The ol' petrol in a diesel trick

[Steveo_the_Devo]

They say pride always comes before a fall...

I remember reading all the threads here a couple of weeks ago about the poor souls who had filled their diesels engines up with petrol... not going to happen to me I said.
Alas, boss lady calls me up yesterday and tells me the car won't start. She had filled up the tanks to the brim with petrol and driven 5km to the local supermarket, where it then refused to start (Me: 'you did WHAT??'). It was her birthday too!

So now all the confusion starts.
1. I recheck all the threads here - plan is to drop the petrol out, replace the filters and go on my merry way
2. I call Nissan and they confirm the plan as above, in fact, they did this to a Patrol with same issue just this morning
3. I talk to my 4WD club mechanics and they all agree with point 1 & 2
4. I talk to my local diesel specialist 4WD crew (who seem to be generally well respected around these parts) and they say... ball park $10k, you've probably destroyed the injectors and pump. Could be more damage cause you drove it but we won't know till we start pulling it apart. Apparently they 'see this all the time'
5. So, I ring insurance company and they say, 'yep, we'll cover that for you' - basic excess is $650.

So now I have the conundrum. Do I drop out the fuel and change filters myself and take the risk that there could other issues (injectors, pump etc)? Or go for the insurance option for the repair?

If I go insurance it will definitely cost me $650 or I could do it myself for free (already have a filter) but don't want to do it and find that other things are stuffed and not have the insurance option. I'm leaning towards the insurance option as I'm well and truly spooked now! What do you reckon?

[93patrol]

go with the insurance option if you IMO and ask the diesel mech to have a little play with the new pump.
cant be too careful with these newer diesels.

[Lonicus]

If the diesel mechs are saying it's damaged, just the extent is unknown, then I'd be giving it to the insurers. As soon as you touch it they may then have an excuse not to cover you if it does in fact need more than just a new filter.

[threedogs]

M2cW is go insurance, looks like peeling back an onion to me, cover your butt I say

[Steveo_the_Devo]

yeah, I think insurance is sensible thing to do - just need to wait now for the assessor to come and have a look. Rather pay $650 than $10k - but prefer to not pay anything at all!

[Winnie]

I'd go insurance too. You just never know, you'd be kicking yourself if you try to fix it yourself and like you said more damage comes later.

[Lieney]

Ask insurance if they will cover you down the track (in writing) if you drain, refill it and replace the filters etc. If they won't, I'd go insurance too.
IF they will and you have it in writing with a letterhead and signature etc, then I'd swap out filters etc.
Petrol is not a real good lubricant, and diesel has those properties, so this may have caused some increased wear; although I reckon it is minimal.
Talk to a reputable mechanic mate who can do an insurance re-build and what insurance will cover. This will get you piece of mind, and like 93patrol said, it may need a few tweeks to make it work properly and ensure the torque you require is available.
GOod luck

[grimace]

just my 2 cents, i was working with a bloke that drives a bobcat. he filled up his fuel tank with petrol (one of those tanks that most cotract mechine drivers have) anyway he filled the tank of the bobcat which had about 1/4 tank of deisel still in it and then drove it for most of the day. it was running crook and blowing smoke but the funny thing was he also put the remaining juice into his his you bute and it did the same thing. all we did then was drain both tranks and replaced with deisel and both ran fine, no changing filters just drained and there was no problem. in saying this $650 sounds like a sweet deal to redo the entire fuel injection system so like the guys say if the insurance will cover it i wouldn't hesitate.

[jack]

Agree go the insurance option, peace of mind down the track. Actually good to know that insurance will cover this, I wonder how many others have done this and weren't aware they could claim.

[happygu]

Steve, if yours is one of the ones getting poor fuel consumption, then I would definitely go with the insurance option getting the rail and injectors changed out....

There are reports of those with poor economy rates having their system changed out, and then getting great figures.

If yours is one of the ones that is OK on fuel, then this may cloud the issue for you, as there are a few others who have done the same thing, drained the fuel, cleared out the lines, refilled with diesel, primed up, and all is OK.......still going strong thousands of Klm's later. You may end up unlucky and then have one with low power and economy issues

It depends on what risk you want to take.....

Mic

[Steveo_the_Devo]

Thanks guys.

Yeah Mic I am a bit hesitant as my fuel economy is reasonable - have averaged 14l/100km since new including lots of towing & a trip to the centre. I am a bit worried that this will actually make my fuel economy WORSE! We've tracked every tank since new in an iPhone app so it will be pretty obvious if the fuel economy jumps up after this.

I have a feeling that we could drain & it would be fine but I guess $650 is not bad considering the risks/costs of a fuel system replacement.

To be honest I was surprised that insurance covered it. I rang them up expecting them to say no. He had to check with the supervisor but essentially it came down to -'your policy doesn't say that incorrect fuel is excluded, therefore we will cover it'. I wouldn't be surprised to find that this sort of exclusion clause starts getting written into insurance policies in future.

[cossy]

Hi Steveo Who do you have your insurance with?

[Steveo_the_Devo]

NRMA ... go figure, who knew they were decent!

[jack]

I checked with Alliance and they also cover it, good to know (not that I intend doing it).