All,

Went to the gas station last night in NY and the attendant accidentally pumped 3 gallons of gas into my 1991 F-350 7.3 IDI rear tank, i already had about 5 gallons of diesel in there, so then he topped it off with diesel, and i had him fill the front tank with diesel and i have run off my front tank.

Im out of town on work and have no where to work on the truck if needed as im staying in a hotel.

Will the 3 gallons of gas in my rear tank cause me a problem mixed with the diesel?

Is there anything i can add, someone told me add some motor oil, someone else said add some transmission fluid, i didn't want to do anything till i talked to the people here since i trust your opinions here.

please let me know what i can do? I hate using my front tank cause the fuel gauge doesn't work for the front tank so i don't know how much i have.

please let me know if i can do anything

Thanks in advance,

Dave

 

I would take it to a shop and charge the fuel station.

Don't know if 3 gallons of gas will hurt it or not but I wouldn't take the chance. If you haven't pumped fuel out of that tank you can just have it drained and refilled. There might be an additive someone else might know of

 

I had that happen once. I advise you NOT to run that tank of fuel. I siphoned what I could and bought a chepo electric pump. I hooked electric pump where the rubber hose is at the mechanical pump. Pump until dry then swap tanks and pump until diesel from good tank comes out of line. Then fill tank with diesel. This will get most gas out without dropping tank. Mine ran fine and Is still on the road today.

 

Unfortunately, you have about ten gallons of gas+Diesel mix in your tank that will have to go. I remember reading about these blends on the net, and the consensus amongst engineers is blending is bad. However, lots of old timers used to mix gas to anti-gel the Diesel. You are above the percentage even for these old-wives tales, so the best option is to get a big basin and siphon out your fuel from the tank. Even just a residual amount of gasoline in the tank after siphoning won't really matter once you dilute it with a full tank of Diesel, so in an IDI, I wouldn't worry too much.

Here's the article I was mentioning: Mixing Gasoline And Diesel

QUote:

My wise old mechanic who has worked on Mercedes for years told me that if I put one gallon regular gas to a diesel tankfull after about every four tanks that it would perform essentially the same job as a fuel injector cleaner at a fraction of the cost.
I would like to hear a technical opinion.
Bill Carson , e-mail
Bill, I'll turn the answer to your request for a technical opinion over to Brian Kmetz. As a mechanical engineer, Brian's daily task at work is to extract BTUs through oxidation from mass quantities of methane and fuel oils. Needless to say, he knows how the fuel 'stuff' works. Brian writes:
We hear this one all the time. Another version is to add one gallon of gasoline to 20 gallons of diesel fuel as a cheap easy anti-gel for winter fuel. I'll include alcohols in this discussion because a lot of guys add it instead of gasoline. Both fuels have the same detrimental effect on diesel fuel and are very close in weight and BTU content.
The mechanic meant well and probably never saw a fuel pump or injector failure due to improper blending of fuels. But that doesn't mean one is not risking damage, even in small dosages.
Gasoline and alcohols hit diesel fuel right where it hurts the most. Those light thin fuels will lower the cetane number and lubricity. To explain how octane and cetane DO NOT work together, I'll have to review more crude oil and fuel fundamentals.
The light distillates that gasolines are made from have a natural high-octane index. The middle distillates that diesel fuels come from have a high cetane index. The octane and cetane indexes are INVERSE scales. A fuel that has a high octane number has a low cetane number, and a high cetane fuel has a low octane number. Anything with a high octane rating will retard diesel fuel's ability to ignite. That's why each fuel has developed along with different types of engine designs and fuel delivery systems. Gasoline mixed in diesel fuel will inhibit combustion in a diesel engine and diesel fuel mixed in gasoline will ignite too soon in a gasoline engine.
A lot of old-time mechanics added some gasoline to diesel to supposedly clean the carbon deposits out of the cylinders. I have never read anything that said it worked. Gasoline will make the fuel burn hotter, and hotter burning fuels burn cleaner. That's probably where the theory got started. In the older diesel engines that belched lots of black smoke even when properly tuned, the result of adding gasoline was probably more white smoke instead of black. This might lead one to believe the engine was running cleaner. Maybe so, probably not. Here's what happens.
Gasoline will raise the combustion temperature. This might or might not reduce carbon deposits in the cylinder. This also might or might not overheat the injector nozzle enough to cause coking on the nozzle. That's a clogged injector tip in layman's terms. The fuel being injected is the only thing that cools the nozzle. Diesel fuel has a lower combustion temperature than gasoline. The fuel injectors depend on the fuel burning at the correct rate and temperature for a long life. If the combustion temperature is raised long enough, the gums and varnishes in gasoline will start to cook right in the fuel injector and turn into carbon. These microscopic carbon particles will abrade the nozzle. High combustion temperatures alone will shorten fuel injector life, gasoline makes the problem worse.
Gasoline and alcohols do have an anti-gel effect on diesel fuel, but these fuels are too thin and will hurt the lubricity. Alcohols work as a water dispersant in small amounts, but also attract water in large amounts. Diesel fuel is already hydrophilic (attracts water) so why add to the problem. The old timers got away with this because high sulfur diesel fuel had enough lubricity to take some thinning. Today's low sulfur diesel fuels have adequate lubricity, but I wouldn't put anything in the tank that would thin out the fuel, reduce lubricity, or attract water.
Opposites do not attract in this case. Use any of the diesel fuel additives available to clean out carbon deposits, not gasoline or alcohols.
While we're on the subject of fuels, let's discuss another common question. What is cetane?
Cetane is to diesel fuel what octane is to gasoline. It is a measure of the fuel's ignition quality and performance. Cetane is actually a hydrocarbon chain, its real name is 1-hexadecane. It is written as C16H34, or a chain of 16 carbon atoms with 34 hydrogen atoms attached. All HC chains are also referred to as paraffins. Cetane is a hydrocarbon molecule that ignites very easily under compression, so it was assigned a rating of 100. All the hydrocarbons in diesel fuel are indexed to cetane as to how well they ignite under compression. There is very little actual cetane in diesel fuel.
All the hydrocarbons in diesel fuel have similar ignition characteristics as cetane. Cetane is abbreviated as CN. A very loose way to think about cetane is if the fuel has a CN of 45, then the fuel will ignite 45% as well as 100% cetane. Diesel engines run just fine with a CN between 45 to 50. There is no performance or emission advantage to keep raising the CN past 50. After that point the fuel's performance hits a plateau.
Diesel at the pump can be found in two CN ranges: 40-46 for regular diesel, and 45-50 for premium. The minimum CN at the pump is supposed to be 45. The legal minimum cetane rating for #1 and #2 diesel is 40. Most diesel fuel leaves the refinery with a CN of around 42. The CN rating depends on the crude oil the fuel was refined from. It varies so much from tanker to tanker that a consistent CN rating is almost impossible. Distilling diesel is a crude process compared with making gasoline. Gasoline is more of a manufactured product with tighter standards so the octane rating is very consistent. But, the CN rating at the diesel pump can be anywhere from 42-46. That's why there is almost never a sticker on a diesel fuel pump for CN.
Premium diesel has additives to improve CN and lubricity, detergents to clean the fuel injectors and minimize carbon deposits, water dispersant, and other additives depending on geographical and seasonal needs. More biocides added in the south in summer, more ant-gel added in the north in winter. Most retailers who sell premium diesel will have little brochures called POPs (Point of Purchase) at the counter explaining what's in their fuel. Please don't ask the poor clerk behind the counter any technical questions after reading this discussion. All they need to know how to do is sell you beer, milk, cigarettes, lottery tickets, and take your money.
Texaco and Amoco are two big names who sell premium diesel in limited markets. Amoco primarily sells its Premier to specialized industrial and agricultural markets. I cannot get either in my area. Most fuel retailers buy additives or buy treated fuel. In the Northern plains states, Koch is a well-known marketer of premium diesel. I buy it when I travel into Northern Wisconsin.
Because there are no legal standards for premium diesel yet, it is very hard to know if you are buying the good stuff. I have good news. An ASTM task force has drafted standards for premium diesel. When the new specifications are accepted, information will have to be posted on the fuel pump. Retailers will no longer be allowed to label cheap blended diesel as 'premium.' They will have separate pumps with clear labels on both informing the customer what is being sold. The marketing and labeling will be the same as with regular and premium gasoline. Retailers selling the real thing use this system now. Enforcement of all fuel standards is done at the state level in the USA.
Diesel fuel is an international commodity for industry. Therefore, you should be picky about where you fill up. Shop for price from a large volume retailer so you have the freshest fuel. That's about the best advice I can give.
The 1994 legislation and reformulation of diesel fuel in North America is due to an international effort for lower emissions. Cleaner diesel emission laws are on the way. Diesel fuel is going to be reformulated into a cleaner fuel in general. Without getting too technical (this is over-simplified and very generalized), diesel fuel for the most part is made up of two different hydrocarbon families: paraffins and aromatics. The paraffins have a naturally high cetane index, burn clean, but cause the annoying gel problem in winter. The aromatics have a naturally high lubricity, low cetane index, and cause a lot of diesel emissions and soot. Reformulated diesel will have a higher paraffin content, higher cetane number, and a much lower aromatic and sulfur content. It will also be more prone to jelling and have a lower lubricity. Big oil is working on improved additives as I type this.
The reason nothing has happened yet is because of infighting in the EPA on its new Tier II Emissions standards for gasoline and diesel. Ultra-clean technology for gasoline and diesel engines is almost ready to go, but the refiners have to lower the sulfur level drastically in both fuels. The EPA should formally set something by year 2000.
Brian Kmetz

 

Run on the other tank. Advise the management of the station that they dodged a major bullet, since you have an old-school dual-tank vehicle that allows you to keep running despite the extreme negligence of their staff. Without that other tank, they'd be paying for you to rent a vehicle. Let them know that they'll be receiving a bill from your local shop for the work to clean out the contaminated tank. They have the choice of paying the bill or facing a lawsuit and its attendant publicity. Don't let an attendant pump your fuel in the future.

 

Yeah.

I didn't know there were places in the U.S. that still required full service. I remember in Canada (I think Ontario) there was a guy who said it was illegal to pump your own fuel, but didn't think that was still a thing in the U.S.

 

Oregon is full-service still, unfortunately. 3 gallons, i would top off with diesel and drive it, but thats just me. Would probably stop/ start it on the other tank that is straight diesel.

 

agreed. i would not worry with 3 gallons of gas and 16 gallons diesel.
i have run more gas than that in my 88 a few times, and never any problems.
after the 4th time, i no longer let juice jockeys fill my truck.
the only time i ever drained the tank was the time one of them put 30 gallons of gas in both tanks.
they drained both tanks, and filled them both up with diesel, plus gave me a free voucher for another free tank of fuel for being understanding and not killing the juice jockey.

 

^^^^^^^ If you can't pump it yourself, you can always get out of the truck and watch the guy. Hmm, I'd be tempted to fill both tanks just outside the Oregon line, and never buy fuel there.

A gallon of gaso in a tankful is one thing. Three gallons, I wouldn't take the chance. Esp. since it's the negligence of someone paid not to make such mistakes. These are the things for which businesses (smart ones, anyway) have insurance.

 

Jersey does that, which is probably where OP is at

When I go out for school I always make sure to fill up in PA, they dont get the priveledge of touching my car lol

I stopped for directions when I got lost the one time, which was a big mistake in itself since the attendant barely spoke broken english, and I purposefully pulled up to the pump with the fuel door on the wrong side. Poor guy was so confused

 

I normally do, as Jordan valley is right on the ID/OR border. Closest place to get groceries and stuff is Boise area. Also The peoples republic of oregon apparently has some new gas tax or something to do with carbon. Went to Burns the other day, 2.99/9 for REGULAR gas, 2.99/9 for diesel 2.20ish for gas 3.00 ish for diesel in idaho

 

I would not worry,when u have a summer diesel in your diesel car and winter hits the only way is to add gasoline, bmw allowed up to 20 percent mixture of gas, of course with IDI engines like TDS. The IDI will eat everything that is flamable, common rail might be a different story. Little less power maybe, but starts better

 

yup, being in new yawk the gas will not effect anything but make it easier to start and run in the cold.

 

Even modern common rail engines will run on gas/diesel mix -- a friend of mine managed to put in like 3 gallons of gas to 4 or so of diesel. Sounded like hell apparently, no power... but it ran and she drove it home.
We filled it up with diesel to dilute it, added a quart of ATF, and it quieted right down and ran fine after that.

I'd throw in a quart of ATF or a bunch of lubricity additive because the ULSD already has low lubricity and the gas will reduce it even further.

 

I did it about a year ago, 2 and a half gallons of unleaded in one tank. Did some research and decided to fill the tank and run it, and I have had no problems.