1.2 gallons of gas

trackrabbit

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Location
Bronx, New York, USA
TDI
2002 VW Golf
After driving over 5,000 miles on a trip from New York to Kalispell Montana with no problems except for a burned out break light bulb, I stopped in New Jersey for fuel just across the PA border, only about 70 miles from home. I told the guy to fill it with diesel, and it's a good thing I got out of the car and looked over at him. In NJ, it is illegal to pump your own fuel, so there he was with the gas hose in my tank pumping away. Luckily he only got 1.2 gallons in there when I saw him. I yelled diesel, diesel, and he pulled it out. Then it took almost 12 gallons of diesel. When I got home, I topped it off again. Everything seemed OK on the trip home, and I hope that is the end of it.

I keep thinking: What if I went into the store to get coffee or something, and he was all done filling it with gas by the time I came out? I wouldn't have known what was happening after I drove a few miles and the engine started making weird noises and quit.

How bad is a 10% gas mix for these engines?
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
It won't hurt it... you caught it in time. It's thinned out to the point that it won't cause any damage. It's a good thing you don't have a new commonrail!

Also, in NJ it's illegal to pump your own gas... you can still pump your own diesel.
 

2jettasinthedrive

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Location
Upstate South Carolina
TDI
01 TDI 02 Wagon
After this episode at the station, how low did the fuel level get in the tank? The gas will stay on top of the diesel fuel because it is lighter. If it were me, I would remove the remaining fuel and let it settle out and be done with it. No worrys and your tank will be clean.
Good luck.

I don't know if a 10% mix is harmful but a solid GULP of gas can't be good.
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
When I bought my son's car it barely ran and smoked like a bahnsee. Got it home Did a full TB change and still smoked like a bahnsee when I stepped on the pedal. When I finally smelled the exhaust it did not smell like a diesel. Popped the fuel filter and smelled like stale gas. I don't know how much but I'm betting it was close to 50/50 mix. The car ran, not great but enough to do timing. Changed the fuel filter, lubed molly the injector pump and injectors, blew the fuel lines back to tank and popped the fuel tank open and pulled out God only knows what ( 7 gallons total ) wiped it clean and put fresh diesel in......... that was 12,000 miles ago.
 

Ski in NC

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Location
Wilmington, NC USA
TDI
2001 Jetta ALH 5sp stock
1.2gal of gas should do no harm on a VE pump engine. The diesel you pumped in would mix it up fine. If it makes you feel better, dump a pint of two stroke oil in to bump up the lube.

Just curious: Did they make you pay for the gas???
 

nokivasara

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Location
Sweden @ Lat 61N
TDI
Tiguan 4-motion, Golf mk7
The Golf 1 & 2 owners manuals stated that one should add some gas (up to 20% IIRC) during winter to make cold starts easier. ;)
Since the VE-IP on the TDI is similar to the old IDIs it should be OK. I wouldn't worry about it.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
After this episode at the station, how low did the fuel level get in the tank? The gas will stay on top of the diesel fuel because it is lighter. If it were me, I would remove the remaining fuel and let it settle out and be done with it. No worrys and your tank will be clean.
Good luck.

I don't know if a 10% mix is harmful but a solid GULP of gas can't be good.
That's the first I've heard of this... common practice back in the day was to mix a percentage of gas into diesel during the winter to prevent gelling. Obviously, kerosene was the first choice, but gas was acceptable, too.
 

Lex4TDI4Life

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 22, 2006
Location
NorCal
TDI
2001 Golf-Ute TDI GLS 5spd Manual
It IS perfectly legal to pump your own diesel in NJ. And it is illegal for the station to let you pump your own gas - the consumer is not the target of the regulation.

That being said, I generally refuse to fill up in Jersey on principle :p
 

trackrabbit

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Location
Bronx, New York, USA
TDI
2002 VW Golf
Thanks everyone for your input. A long time ago a friend gave me a '72 (I don't remember the year, but I'm pretty sure it was a '72) diesel rabbit and I remember putting about a half gallon of gas in it when it got really cold, but I thought the TDI would be a bit more particular about what it drinks. Anyway I had to take a trip to Brooklyn today, and everything is fine. And yes, he actually made me pay for the gas. I started to argue with him, but after driving over 700 miles in the rain, mostly at night, I was too tired to make a big issue of it, especially since I was pretty sure it wasn't enough to cause a problem.
 

akafred

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2011
Location
ontario
TDI
2014 jetta TDI
I wouldn't have paid for it. Once Sunoco filled my 12.5:1 compression camaro with regular when I asked for 94 octane. I didn't pay.. Told them I don't want the wrong fuel drain it out, or I will when I get home, but I am not paying. They agreed to me draining it at home..
 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
1.2gal of gas should do no harm on a VE pump engine. The diesel you pumped in would mix it up fine. If it makes you feel better, dump a pint of two stroke oil in to bump up the lube.
I think it would also be worthwhile to frequently top off the fuel in the tank every 100 miles or so to further dilute the gas/diesel mixture. The gasoline concentration will go down with each top-off. I think it's better to top it off frequently and further dilute the gas concentration ASAP than drive the whole tank with a steady and higher concentration.

One recommendation I've read if you must fuel up in NJ is to get out of the car and watch the pump jockey like a hawk to make absolutely sure the correct fuel goes in. Let the pump jockey start the pump and tell them you'll take over from here and top it off. If necessary, remind them of the law and that you can legally pump your own DIESEL in NJ. Generally they will be OK with it since your taking over for them frees them up to help more gasser customers.

Good luck.
 

VWBeamer

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Location
GA
TDI
2004 Jetta Wagon
I would second the 2 stroke oil, I carry some in my car just in case. Course the time to dump it in was right after he pumped the gas in it.
 

trackrabbit

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Location
Bronx, New York, USA
TDI
2002 VW Golf
Maybe so. It could have been a 77. He paid $500 for it, drove it for a year, then sold it to me for $10. It was a rust bucket, but I drove it for at least a year until one of the rear wheels fell off due to the supporting structure of the frame rusting out. Though I must say, it ran good right to the end. Unfortunately I don't remember the mileage. That was my first diesel. The one I have now is an '02 Golf that I paid $5500 for 2 years ago. It's a great car, way more powerful than the 77, and not a bit of rust on it. I just spent the whole day cleaning the interior, exterior, and waxing it. A car can get mighty dirty on a 6,000 mile trip with two Dachshunds on board. I vacuumed up dog hair, crumbs from dog treats, etc. Not to mention my own mess.

Say, while I'm here, does anyone know what's good for cleaning cloth upholstery, and the like?
 

trackrabbit

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Location
Bronx, New York, USA
TDI
2002 VW Golf
It seems this episode is now closed. I topped it off frequently. It took about 2 gallons each time. I did this about 4 times, and now I let it go below half and topped it off again. I didn't notice anything unusual, and everything seems just fine.
 
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