Buzz
Adding diesel to an unleaded gas tank would cause significant issues, though it wouldn't necessarily ruin your vehicle. Explore more images of diesel engines.
©2007 Microsoft CorporationImagine pulling into a gas station while distracted. For instance, you're transporting your three kids and three of their friends to the zoo, and they're all loudly demanding ice cream. In your distracted state, you mistakenly grab the diesel nozzle instead of the unleaded gasoline one to refuel your car. What could go wrong?
Diesel Engine Image Gallery
First, it's important to note that this situation is unlikely in most modern vehicles. Cars produced in the last 25 years typically feature a protective plate beneath the gas cap, designed to only accommodate the smaller unleaded-gasoline nozzle. This plate was introduced when unleaded gasoline became standard to prevent the use of larger leaded gasoline nozzles. Diesel nozzles are even larger and wouldn't fit in most car tanks. However, this safeguard is absent in most motorcycles, trucks, and older cars, making such mistakes possible in those vehicles.
Imagine accidentally filling a gasoline tank with diesel fuel. Diesel and gasoline differ significantly in smell and texture. Diesel feels oily and doesn't evaporate like gasoline. Additionally, diesel is denser, weighing about a pound more per gallon compared to gasoline.
Many diesel pumps are located separately from unleaded pumps, reducing the risk of using the wrong fuel.
Photo courtesy stock.xchngIf diesel fuel were mistakenly added to a gasoline tank, the fuel injectors would deliver diesel into the engine's cylinders. While the spark plugs would attempt to ignite the fuel, the diesel's poor evaporation properties would prevent combustion, leaving the engine unable to start.
To resolve the issue, completely remove the diesel fuel from the gas tank and replace it with gasoline. You would then need to crank the engine repeatedly to flush out any remaining diesel from the fuel lines and injectors. After some time, the engine will start and operate normally without any lasting damage.
A natural question arising from this discussion is: If diesel fuel doesn't ignite in a gasoline engine, how does it work in a diesel engine? The key differences between gasoline and diesel engines are:
- First, diesel engines lack spark plugs.
- Second, they operate at much higher compression ratios. During the compression stroke, the air in a diesel engine becomes extremely hot. Diesel fuel is injected directly into this hot air, which is sufficient to vaporize and ignite the fuel.
