Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Wrong fuel in 98 12V

[RPalermo]

On a trip back from Lake Placid this weekend my son mistakenly refueled the truck with E85 ethenol. It was idling at the pump and stalled out while refueling. The tank was close to empty before refueling. He had it towed to a shop and they drained,flushed,& bled the system. Changed filter also. It seems to run the same when warm, but stumbles with more blue smoke than usual on startup & takeoff when cold. Could any damage have occured?

Thanks

Rick

 

[Fordiesel69]

Probably scored the injectors. Pull them out and have them tested. This happened to a friend of mine that had a 6. 2L chevy diesel van.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

12 valve Cummins are pretty good about handling fueling mishaps with gas. I'm thinking maybe something happened with the filter change (maybe an O-ring or gasket didn't get seated right) or maybe it's something coincidental like the fuel heater is letting air get drawn in (fuel heaters often go bad and get air leaks). Also if it's never been done service the prefilter Fuel Pre-Filter Cleaning on Ram/Cummins

 

[bmoeller]

I would check ALL of the rubber lines. They might have gotten soft on the inside and collapsing on the suction side. Same goes for the o-rings and rubber coated sealing washers on the banjo fittings.

 

[DieselDoghouse]

No experience with E85 but get get 1/2 a tank or regular many years ago. The carbon fouled the injectors, unbalanced the turbine and caused the compressor to score the housing. I'd check the injectors, lines, turbo, and replace the fuel filter AGAIN.

 

[Chrisw]

i have been told E85 is very hard on rubber, I would check any rubber line you can find.

 

[dseabaugh]

I did the same thing on the way back from my mothers funeral this summer. Put in 17 gallons before I realized I had the wrong hose ( had a green cover on it but it was gas). anyway I finished filling it w/ diesel so I had about 50/50. After about 50 miles I started losing power on the hills and about 20 mph so I pulled in the next fuel stop and topped it off and add one gallon of 30 wt. oil to the fuel tank. That cleared it all up and has been fine ever since. I think the pump pistons were trying to sieize in their bores. 5,000 miles later still ok. for what is worth, it only got 9 mpg on that gas/diesel mix.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

I wonder if E85 would be harder on diesels than plain gas, being it's 15% ethanol, alcohol is bad for injection pumps.

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

So sounds like you got to drive it home. How did the garage treat you? Were they able to handle things?