Engine: D5: Warm start problem a week after mis-fuelling

[bins]

Hello all

My partner put 13l of unleaded in to our 54 v70 D5 ;(

Instead of draining it I googled and instead we opted for filling it up to the brim with diesel and hoped for best.

It's been fine for a week but now won't start when warm. It needed a new battery so I replaced that - thankfully it started outside Halfords where I bought a battery, but didn't after I got it home and replaced it.

Left it for an hour and it started, but had already called the AA.

Anyway - whilst I'm waiting for the AA man I wonder if anyone has any clues? I thought we'd got away with it but now I'm not sure. Most people seem to think there should be no damage given the ratio of petrol / diesel

should I change the fuel filter? I don't have any diagnostic kit so don't know what else I can do.

thanks
Rob

[cheshired5]

Based on 13 litres of petrol in a full tank, you've roughly had a ratio of 5:1 diesel to petrol.
Have you ran it at that concentration for a week or have you been filling up with diesel at every opportunity to increase the petrol dilution?

[bins]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

Based on 13 litres of petrol in a full tank, you've roughly had a ratio of 5:1 diesel to petrol.
Have you ran it at that concentration for a week or have you been filling up with diesel at every opportunity to increase the petrol dilution?

Sadly the former but tank is still over 3/4 full. Will be topping up tomorrow am

Should i have done the latter?

Thanks
Rob

[Simon Jones]

What did the AA man say when he arrived? He probably sees the results of mis-fuelling on a regular basis.

[bins]

Originally Posted by Simon Jones

What did the AA man say when he arrived? He probably sees the results of mis-fuelling on a regular basis.

He checked the engine fault codes - none that would appear to cause starting problems - eg crank or temp sensor

It was still starting ok when he arrived so it was all a bit pointless. He did say that the recommended thing would be to flush, but that (off the record so to speak) keeping it topped up to reduce the ratio would also be ok.

He also talked to 'the fuel guy' who reckoned that after running it for a while to get it 'warmed up' the fuels would slosh about / mix together and might cause the viscosity to drop thus stopping the pump from working when starting. Also that unused fuel feeds back to the tank contributing to warming it up.

He also said spraying some easy start into the air intake would get me out of a fix if I were desperate.

Then I asked the guy who services my car and he recommends flushing (at a local place that won't cost an arm etc.) and changing the filter. Just a drain and a refill - not a clean-all-the-pipes-and-replace-anything-that's-had-a-whiff-of-unleaded job.

He said that it's not worth the uncertainty of will it / won't it start, so I'll do that I think.

I shall let you know how I get on - but I'm still interested in hearing what advice anyone might have

thanks
Rob