want to bring lubricity up add 1qt of 100% bio to each tank fill...it will gel in cold weather

Or 1/2 ounce Ashless two cycle oil per gallon diesel.