Posting for my father in law…his wife(allegedly) put 10 gallons of gas in their superduty before realizing it. She cut it off and called a tow truck. Took it to a local shop(not a diesel mechanic) to have it cleaned. Now the truck won't start. Is this a result of the tank being emptied? That's my guess. If so how can we get this thing started? The shop has no clue. He took it there because it was close and they said they could clean it

Drain the tank, re fill with diesel, open up the bleeder screw under the hood while someone turns the key. The pump has probably lost its prime.

What year? If it's a 6.7 pull the fuel line off of the upper fuel filter under the hood. Cycle the key and let the lift pump run until you get fuel coming out of it.

Hopefully the gas didn't make it to the CP4 fuel pump. It will grenade the pump in short order resulting in a $10k+ repair.

'08

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Drain the tank, re fill with diesel, open up the bleeder screw under the hood while someone turns the key. The pump has probably lost its prime.

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Yep, I've got an 08, there's a bleeder screw...cycle the key to the ON position but do not turn over the engine, hold it for 3 seconds or so, and then turn it off and repeat until fuel comes out the bleeder. Close bleeder and turn it on.

They should have different shaped nozzles to prevent this.

They did this and it didn't work…damn it

I'd also add a whole bottle of Power Services Diesel 911 to the fuel tank

Martin Q. Blank said:

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They should have different shaped nozzles to prevent this.

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Isn't it pretty easy to put the smaller gas nozzle into the larger receiver of a diesel tank? Gas into a diesel is better than the reverse.

Edit...misread your post. Yeah, good idea!

rtpAggie said:

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They did this and it didn't work…damn it

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Which part didn't work? We're they able to get diesel to come out of the bleeder?

Coworker, not a truck guy, put diesel in a gasoline ram 2500 rental last year. About half a tank. Truck had maybe 100 miles on it.

It smoked and loaded up a mountain of codes, but was otherwise fine. Cleared all the codes after several more tanks of fuel several weeks, and Enterprise was never the wiser. Think we ended up putting about 2000 miles on it across two projects.

Geddy Lee soul patch said:

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Martin Q. Blank said:

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They should have different shaped nozzles to prevent this.

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Isn't it pretty easy to put the smaller gas nozzle into the larger receiver of a diesel tank? Gas into a diesel is better than the reverse.

Edit...misread your post. Yeah, good idea!

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yah, I meant something like one's a square and the other is a circle. You can't fit one into the other by mistake.

Yep. I just don't see how logistically it could be done, never mind the expense involved ...it would require retrofitting all diesel vehicles with a different receiver and changing out all the nozzles at the same time.

Geddy Lee soul patch said:

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Yep. I just don't see how logistically it could be done, never mind the expense involved ...it would require retrofitting all diesel vehicles with a different receiver and changing out all the nozzles at the same time.

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I would think they could easily retrofit the nozzles at the pump. Car owners would buy tank inserts for their particular model.

You're looking at probably $100 per nozzle to change them, that's nozzle cost only, no labor. It wouldn't be cheap. Then, if the nozzle is incompatible with existing vehicles, the cost to retrofit would be huge.

Which part didn't work? A general mechanic should know to look up how to prime the fuel system. Running a diesel out of fuel usually results in quite a few steps to get it to re-start, which has been mentioned.

Running it on gasoline for a short time isn't a death sentence

okay so its starting and driving now.

its taking a little extra effort to start though. like a half second or more before it rolls over. will this work itself out or could it be related to damage from gasoline?

My guess is still air in the system, you can remove the top fuel filter and watch for all the air bubbles to leave, put the filter back in and tighten, and then step on the gas to 5000 rpm or so and hold it there for a 5 count…make sure to put some DIESEL fuel system cleaner it it for the next several tanks.

EMY92 said:

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You're looking at probably $100 per nozzle to change them, that's nozzle cost only, no labor. It wouldn't be cheap. Then, if the nozzle is incompatible with existing vehicles, the cost to retrofit would be huge.

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The electrical industry figured it out with about 50 different combinations. Oil industry can't make two work? With simple adapters at the nozzle and tank? Do half the pumps at each station during the transition period.

Is it really that big of a problem? I don't know anyone who couldn't remember what type of fuel the vehicle they're driving needs. Why not just put a sticker or something on if you're worried about making this mistake? Kind of nice to know filling your tank with the correct fuel type requires a little thought - give yourself a mental high five every time you get it right!

Martin Q. Blank said:

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EMY92 said:

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You're looking at probably $100 per nozzle to change them, that's nozzle cost only, no labor. It wouldn't be cheap. Then, if the nozzle is incompatible with existing vehicles, the cost to retrofit would be huge.

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The electrical industry figured it out with about 50 different combinations. Oil industry can't make two work? With simple adapters at the nozzle and tank? Do half the pumps at each station during the transition period.

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Now, ask the industry to go back and change all of one type that is present at 55% homes and businesses. Diesel is sold at 55% of gas stations.

Or just use adapters. Like everyone does when they go overseas.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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They should have different shaped nozzles to prevent this.

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I find it fascinating that the two nozzles are different sizes but they are such that the gas will fit into the filler of the engine most detrimentally affected by an error like this. They should swap those around. I'd much rather have 10 gallons of diesel
In my gasser than 10 gallons of gas in my diesel.

Diesel nozzles come in a small (gasoline size) and larger size (if it is a high flow pump). If you aren't paying attention or don't realize the difference you could make the mistake.

I've owned a diesel truck for 18 years and haven't ever had this issue. Then again my wife has never even sat behind the wheel of my truck nor has anyone else excluding the two times (in 18 years) it was at the mechanic for repair.

Even the "small" diesel nozzles are usually slightly larger than a gasoline nozzle.

Had a VW TDI years ago that had a "misfueling adapter" added as part of a larger recall / service bulletin program to prevent people from filling with gasoline and grenading the notorious CP4 fuel pump. It had tabs on the top/bottom that had to engage with a properly sized "small" diesel nozzle, otherwise the flap wouldn't open. On a handful of occasions, I encountered a station that had the even smaller gasoline nozzles installed on the diesel pumps, and it was a hard no-go.

Father in law put gas in his RV. Good times!

Friend put gas in his diesel. Used a work vehicle and a personal vehicle and was tired.

It happens.


I am kind of shocked that we don't have some sort of vacuum locking thing due to environmental concerns. Probably harder than i imagine

I worked for a company that pulled trailers all over the place. They had a fleet of 3/4 ton gassers. When I got there I asked why not diesel? The guy said he knew their knuckleheads would put gas in a diesel. I eventually convinced him to buy diesel for the new 3/4. First week a knucklehead put unleaded in it. Doh!

Making things better, the diesel ran long enough to get inside the gate of a refinery before it died. Can't get a tow truck in, so we had to tow it out with a tow strap so we could take it to a mechanic.

An Ag in CO said:

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Is it really that big of a problem? I don't know anyone who couldn't remember what type of fuel the vehicle they're driving needs. Why not just put a sticker or something on if you're worried about making this mistake? Kind of nice to know filling your tank with the correct fuel type requires a little thought - give yourself a mental high five every time you get it right!

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There is a story about a young firefighter (whose name will not be mentioned) who, after driving Santa Claus around all day (an annual event for this small volunteer department) went to the gas station and pumped 45 gallons of diesel fuel into a 1968 FireBoss Engine that has a V8 GASOLINE engine.

The engine started and he got about 1/2 mile down the road when huge volumes of smoke began emanating from the exhaust. The truck died on the side of the highway. Luckily, said firefighter had a friend with a towing service and he towed the truck back to the fire station. Tow truck driver said he had a friend with a trucking service that would take the diesel if we could pump it out of the truck. Tow driver and firefighter find old 55 gallon plastic drum in drainage ditch (I swear this is true) and pump almost the entire tank into drum.

I then drove I mean the firefighter then drove truck to gas station and filled with nice clean gasoline.

Truck ran better than it ever had.

Jason_InfinityRoofer said:

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Martin Q. Blank said:

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They should have different shaped nozzles to prevent this.

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I find it fascinating that the two nozzles are different sizes but they are such that the gas will fit into the filler of the engine most detrimentally affected by an error like this. They should swap those around. I'd much rather have 10 gallons of diesel
In my gasser than 10 gallons of gas in my diesel.

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Diesel nozzles were traditionally larger than gas because until the 1980s the only vehicles using diesel were tractor trailers with large (100+ gallon) tanks.

My dad had a '76 Mercedes that was diesel.

Dang Germans.

maroon barchetta said:

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My dad had a '76 Mercedes that was diesel.

Dang Germans.

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Prolly had a filler neck about the size of a soup can too.

I don't recall. I just remember it being a heavy sedan, having really odd heating/cooling controls for the interior, a smooth ride, a glow plug that you had to heat up before you started the engine, and it got amazing mileage for such a big car.

https://instagr.am/p/CqzPKU8rOHY

That hurts to watch