What are the consequences of running a gasoline car with diesel for several dozen kilometers?
2 Answers
Adding diesel to a gasoline engine can cause premature ignition of the diesel in the cylinders, leading to engine knocking and significant damage to engine components. Additionally, diesel may clog the gasoline injectors, resulting in fuel supply failure. The details are as follows: 1. Premature ignition of diesel in gasoline engines: Gasoline and diesel have different ignition points. Diesel ignites at around 220°C, while gasoline ignites at approximately 427°C. Therefore, adding diesel to a gasoline engine can cause premature ignition, leading to engine knocking and severe damage to engine parts. 2. Solution: Immediately stop the engine and call for a tow truck. Do not continue driving to avoid further damage to the engine. Once at the repair shop, the diesel in the fuel tank and fuel lines should be completely drained, and the fuel system should be thoroughly cleaned with gasoline. Finally, check if the engine has sustained any damage. If not, the vehicle can be returned to normal use.
A fellow car enthusiast I met last time made this mistake, and running a gasoline car on diesel for dozens of kilometers is no small matter. Diesel is more viscous than gasoline and simply doesn’t burn cleanly, causing the fuel injectors and spark plugs to immediately get clogged with black carbon deposits—like using low-quality ink to block a pen tip, damaging the engine. The worst part is that diesel has poor lubricity, causing insufficient lubrication that can scratch the piston rings and cylinder walls, resulting in noticeably intermittent power while driving. When taken to the repair shop and disassembled, the spark plug electrodes in all three cylinders were completely coated in carbon deposits, turning into lumps of coal, while the rubber seals in the fuel pump had swollen and deformed from soaking in diesel. A major engine overhaul—replacing piston rings, cleaning the fuel system, and changing the fuel injectors—cost him over 8,000 yuan, a painfully expensive lesson. So always double-check the fuel grade when refueling, and if you accidentally fill up with the wrong fuel, shut off the engine immediately and call for a tow truck—that’s the right way to handle it.
