2 questions about Diesel in U.S.A.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by maxhifi

Diesel fuel pumps have a slightly wider spout so won't fit into a gasoline car's fuel filler.

At least some gas-powered cars can accommodate a diesel spout. I've heard of people filling their gas tank with diesel, one car being a late-model Crapolla. The owner was only able to drive a couple of blocks before the stuff got into the engine and wouldn't ignite. Once the diesel had been pumped out and the car was running again it was smoking like it had a bad head gasket.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

At least some gas-powered cars can accommodate a diesel spout. I've heard of people filling their gas tank with diesel, one car being a late-model Crapolla. The owner was only able to drive a couple of blocks before the stuff got into the engine and wouldn't ignite. Once the diesel had been pumped out and the car was running again it was smoking like it had a bad head gasket.

IIRC all classic cars that used leaded gas had fill spouts that could accommodate a Diesel nozzle...Sandy G posted a hilarious tale about making that mistake way back in the day...Apparently, carborated cars can take a good portion of their tanks being filled with diesel and still begrudgingly manage to run.

[maxhifi]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

At least some gas-powered cars can accommodate a diesel spout. I've heard of people filling their gas tank with diesel, one car being a late-model Crapolla. The owner was only able to drive a couple of blocks before the stuff got into the engine and wouldn't ignite. Once the diesel had been pumped out and the car was running again it was smoking like it had a bad head gasket.

The other way around is potentially much worse - I had a girlfriend who filled her Dad's Diesel Jetta with gasoline, luckily the car figured it out and shut down before anything got damaged... he was furious at her! It had to be towed to VW, fuel tank drained, engine cleaned out.. I think he paid $400 to have it fixed. I am always careful not to do it with my Toyota, it would be a fast way to ruin the engine!

As for running carbureted cars on diesel.. never did that, but if you want to troubleshoot an exhaust leak on an old car without a catalytic converter, one thing you can do is put a vacuum hose into a cup of engine oil.. it sucks it right into the engine and makes the car smoke like crazy.. drawing attention to the exhaust leak. I think a modern car with sensors and stuff could be damaged by this practice, but it didn't seem to harm my old 69 ford.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

IIRC all classic cars that used leaded gas had fill spouts that could accommodate a Diesel nozzle...Sandy G posted a hilarious tale about making that mistake way back in the day...Apparently, carborated cars can take a good portion of their tanks being filled with diesel and still begrudgingly manage to run.

If I recall correctly it was a 1976 Cutlass. Gas-powered cars that will actually run with diesel in the tank will smoke like a tire fire. On the flip side, according to something I saw on TV (Mythbusters I think) only a modern vehicle will run reasonably well on hi-po hooch that would be poisonous to drink.

Originally Posted by maxhifi

The other way around is potentially much worse - I had a girlfriend who filled her Dad's Diesel Jetta with gasoline, luckily the car figured it out and shut down before anything got damaged... he was furious at her! It had to be towed to VW, fuel tank drained, engine cleaned out.. I think he paid $400 to have it fixed. I am always careful not to do it with my Toyota, it would be a fast way to ruin the engine!

As for running carbureted cars on diesel.. never did that, but if you want to troubleshoot an exhaust leak on an old car without a catalytic converter, one thing you can do is put a vacuum hose into a cup of engine oil.. it sucks it right into the engine and makes the car smoke like crazy.. drawing attention to the exhaust leak. I think a modern car with sensors and stuff could be damaged by this practice, but it didn't seem to harm my old 69 ford.

Yes, gasoline's much lower ignition point would likely grenade the engine in short order. Must have knackered the car's computer settings as well. With diesel in a modern gas car one can just disconnect the line under the hood and hook the pump directly to the battery or a charger and pump the diesel out. Got to use a meter for that part to see which two wires go ~12 volts for a couple of seconds when you turn the key on; don't want to hook up to the sending unit and burn it out. Then, re-fill the tank with gas, turn the pump back on and flush the system through. Finally, plug the pump back in, re-connect the line under the hood, hold the gas pedal half way down and crank 'er.

I'd say you're right about the test you described. I reckon the worst thing that could come out of doing that to a classic car is attracting the fire department. Personally I'd rather use some kind of sensor like the gas company does; being around that much smoke would probably be like being near someone who's trying to get high off hemp.