Gas in Diesel

[trip]

Somehow some gas was added to the fuel of my jd2240. I ran it just a little while, Maybe 2 minutes. JD dealer said change filter, drain tank, flush lines to the filter. I did that. It now is very hard to start, It seems to run okay however it runs hotter
and seems to smoke a lot more. Im sure there is someone out there who this has happened to. thanks.

 

[63DH8]

I was a diesel mechanic in the Army for eight years and worked the civilian side of the house for an additional six years.

Did you crack open (unscrew) the fuel lines to the injectors a couple of turns to bleed fuel in the lines? I'm not familer with John Deere engines, but the engines I worked on in the past needed the entire fuel system drained and bled if you get gas in the fuel. If there is a fuel pump in the fuel tank or fuel line between the filters and fuel tank, the lines should run from the tank or pump to the filters, then to the injector pump, then the injectors. There usually is a return line from either the filters to the tank or from the injector pump to the tank.

First step; drain the tank and refill, and drain the filter housing and change the filters.

Second step: turn on the master switch or ignition switch, but do not start the engine. Crack open the fuel line going into the injector pump until you get clean diesel fuel.

Third step: bleed the injector pump per the owner's manual.

Fourth Step: Here's where there are some differences. Bleeding depends on the engine maker because there are electric injectors, mechanical injectors, and injectors that operate via the fuel pressure timing from the injector pump. Your owner's manual should say how to bleed the injectors.

Your problem may be there is either air or gasoline in either the injector pump's "signal" lines and/or the injector's feed line.

 

[cowsrus]

I have heard a small pecentage of gasoline was not harmfull to a diesel engine. I don,t know the percentage though. Would be interested if anyone did know. My son bought a new Chevy diesel pick-up and his wife put several gallons of gas in it the first week before she realized what she had done. She at least had the good sense to call him and tell him what happened, He came over and completely drained the tank and had no problems. I wondered if a small amount of gas would have hurt though?

 

[cfpinz]

63DH8 has it covered. A diesel engine can take a lot more abuse than folks think. May want to run some conditioner in the fuel for a few tanks (power services, etc...).

cfpinz

 

[MrBilly]

I am no expert, but I put five gallons of regular in my Dodge diesel before I realized it. Dumb station had green handles on all their pumps. Bah. Anyway, I was out of town and just filled the tank with diesel and drove off. That was over one year ago and all is well. Also did it in the tractor once. I drained the tank, but nothing else, and it runs fine, that is two years ago.

Billy

 

[tytower]

Ive gotta go put some gas and some diesel in a jar and see which separates to the top or if they stay mixed.

However diesel is fired by compression to a set pressure ,ie compression ratio 20 to 1 say

Gas is fired by the spark plugs but i'm thinking that if straight petrol gets in there you would get it compressing to about 12 to 1 and then exploding so you would have some severe pre-ignition problems. Possibly crank rod damage.

Water sits on top of both so sorting that out is relatively easy.

So I mixed diesel with petrol and could see no separation. Looked like a perfect mix and if you think about it for two stroke we mix petrol with a little oil and it goes through and lubricates as it goes.

So I would conclude that if the proportions were say 25% petrol 75% diesel then you would likely see little effect specially if you ran for a while then filled up with diesel again and kept lowering the percentage of petrol.

Draining the tank and bleeding the system for anything higher than that I would say.