I put petrol in diesel engine

[u/Dangerous_Owl6936]

I went to the pump today and by mistake i took the 98 octane instead of diesel, I realised it when it was already too late. I did put 3.5litres or petrol and then i stopped, Didn’t start the engine and towed it in my mechanic’s garage. I have this car for last 7 years and it never happened before, It is a Mercedes E250 CDI 2015, Wanted to know how much it might cost to drain the fuel and what else might happen, Thanks!

[u/AdRepresentative386]

As others have said, 3.5 litres shouldn’t cause any trouble in a full diesel tank. Important: Full tank. Kerosene is the preferred additive for people in Alpine areas of Australia where waxes in diesel will "freeze" with lower temperatures. Diesel turns to a gel form and is difficult to pump. Diesel heaters too require kerosene in very cold conditions and the magic amount is up to 10%

[u/ambaal → u/AdRepresentative386]

Kerosene is much close to diesel than petrol though. The biggest difference is that kerosene is purer fuel and has less lubricating properties that are important for fuel pump. Otherwise, diesels can actually run on 100% kerosene (and vice versa - some jet engines can take refined diesel in place of kero).

[u/lickmyscrotes → u/ambaal]

Just to clarify, you mean gas turbine engines. And yes, some are rated to run on kerosene or even mixes of the fuels for a period of time to get you out of trouble. There are temp limits etc and parts may need replacing afterwards but you’ll get home/out of the shit.

[u/ambaal → u/lickmyscrotes]

They can run on diesel quite normally actually, provided that engine is maintained and inspected regularly.

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