Put Petrol in a Diesel Ford Ranger?
Anyone who has put petrol in a diesel Ford Ranger without starting the motor ought to keep it switched off, and not run it even to roll it off the petrol pump. With the motor kept off, the petrol remains where it is in the tank, and in most cases a drain is all your Ranger needs.
Your Ford Ranger can be left wherever it has stopped, forecourt included, since Petrol in Diesel drains misfuelled cars where they are. Hold off trying anything yourself until you've phoned us, and we will tell you what to do.
Got petrol in a diesel Ranger? What to do first
- Leave the engine off. Any diesel Ranger will normally start and run with petrol inside its tank, and it can feel normal for a couple of miles, which is why motorists frequently drive away without noticing something is amiss.
- Fuel can be pulled to the injectors even before the motor has fired, since on a lot of diesel engines the ignition on its own primes the fuel pump. Leave your ignition off too.
- Your Ranger takes up to 80 litres, so filling the rest of your tank with diesel to weaken that petrol simply leaves more contaminated fuel to empty out. The same goes for super unleaded, which counts as petrol as well.
- When your vehicle is in the way of a pump, put it in neutral and roll the vehicle out of the way. Forecourt attendants are usually happy to help with that.
- When you ring 0333 366 0103, we need to know which Ranger you have, where it is parked, how much petrol you think went in and whether the engine has been started. The precise version helps too if it's on the badging, for instance the Ranger 2.5 TDCi Einzelkabine.
Driven your vehicle with wrong fuel in your Ford Ranger?
Wrong fuel in your Ford Ranger only begins to affect the engine once it's drawn out of your tank, which is exactly what starting your motor does. The high-pressure fuel pump and the injectors on a diesel motor are oiled by the fuel passing through them. That protection is washed away as soon as petrol thins your diesel, so the damage, where there is any, is down to driving on that mixture.
If you've already driven your Ranger, pull over in a safe place then turn off. All the same, we can get all the tainted fuel out, by emptying your tank and then cleaning your fuel pipes and the filter. Very few vehicles that are caught soon and cleaned out properly end up with long-term damage.
That applies to the Ranger 2.5 TDCi Doublecab just as much as every other version of the Ranger.
Your Ford Ranger fuel tank capacity, version by version
The size of your tank counts as the risk rests on what share of your fuel in it is petrol, so the same couple of litres are more of a problem if your tank was close to empty when you filled up.
According to the variant, the Ford Ranger has a tank of 70 to 80 litres.
The smallest fuel tank in our figures is on the Ranger 3.0 TDCi Doppelkabine, and the biggest is on the Ranger 2.2 TDCi Einzelkabine.
The tank on the Ranger 2.5 TDCi Extracab holds 70 litres.
| Version | Fuel tank |
|---|---|
| Ford Ranger 2.2 TDCi Doppelkabine | 80 litres |
| Ford Ranger 2.2 TDCi Einzelkabine | 80 litres |
| Ford Ranger 2.2 TDCi Extrakabine | 80 litres |
| Ford Ranger 2.5 TD Einzelkabine | 70 litres |
| Ford Ranger 2.5 TDCi Doppelkabine | 70 litres |
| Ford Ranger 2.5 TDCi Doublecab | 70 litres |
| Ford Ranger 2.5 TDCi Einzelkabine | 70 litres |
| Ford Ranger 2.5 TDCi Extracab | 70 litres |
| Ford Ranger 2.5 TDCi Extrakabine | 70 litres |
| Ford Ranger 3.0 TDCi Doppelkabine | 70 litres |
| Ford Ranger TD | 70 litres |
| Ford Ranger TD 4x4 Doppelkabine | 70 litres |
What diesel Ranger do you drive?
Check the badge on your boot lid, which normally gives the variant, and let us know what it says when you ring.
The diesel models of the Ranger have been labelled TDCi and TD.
The Ranger 2.5 TD Einzelkabine is badged TD, whilst the commonest badge on our list is TDCi.
You will also find 4x4 versions in the list.
When there is AdBlue in a diesel Ford Ranger
Water and urea go into AdBlue, which some diesel vehicles rely on to clean up the exhaust. It is kept in a tank of its own, with its own filler. If there's AdBlue in a diesel Ford Ranger since it went into the wrong filler, don't turn the key, even to move your vehicle.
Because it's largely water, AdBlue does not ignite and gives the fuel pump no lubrication whatsoever. It does not blend with diesel either, so it drops to the bottom of your tank where the pump picks up its fuel, and a tank holding up to 80 litres won't dilute it the way it would dilute petrol.
Even a small amount gets pulled into your fuel line. As the water evaporates, the urea crystallises within the system, including the filter and injectors, and it eats into the metal it sits against.
Look under the fuel flap where the Ranger has an AdBlue filler, since on a lot of cars it is right next to your diesel filler. A blue lid and a nozzle far smaller than diesel usually pick out the AdBlue filler.
Fuel drain on your Ford Ranger: how we do it
Moving your vehicle to a garage is not needed, as a fuel drain on your Ford Ranger is done right at the vehicle. We start by checking what was put in and whether the motor has run, then drain your tank, which on the Ranger takes up to 80 litres. Next we clean the fuel lines and the fuel filter and refill with clean diesel, and your system is primed before we fire it up.
In the Ranger TD 4x4 Doppelkabine the tank holds 70 litres.
Clean diesel is what your Ranger is running on by the time we've finished, and you are free to drive it away.
Handling AdBlue removal from a diesel Ford Ranger
AdBlue removal from a diesel Ford Ranger uses the same steps as a petrol drain. AdBlue settles at the base of your tank instead of mixing in, and if the Ranger has been run it may leave deposits inside the lines, so we rinse those through as well and change your fuel filter if it needs doing.
What we call AdBlue removal is draining AdBlue from the diesel tank after a slip at your filler, not taking out or disabling the AdBlue system on a vehicle.
A fuel drain on the Ford Ranger: the cost
We don't publish a fixed price, because the work varies from one task to the next. These are the chief factors that change it:
- whether anyone has started or driven the Ranger, the thing that matters most
- the size of your tank, set against how much was put in
- what went in, petrol or AdBlue
- whether the van can safely reach the Ranger where it sits
Topping the Ranger 2.5 TDCi Doppelkabine right up takes 70 litres, as a comparison.
We can tell you what this work will probably need once you ring with those details.
Your queries on petrol in a diesel Ford Ranger
Your Ford Ranger fuel tank capacity: how many litres?
It varies with the variant, from 70 to 80 litres, and every one is shown in the table above.
Does topping up with diesel help with a little petrol in my Ranger?
We wouldn't advise it. Adding diesel reduces the share of petrol without removing any of it, so the petrol is still in the system when you drive off. All of it is removed with a drain, which for a modest amount is generally everything the Ranger requires.
Should my Ranger go to the Ford dealer?
You do not have to. We have no connection with Ford or any of its dealers, being independent, and your Ranger is emptied and cleaned where you are.
Which Ranger I have: does it make a difference?
It helps us to know which one you have when you ring, since we have data for 12 diesel versions of the Ranger.
Is wrong fuel in my Ford Ranger covered by my insurance?
We'll still come out to empty it for you, covered or not. Look at your insurance all the same, since not every policy includes misfuelling cover.
Diesel in the AdBlue tank of my Ranger: what happens?
Keep your key out of the ignition in that case too. If it's driven like that, a vehicle will normally display an alert and enter limp mode. The AdBlue system needs draining as well. Do say which tank took the fuel when you phone.
Already driven my Ranger: what do I do?
Stop where it's safe and switch the motor off, then keep it off till we arrive. Permanent harm is very unusual when it is caught early like this, and we drain the system and clean it where you've pulled over.