i never thought it would happen to me

[ricosuave]

well, i never thought it would happen to me but...

stopped off at the local pump after going to the gym.

told the guy "diesel max" and went to rummage for my wallet.  was gone a lot longer than i should have been.

came up around 5 min later to discover that the diesel hose hadnt moved.

went to the fill side just as he was wrapping it up - said "dear god, please tell me you didnt just put in gas"  oops.  found out it was his first day too.  guess he didnt see the "diesel only" stickers all over the fill area.

did not start it, had it towed to a shop where they drained the tank.  they then cleaned it with some sort of flush.  they also blew out the lines and wanted to replace the filter, even though it wasnt started.  i got a new filter, but kept the old one (about 3 months old) in.

turned it over, and it was a touch smoky for a minute or so, and the idle/rev were a touch erratic.  i then realized the mechanic was bleeding air from the filter drain, which explained the erratic idle.

after all the bubbles were out of the line, and everything was tight, it idled fine, and the smoke was gone after the first min or two.

got the full tank of diesel, a new filter, 1 litre of atf (which i had just put in moments before) and a 1 litre jug of kleen diesel additive.  oh, and the towing and shop charges were covered as well.

took her out and about, from city to highway driving, and all seems ok.  i have to add a bit of addititive soon though...

whew.

next time i'm pumping my own dammit.

rico

[ricosuave]

So I went out to start it this morning, its about 10 C.

The car fired right up, albeit a little roughly, and with billows of grey/white smoke.  Keep in mind that when I usually start up, i have to use the cold start handle to settle the idle from running so roughly, but it didnt smoke at all.

The smoke continued for as long as I allowed it (30 seconds) then I pulled the handle out, and the idle smoothed, and the smoke went away.

When I spoke with VW service yesterday, the guy advised me to not be too worried, that the car will likely smoke for a short while while to gets all that gas residual out of the system.

What are your thoughts on long term effects (or short term for that matter)?  With winter coming, I'm a little paranoid.

Thanks,
rico

[RAMMSTEIN]

That's why I always pump my own.

With a 95 litres tank, I want it full, no "stop when it clicks" bs.

If you didn't start it, the engine should be alright.

If you can run biodiesel, it wouldn't hurt.

Like a tank or 2.

Bio really cleans the system out.

[Cheesetoast]

The owners manual of my 93 golf states that i can run %20 gasoline mixture.  Not that i would.  I don't think you car is hurt.  Mine always starts cold and bellows some smoke for 5 seconds or so.  Could be dirty injectors or air in the fuel line i've been told.

[ricosuave]

well, i kept the original filter in place, its practically new (3 months old) and i figured that it would be best to filter as much crap as i could because of this, and change it out with a new one after any issues were sorted.

ill see how it is every morning.  we just went to a mall, and the start there was fine, and drivability is fine too.  i was just surprised to see that much smoke this am (it was definately from the gas, i could smell it, and the car has NEVER smoked at all like that before this incident)  i just hope that cold starting gets better, and i dont have to see this all the time now.

im sure there is some residual left in the tank.

anyone know of any biodiesel places near calgary?  or failing that, a particular brand of fuel or additive to use while im working this crud through?

thanks,
rico

[fspGTD]

You dealt with this responsibly.  It was a very, very good decision not to drive the car with the gasoline with it, like most people probably would have tried doing!  By draining the tank and even blowing out the lines, etc you should have very little residual gasoline in the system.  It may take a tank or two to get it completely out but the owner's manuals of the older IDI VW Diesels do state that they can be run with some percentage of gas, so I think you are OK.  You might want to put in some stanadyne to ensure there is full lubricity of the fuel if you are looking for something else pro-active to do to add a little bit of "insurance", but not strictly necessary either!

[ricosuave]

well i feel better anyway.  with each passing minute and km!

its a 97 jetta td 1.9 idi

thanks for the reassurance.

rico