Copenhagenjunkie

2010 41 passenger coach bus w/ 6.7 cummins. Driver filled up with gasoline then hit the road. Was told 30 miles down the road it died, towed to nearest cummins shop to get gas removed. The bus made it back ~500 miles.

I have will have a look at the repair bill tomorrow. What should be checked out when this happens?

Blake Clark

The drivers head after you smack him/her really hard....



Typical monitoring if they get it running. Most important, the lift pump. If it doesnt fail you should be ok.


Ive been driving since 1996, started out in my '90 when it was Dads. To this day I have never put gas in any diesel truck by mistake. How does one accomplish that???

berok

I've actually done this before. I added about 10 gal of gas to my 96, the gas handle was green just like diesel.... I realized it because i was watching the price, it was'nt going up very fast!! A little more than 50/50 deisel to gas.... Drove it home about another 100 miles and had no probs even years after that. I was told by an experienced diesel mech that mixing a little gas to the diesel used to be done to clean out the enginge back in the day... But, with motors today, not so sure!

JTCHess

When I was a mechanic at the Green Shingle truck stop on I-90 Erie PA, we had a fuel delivery of diesel accidently put into the gasoline tanks. Boy, our gasoline powered service trucks ran like crap after we filled them up with that diesel gasoline mix.

hotdram

Wow, small world. I lived about 2 exits from Green Shingle (Girard/Fairveiw line). Last time I was home, I think the place was closed up.

~Rob

got_soot

i dont know how people accomplish this but one of my dumb friends(drives a mitsi evo 8) just filled his drunk friends truck up with prem. gas he was lucky, all he did was drain it and put diesel and new filter on and it runs like a champ again. he said hes just so use to putting gas in a vehicle he never even thought twice about it..

Copenhagenjunkie

Well, It wasn't a cummins service center but an authorized cummins center. It was a few bucks under $1,000. All they did was drain the tank, change both filters and re-prime.

I think I will change the filters again. Is there anything else I can do or look at (to the engine)? I'll refrain from abusing the driver at this time.

Hopefully going forward the injectors, ip, emmision system and fuel pump will be ok.

tonycamacho

It has happen to more people then you think. Most people assume that the green pump handles are diesel and start pumping before they realize the mistake. I believe they should require some sort of standard color codeing of fuel handles which might prevent this. The HESS stations seem to be the worst. At some of their stations the diesel pump handles are green then at others they are orange. In Ft. Lauderdale Florida a Hess station on the corner of 17th Street and Hwy#1 is always switching between green and orange.

madhat

I just look for the letters that spell...



DIESEL!

ramtradxb

Thanks for this post, altho sorry to see that what prompted it was misery to you... I am always paranoid that I will do something stupid like forget what I'm filling and put gas in diesels or diesel in gassers.
And now with how quiet the '10 is, I could easily think I was in a gasser!
I always trace the pump hose with my eyes to make sure it goes to the correct register, but after seeing this I will be extra sure to pay attention to what I'm filling with what. I never used to see it, but now I do see more and more stations using the green pump handle covers on gas, and black on diesel - even saw one use a green hose on gas.
I hope your driver screwed up because he got confused by the pump (hoses, colors, etc.) and not because he simply didn't realize he was driving a diesel...the latter would be harder to prevent in the future... Maybe put a small laminated card on a cable in the fuel compartment reminding anyone who fills it to check and make sure they are using diesel.
But thanks again - I'll remember this story every time I fill up.

Blake Clark

Exactly

Not to mention every diesel pump Ive ever fueled from was grimy, full of diesel at the handle dock, and smelled like diesel.

bobem12

I worked at a Dodge dealership in high school and we had a lot attendant fill a brand new cummins with gas right before a customer purchased it. They bought the truck, attempted to drive home, and it died on the side of the road a few miles away from the dealership...I think the tech just drained the tank, put on some new filters, and filled her up with diesel! People still bought the truck!

Something I've got in the habit of doing, and it may sound weird, is sniffing the nozzle before I put it in the tank to make sure its the right stuff (no its not just that I like the smell of diesel!)

GCAT

You may be ok for the near term? However, gasoline does not have the
lube properties that diesel does, even ULSD. The tolerances in the pumps and
injectors are close and precise and the diesle fuel itself is a lube agent. We have seen pump and injector failures soon after putting the vehicle back in service. All you can do is wait and see and mayde consider using lubricity additives in the fuel.

ramtradxb

I can't be too judgemental - today while at the filling station I somehow locked the doors when I jumped out to throw something in the trash, and since I didn't push the door open far enough, I was then locked out of the truck when it closed on it's own - with the engine running! Luckily a friend drove the 40 miles to bring me my second key - the tow truck driver who stopped by said he didn't have the tools (the days of a slim jim are apparently over) to get into a '10 yet - seems vehicles are getting harder and harder to "break into" all the time.
So you won't catch me judging someone who has a senior moment now and then...

got_soot

come on blake, thats just too easy now. also it doesnt smell like diesel anyhow, it smells like elmers glue.