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Rippley · 08-02-2005, 05:23 AM

Ok, I got curious, and did a little looking.

Here: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdieselvsgas.html

Below is an excerpt of the article:
"What happens when you use gasoline in a diesel engine? Either something expensive or something very expensive. Since gasoline is designed to be resistant to self-ignition, gasoline in a diesel engine either won't ignite or will ignite at the wrong time. Some diesel engines run leaner than gasoline engines (meaning that the air-fuel mix has a higher proportion of air than a gasoline engine). That increases the chances that the gasoline won't ignite and that unburnt fuel will be sent into the hot exhaust system--where, ironically, it could ignite, leading to possible exhaust damage. Even if you avoid that disaster, you can expect to pay $500 to drain the fuel tank, clean out the fuel lines, and refill the tank with diesel.

Some types of diesel engine use the diesel fuel as a lubricant for the fuel pump (remember, it's a fuel oil). It's said that running gasoline through such a pump could lead to serious damage or failure, turning a $500 repair into a $750-$1,250 one.

Trying to use diesel fuel in a gasoline engine also has unpleasant consequences, but generally not as dire in terms of damage to the fuel system. Depending on the proportion of diesel fuel relative to gas in the tank, a gasoline engine will either run poorly or stop altogether, necessitating another $500 trip to the repair shop for draining and flushing. A couple of old grease monkeys at the shop I used to work at claimed that their "super high-compression" gasoline engines of the late 1960s could easily switch between gasoline and diesel fuel with no problems, but I tend to think they spent too much time inhaling fumes from the carburetor cleaning tank."

08-02-2005, 05:23 AM	#7 (permalink)
Rippley Insane	Ok, I got curious, and did a little looking. Here: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdieselvsgas.html Below is an excerpt of the article: "What happens when you use gasoline in a diesel engine? Either something expensive or something very expensive. Since gasoline is designed to be resistant to self-ignition, gasoline in a diesel engine either won't ignite or will ignite at the wrong time. Some diesel engines run leaner than gasoline engines (meaning that the air-fuel mix has a higher proportion of air than a gasoline engine). That increases the chances that the gasoline won't ignite and that unburnt fuel will be sent into the hot exhaust system--where, ironically, it could ignite, leading to possible exhaust damage. Even if you avoid that disaster, you can expect to pay $500 to drain the fuel tank, clean out the fuel lines, and refill the tank with diesel. Some types of diesel engine use the diesel fuel as a lubricant for the fuel pump (remember, it's a fuel oil). It's said that running gasoline through such a pump could lead to serious damage or failure, turning a $500 repair into a $750-$1,250 one. Trying to use diesel fuel in a gasoline engine also has unpleasant consequences, but generally not as dire in terms of damage to the fuel system. Depending on the proportion of diesel fuel relative to gas in the tank, a gasoline engine will either run poorly or stop altogether, necessitating another $500 trip to the repair shop for draining and flushing. A couple of old grease monkeys at the shop I used to work at claimed that their "super high-compression" gasoline engines of the late 1960s could easily switch between gasoline and diesel fuel with no problems, but I tend to think they spent too much time inhaling fumes from the carburetor cleaning tank." __________________ roadrazer - 300kgs, 300hp = pure fun.