Friarton: Petrol in a Diesel Car? Here Is What Happens
Whatever you do, never switch your engine on, even for a moment, to shift the car. Stop; leave it off. The next few minutes decide it far more than anything else: petrol in a diesel that has not run usually comes down to draining and purging, right there. Here's the order of things from here, wherever you're in Friarton.
Engine off: minute one with petrol in a diesel
Do the following before anything else, in this sequence.
- Take the keys out. Even the ignition by itself can prime the fuel system, drawing petrol out of the tank to precisely the parts it damages, so leave the vehicle alone entirely.
- A fuller tank of the same mixture is all adding diesel gives you, since it removes nothing. So no extra diesel.
- Near moving traffic? Then the hazards go on before anything else, so the vehicle is simple to spot.
- By hand, never on the engine: that's how it leaves the pump. Ask the forecourt attendants to help you push, however short the distance.
- Hold on to the till receipt. It says which fuel got in plus about how much, which is the first thing we will ask.
If you were still on the move when you noticed, stop somewhere sensible rather than pushing on for the services — on the M90, under a mile from Friarton, that means the next junction. Step one follows.
Friarton fuel drain: has your engine run yet, or not?
From this stage on, everything comes down to a single answer.
If the motor hasn't run at all:
- Only that tank has petrol in it for now.
- Where the car stands is usually where this work happens: a drain, then a flush.
- Step one matters for precisely this reason: it is the best place to be in.
If it's been started, even for a second:
- Out of that tank, through the fuel filter, into the lines: that's how far that petrol has travelled.
- Run it farther and the petrol reaches the fuel injectors, having gone through the pump first.
- Distance is what turns it into a bigger job: the lines flushed, a filter seen to, and at times further work.
The line falls there because diesel lubricates the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors on its way through them — and petrol doesn't. Nothing is damaged by petrol that is just resting in a tank. Petrol being pumped is wearing the parts that shift it.
Calling about petrol in a diesel from Friarton: what to have ready
A little preparation is the difference between a technician that finds you and a technician that goes round.
- The ideal place to start is a postcode — one starting PH2 8 — for where you are.
- A road name helps: Cromlix Road, say, or whichever street you've stopped in. A car park does the trick too.
- Or the landmark. A car park is easier to find by what it serves, like the one at Tesco.
- Tell us what the car is — make, model — and check it's diesel.
- Tell us which got in — petrol or AdBlue — since AdBlue is a separate job, with a page of its own for Friarton.
- Roughly how much — in litres from the receipt, or by how long the nozzle was in.
- Whether it has run. Then if it has, how far and how heavily.
- Whose car it is. Some hire or company contracts want the owner to approve this work, and that's quicker settled before our engineers arrive than after.
Then phone 0333 366 0103. If it can wait — the vehicle is at home with going nowhere — works as well.
Whilst you wait for a fuel drain in Friarton
Stick to these: well-intended help does the harm during the wait.
- Wait with your car if it is safe where it is — but if it has stopped somewhere unsafe, you come first: away from the traffic, waiting apart from it.
- Nobody starts it. Not a passer-by being kind, not to check it is all right, not to roll it a few yards.
- No additives. Two-stroke oil, injector cleaner, something from your boot — none of it gets that petrol back out.
- Siphoning petrol into a can at the kerbside is dangerous — and it also leaves whatever fuel has already gone beyond the tank. Do not drain it yourself.
- Leave the ignition off — the windows and the radio included.
The fuel drain, step by step, once our van gets there
- First, three queries: which fuel got in, the amount, and has it run? Those answers set the job, so the price follows them.
- Out of the tank comes the tainted blend: your tank is cleared.
- Flushing the lines follows, because a vehicle that ran has petrol past the tank, inside the lines themselves.
- The filter is sorted. Cleared, or replaced where the car has a workable one.
- Fresh diesel in, and the fuel system primed.
- First start on fresh diesel. Once bleeding is complete, the motor is fired up and we make sure that it runs smoothly.
Your car has new diesel running through it before we head off. If it has been caught early, permanent damage is very rare, and your car goes back to normal driving right away.
Friarton, after the fuel drain: back on the road
- Started on new diesel, it needs nothing special of you. Simply drive normally.
- Give the first miles your attention. Smoke showing, a warning light coming on, your idle going lumpy or the throttle hesitating: pull over then ring us back.
- The documents answers the question a rental company, fleet manager or insurer may ask: what work was carried out. Keep it.
- Read the label on the pump next time, not the colour of the handle.
About Friarton and where it is
Friarton is a suburban area located on the riverside in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, with a relatively low elevation of 12 metres. Friarton sits close to the city of Perth, approximately 1.3 miles away, and is near other nearby places such as Moncreiffe and Scoonieburn. Friarton has a population of around 1792 people and predominantly consists of flat-type housing. Friarton is situated in a scenic area, with the River Tay flowing nearby.
Fuel drains round Friarton and beyond
Petrol in diesel call-outs around Friarton and in Moncreiffe, Scoonieburn or Upper Craigie all go to the same teams, which reach most of Perth and Kinross as well. If you are near a boundary or somewhere hard to describe, ring and ask and not assuming.
Petrol in a diesel anywhere around Perth and Kinross? Off, then ring
Keys out, motor off, the receipt in your pocket: that is step one done. The remainder is for Petrol in Diesel, wherever the car is — forecourt, roadside or drive.