Uh Oh I put gas in my diesel rabbit :(

[TijuanaTom]

I'm not dumb I just made a mistake of not paying attention when I mistakenly put 5 gallons of gas in my almost bone dry diesel rabbit.    I drove only about 5 blocks before it quit on me and then I drained the tank and then filled her up with diesel.   I wonder if I might suffer any long term damage or ?? Car seems to be running just fine now..  and I'll never make that mistake again. 

Thanks!

[8v-of-fury]

gasoline has virtually no lubricating properties, so it may have done something.. but if it runs, hey be happy

[Doug]

Gasoline has somewhere around 10% oil in it depending on the grade. The VW owners manual approves adding gasoline to your fuel in proportions up to 1/3 gas to diesel (from memory so you better check if you want to try it!) for extreme cold climate use for easier starting and running. I don't think that you have done any harm to your engine and fuel system.

[theman53]

gasoline has virtually no lubricating properties, so it may have done something.. but if it runs, hey be happy

Old diesel had tons of lube in it...newer stuff??? I don't really know that the ULSD is all that much more slick than unleaded. I am with 8v on the if it runs don't worry about it

[Dakotakid]

I would at least spike the tank with some bar oil or 2-stroke oil or something!
I would also be draining the bottom off that fuel filter for awhile.....or put on a new (good brand) one after the tank is gone.

[doonboggle]

owners manual approves adding gasoline to your fuel in proportions up to 1/3 gas to diesel (from memory so you better check if you want to try it!) for extreme cold climate use for easier starting and running.

WHAT ? ? ? ?

WHERE ? ? ? Mine certainly does not ! !

[Wayland]

I've seen that written too in the older Rabbit owner's manuals.

[Vincent Waldon]

Yup, t'was in the early MK1 manuals... can't find one at the moment... and I don't think it was a full 1/3 gas... but will do a little digging.

It was required in the early days of automotive diesel in regions where winterized diesel was not available and is probably a bad idea in this day and age... adding any substantive amount of gas to diesel substantially damages the fuel's lubricating ability.

OP... if you drained the fuel system as completely as possible you'll probably be fine... the car generally stalls before any real damage occurs.

And, a little bit of gas left in the bottom of the tank after you drain it is not the end of the world.

[DCC]

Yup, t'was in the early MK1 manuals... can't find one at the moment... and I don't think it was a full 1/3 gas... but will do a little digging.

It was on the mk2 manuals too (at least here in Europe). I don't remember the proportions, but I will take a look at the manual and post it here later on.

[doonboggle]

.Then I guess these fellows don't know nothing.....
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http://www.turbodieselregister.com/mixing_gasoline_and_diesel.htm
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[Vangruver]

There is print in my 90 jetta manual that says you can add gasoline to a diesel, but not vice versa.

[Doug]

While cleaning up the 87 Golf 1.6TD for its winter duty today I looked at the owner's manual specifically about this issue of gasoline in diesel. Sure enough, the manual states that gasoline can be added up to 30% of the mix with diesel fuel before operation of the engine is forbidden. Oddly the manual specifies only regular gasoline, leaded or unleaded, can be used with premium gasoline not permitted. Not that I am about to try it but it is in VW's own documents.

[doonboggle]

It's not in my 1981 pickup manual ... nor in my 2006 Jetta TDI manual.
If I have missed it, a pointing out place on which page would be appreciated.

While cleaning up the 87 Golf 1.6TD for its winter duty today I looked at the owner's manual specifically about this issue of gasoline in diesel. Sure enough, the manual states that gasoline can be added up to 30% of the mix with diesel fuel before operation of the engine is forbidden. Oddly the manual specifies only regular gasoline, leaded or unleaded, can be used with premium gasoline not permitted. Not that I am about to try it but it is in VW's own documents.

[Vincent Waldon]

It's not going to be in your TDI manual...it's an old VW factory recommendation from an era when winterized diesel was not always available...and was not even a great idea back then.

[doonboggle]

It's not going to be in your TDI manual...it's an old VW factory recommendation from an era when winterized diesel was not always available...and was not even a great idea back then.

Thanks Vincent.  My perspective is it's not even a good idea today.  Call me a nutjob, but there is no way I am about to 'experiment' with this idea.  I keep going back to the expert's writeup that I posted from the Turbo Diesel web site magazine.

But if others want to dabble with their engine in this manners, so be it.  
Me ... I think more of my vehicles and try to not do anything that may cause problems.  Heavens knows, we have enough of that in the country (America) these days.  "A good engine is like a good wife ... so take care of both of them." my daddy used to say.

Too bad that Mr. Kmetz from that website couldn't add more to this discussion from his analysis and background.

The article is expansive, but the salient points are within these brief paragraphs ...

A lot of old-time mechanics added some gasoline to diesel to supposedly clean the carbon deposits out of the cylinders. I have never read anything that said it worked. Gasoline will make the fuel burn hotter, and hotter burning fuels burn cleaner. That’s probably where the theory got started. In the older diesel engines that belched lots of black smoke even when properly tuned, the result of adding gasoline was probably more white smoke instead of black. This might lead one to believe the engine was running cleaner. Maybe so, probably not. Here’s what happens.

Gasoline will raise the combustion temperature. This might or might not reduce carbon deposits in the cylinder. This also might or might not overheat the injector nozzle enough to cause coking on the nozzle. That’s a clogged injector tip in layman’s terms. The fuel being injected is the only thing that cools the nozzle. Diesel fuel has a lower combustion temperature than gasoline. The fuel injectors depend on the fuel burning at the correct rate and temperature for a long life. If the combustion temperature is raised long enough, the gums and varnishes in gasoline will start to cook right in the fuel injector and turn into carbon. These microscopic carbon particles will abrade the nozzle. High combustion temperatures alone will shorten fuel injector life, gasoline makes the problem worse.

Gasoline and alcohols do have an anti-gel effect on diesel fuel, but these fuels are too thin and will hurt the lubricity. Alcohols work as a water dispersant in small amounts, but also attract water in large amounts. Diesel fuel is already hydrophilic (attracts water) so why add to the problem. The old timers got away with this because high sulfur diesel fuel had enough lubricity to take some thinning. Today’s low sulfur diesel fuels have adequate lubricity, but I wouldn’t put anything in the tank that would thin out the fuel, reduce lubricity, or attract water.

I came across this in the past as well.  Can't recall now ... but did save it ....
Gasoline and alcohols do have an anti-gel effect on diesel fuel, but these fuels are too thin and will hurt the lubricity. Alcohols work as a water dispersant in small amounts, but also attract water in large amounts. Diesel fuel is already hydrophilic(attracts water) so why add to the problem. The old timers got away with this because high sulfur diesel fuel had enough lubricity to take some thinning. Today’s low sulfur diesel fuels have adequate lubricity, but I wouldn’t put anything in the tank that would thin out the fuel, reduce lubricity, or attract water.