Unleaded in the tank

[bcbender]

Well.... One of my guys filled the company work truck with unleaded last week......

I tried to get it this am to move some trailers and it was a hard (slow) start and running rough, so I immediately pulled it around the shop to check the separator, drained out, no water, but after about a min or so of draining could smell gas. No MIL light or anything, checked the tank, sure enough smells like a lawnmower!! I did not try to start it again after that, towed it behind the building with a fork lift for now. Found out later a guy took it home to move something and filled it when returning it. (about 3/4 tank) Nice gesture but now gonna be a expensive repair. Safe to say he feel's like an idiot now....

So now what, my supervisor said to send it to the shop, waiting on the service tech now, truck is a 2012, 2500 CCSB HO with about 60K miles on it. I assume the procedure is drop the tank, clean and flush lines, replace filters, fresh fuel. I also thought at this mileage (age) I should have them do the CCV filter, 68RFE service and T Case, probably diff fluids.. anything else? EGR?

 

[seafish]

Hopefully he didnt drive it too far at all after filling it up.
I'd try to get to the bottom of THAT piece of info....ie where he filled it up while returning it to the lot.

 

[Ltngdrvr]

Well, you could be looking at some super expensive repairs, like new injectors and maybe more.

 

[BigPapa]

Found out later a guy took it home to move something

You'd probably have been better off to have taken him down to Rooms to Go or Lowes and bought him new furniture or appliances and had them delivered.....

 

[sag2]

At this point you have nothing to lose. Drop the tank, blow out the lines, change the filters. Pull the FCA out and look for metal debris. If none, pull the return line to the tank (quick disconnect by the filter housing) and run the lift pump to flush out another gallon or so into a container. Fire it up and see what happens. It may clear up after a few minutes of idling. If not you need to replace the CP3, rail, connector tubes and injectors. If it seems to run OK, just watch it carefully for a few days. Again, if the damage is done you have nothing to lose. If it seems to run OK but wants to keep going when you lift off the throttle make the repairs immediately. Driving it with a stuck injector can melt a piston pretty quickly.

 

[Tuesdak]

So now what, my supervisor said to send it to the shop, waiting on the service tech now, truck is a 2012, 2500 CCSB HO with about 60K miles on it. I assume the procedure is drop the tank, clean and flush lines, replace filters, fresh fuel. I also thought at this mileage (age) I should have them do the CCV filter, 68RFE service and T Case, probably diff fluids.. anything else? EGR?

Get it running properly first. Then decide if they are going to keep it or sell it "patched" enough to run and drive. If it runs good without expensive repairs needed then do the PM stuff. When was the coolant and brake fluid flush done last?

 

[HVAC2]

I find this fascinating. Only because I thought the engine would be toast with no chance for survival. Every time I approach a pump I keep saying diesel diesel. This would be my gun to the head moment.

 

[BigPapa]

or sell it "patched" enough to run and drive.

Are you suggesting to get it running and sell it without disclosure of this incident, knowing it will need very expensive repairs that the buyer has no idea of?

 

[Timd32]

Could always talk to your insurance agent if it hits a pretty high value, that mileage is super low sounds like a soild vehicle and will be very costly to replace.

We had a pretty odd event that they said was not covered I insisted it get submitted and it was approved.

One of my employees took the vehicle home it incurred a loss at their place, they covered it and the supplements.

Being 100% upfront the whole time with all involved where it was how it happened went pretty far, it was $7500 in repairs.

Never hurts to ask.

 

[Tuesdak]

Are you suggesting to get it running and sell it without disclosure of this incident, knowing it will need very expensive repairs that the buyer has no idea of?

No, not at all. But... Happens. Every. Day.

Send it to auction would eliminate any liability coming back to 'the company'. Private Party Sale here in AZ also has an implied "AS IS" otherwise I would have had some words with the original owner over a non-disclosed bad patch job on the engine of the 2003 I had.

What's the best number for the company bottom line including pickup replacement cost and new pickup tax write offs? It may be a costly repair now or later, but, still worth it. I have had one AC contractor tell me they bought a new pickup last year otherwise they would have simply paid that much more in taxes.

 

[bcbender]

At this point you have nothing to lose. Drop the tank, blow out the lines, change the filters. Pull the FCA out and look for metal debris. If none, pull the return line to the tank (quick disconnect by the filter housing) and run the lift pump to flush out another gallon or so into a container. Fire it up and see what happens. It may clear up after a few minutes of idling. If not you need to replace the CP3, rail, connector tubes and injectors. If it seems to run OK, just watch it carefully for a few days. Again, if the damage is done you have nothing to lose.

OK, I talked to the local shop and they said it was going to be around 1500-2000$ to clean it up, no details as to "what that is" and the service writer had not spoken with the diesel tech. I am inclined to drop the tank at my own shop and do as sag2 suggests, and if it does not clear up, then send it on to the dealer. I assume that there is no harm in dropping the tank, draining (cleaning) and then blowing out the lines, new filter, purge with fresh diesel. I have never pulled the FCA, Is it similar to / procedure for the 5.9L, I have the manual for that truck. Would soap and water suffice to clean the tank out? Also this is NOT MY TRUCK, and DW is not happy about it coming to our shop for repairs, but I also do not have a lot of faith that the local dealer will not simply soak the "company" for unnecessary parts / labor. They tried that a few years back when a caliper seized and said they all had to be replaced. I changed the bad caliper and put new pads on never had another issue since. If it does not clear up, I would send it in for the fuel system replacement though, just not sure if I'd send it there.

I cannot understate how annoyed I am about this, and I did not need to add this to the plate of things I have to get taken care of before my summer vacation, I SPEC our work trucks, maintain them, and this it the first time in 20y that I've had any issue. (maybe I'm lucky?) ... ( darn millennials! )... If this ends up being a fuel system replacement, I see a whole new wave of policies coming down and the end of many of our "small office" perks.

Are you suggesting to get it running and sell it without disclosure of this incident, knowing it will need very expensive repairs that the buyer has no idea of?

No I would not do that, but if the repair was significant enough, I could see trading it in on a new 2500 (HEMI) since we no longer tow heavy / or often due to the corp rules about COM driving w/o CDL. We only travel within NC and rarely with a trailer and never with one weighting more than 4~5k lbs.

 

[bcbender]

Assuming there are no metal bits in the FCA, is there a lubricant or additive package I should throw in the tank with the new diesel? I have about 10gal at home on-hand to throw in and then drive to the fuel station (providing it gets that far).

I am too busy this week, but might have it towed there this afternoon and get after it early next week.

 

[bcbender]

Hopefully he didnt drive it too far at all after filling it up.
I'd try to get to the bottom of THAT piece of info....ie where he filled it up while returning it to the lot.

Drove about 4~5 miles from station closest to the shop, at operating temp, unloaded, no trailer and parked.. Truck had approx. 1/4 tank diesel when he topped it off with 87. When I drained the separator yesterday, it was mostly diesel, did not smell gas until it had drained for a few min. Said that the truck ran fine, no stumbling, hesitation, etc hence he did not know he had screwed the pooch. I guess who knows, since he did not put the right fuel in can I trust his observations...

 

[BigPapa]

Drove about 4~5 miles from station closest to the shop, at operating temp, unloaded, no trailer and parked.. Truck had approx. 1/4 tank diesel when he topped it off with 87. When I drained the separator yesterday, it was mostly diesel, did not smell gas until it had drained for a few min.

Sounds like you may be OK. I'd give sag's advice a try.

 

[Ozymandias]

I second what @sag2 said, clean it out properly and run it. See what it does, it can have a problem from the short run on fuel diluted diesel - but there is also the possibility that absolutely nothing is damaged.
Bot ways are possible.

 

[lpennock]

Would soap and water suffice to clean the tank out?

I wouldn't. I would just use some diesel or kerosene.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Sounds like an Insurance claim.

 

[bcbender]

How does one file an insurance claim for stupidity? I put the wrong oil / fuel in the engine and it broke........ I can think of a few things over the years that I could claim then; for example: my 70' Z28 Camaro is sitting in the shop (2yrs now) because the damn Edelbrock fuel pump diaphragm failed and diluted the fuel, I took it out for a weekend spin, then next day tried to start it to move it and is stuck a lifter (or two)... I guess that would be a claim also huh?

 

[John Jensen]

I've had relatives and friends pump gas into their diesel tank. The fix has always been adding a couple of quarts of non ash 2-stroke oil, run it down to 3/4 tank, add another qt of 2-stroke, run it down to 1/2 tank, etc until you're satisfied.

In one case no 2;stroke was available so they used 30w dino.

In every instance there were no latent problems. That said, they did this quickly after the gas was pumped in. Not sure what the consequences would be if they drove many miles before adding the oil.

 

[Rob S]

A friend put def in his superduty diesel fuel tank by mistake and ran it. Dealer job. His auto insurance company covered it