chris1372

My dear partner put diesel in our WRX and drove off until it broke down. "I wondered way I couldn't get the hose in, it took me ages to dribble £5 in".

The local garage cleaned the whole system out, change filters etc. When we got the car back the turbo wasn't working, we took it back and they said the turbo had gone. We didn't believe them and hence took to the Subaru dealers we normally get the car serviced at, and they confirmed the turbo had gone.

The garage's explanation was the diesel had broken the CAT, and this had got into the turbo. I thought this is a little strange at the time. I finally heard yesterday that the insurance company are refusing to pay out, having had the claim 4 months (directline).

Anyone any ideas on how filling with diesel would cause the turbo to go?

JohnD

iTrader: (5)

Being a WRX you have a cat in the up-pipe. If this has broken up, the next port of call is the turbo, so it's likely that the impellor blades have been damaged and/or jammed. I'm wondering in that case if there could be further problems eg lambda sensor, 2nd cat etc. I hope it's not the case but the knock-on effect could prove expensive.
I'd take her Chrissie pressie back if I were you
JohnD

harvey

iTrader: (48)

I am a bit sceptical but open to other opinions or knowledge.
Why would a mix of petrol and deizle cause catalytic convertor to disintigrate.
If debris has entered the turbo, the damage will be clearly evident on the exhaust turbine etc.
Get the turbo to a local specialist or someone you can trust.
Has a pipe been left off or similar???
Where are you located?

Houghton

iTrader: (1)

A friend of mine put petrol into his Kia diesel and wrecked the fuel system seals. Cost a few thousand to fix and he claimed successfully from his insurance co. as it was done 'accidentally'.

simb 2

iTrader: (3)

Im surprised the insurance co are not playing ball, i'd give them another call and speak to someone else who has a bit more experience.

simb

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Not being funny, but i'm a bit fed up with paying sky high insurance premiums, especially when people make a claim for being a bit 'dim' and putting the wrong fuel in their car!
Take it on the chin, and pay for it yourself!

Nick Read

LOL well it is a bit stupid and I can't see how the insurance company should have to pay for it, but that's another issue. What I can't work out is why on earth there should have been any effect on the cat and the turbo? It would be the fuel system and engine internals that would suffer from diesel, not the exhaust system.

Andy.F

Diesel will not burn in a petrol engine as it does in a CI engine, this would result in raw fuel passing through the exhaust on to the cat. Inside the cat an exothermic reaction takes place (generates heat) this in combination with potential combustion of the diesel coating could cause overheating.

I have not seen this happen but can 'in theory' see how it could.

Andy

chief-long-shin

I made the same mistake putting in about £5 of diesel into my tank a few days ago. I spoke to a few garages and following their advice i've been diluting like hell at every opportunity.

First day or two it was running a bit lumpy, now gone through nearly one whole tank and i tried boosting it.

Its pulling and the turbo is spooling but its not 100% at the min. I'm assuming this will get better in a tank or twos time once i've managed to flush nearly all the **** out.


(He says touch wood)

Only had it push out a little bit of white smoke twice. I'm just hoping it all comes out, most people i've spoke to think it well, i'm just hoping the two fluids dont seperate in the tank.

What a *** i am !

Houghton

iTrader: (1)

Interesting thread this as, a week or so ago, PS Lewis was advocating using diesel as an upper cylinder lubricant. He'll probably be along shortly to say it's the best thing you could have done

T-uk

could the car be in limp mode?

I'm with harvey on this and would think andy's at the extreme worst case example.

harvey

iTrader: (48)

Houghton :
Petrol into a deisel and then running it will cause a lot of damage but putting deizle in to a petrol is quite different. I understand exactly what Andy is saying but I do not agree it will cause permanent damage AS DESCRIBED ABOVE. My concern is that they are having your trousers down. Get your hands on your turbo and have it examined by someone other than the dealer doing the repair. I cannot logically see how you have damaged the turbo and I would be interested to see your turbo and hear a damage assessment from a COMPETANT independant assessor. ie. not some tame pussycat that just accepts what a dealer says.

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

ANd even if you do put some diesel into your petrol tank, and teh car appears to drive fine.

CHECK YOUR OIL !!!! Ive seen where people have done this, and the diesel must found its way into the sump as it didnt burn in the combustion chamber.

The car in question was a 1.3 Escort, first thing we noticed was the oil light was coming on at idle. We dipped it, and the dipstick was way over filled.

When we drained it, there must have been an extra 1.5-2 litre of fluid in the sump, and it sure wasnt all oil !!!!!

birtywrx

as the cat is after the turbo and the only way is out the back, how can it get in the turbo? even the cat in the up pipe is after the turbo???!!!

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

01+ WRX, which is what all UK Turbos were called, have a cat in the up-pipe, before the turbo.

pugoetru

I find it hard to believe that a small amount of diesel can damage a turbo or cat so quickly i think they are bending you over too

I agree that in theory it could damage the cat but if she only put £5 worth in as your post suggests then this is next to nothing when mixed with what is already in your tank probably 50/50 mix at worst

I have over the years drained diesel from petrol cars and vice versa for silly people and the cars always ran fine after a few tanks of the right fuel

good luck getting it fixed anyway