£20 of diesel in my benzin wasserboxer.......

[dearjohn]

Today the kid in charge of the petrol pumps managed to pump €20 of diesel into my nearly empty petrol tank. Power was noticable by its absence within a mile, getting worse untill uphill I was in 2nd gear. Coasted to a halt as it just wouldnt pull anymore. realised the problem pretty quickly (smell or kero and the smoke was a clue!) So ended up getting towed home and drained tank and fuel pipe, refilled with petrol and away we went. Now the strange thing is, it would start and rev on the mixture, just no power. I did not drain the carb. Now I feel I am down on power, I assume the pluga are probably filthy and worth while changing, question is, have I done any damage? presumably the diesel will not harm any seals or diaphrams? Any one have experience of this situation?

regards, Nigel.

[Laurie]

I spent a week-end dealing with the same. It will come back to run properly. You can't do any real physical damage but it may smoke like a bugger for a while.

[dearjohn]

Thanks Laurie, thats good to know! Naturally I recycled the 5 gallonds drained from the van by pouring it into a John Deere 3140 I have. She's running sweet! Nigel in generous Cavan, Ireland.