Gas Thieves Bungle Theft, Pump Diesel Instead

The Indy Channel ^ | August 16, 2005 | AP

[Dont Mention the War]

They put a deep purple dye in it, you never want to get caught driving a car with that stuff in the tank, its a HUGE fine.

You might as well risk it, if you're not already humilated by driving around in a pickup with "FARM USE" spray-painted in two-foot-high letters on each side.

[Darksheare]

Well, a kid I knew stole a motorcycle, and then siphoned diesel out of the diesel VW sitting out front.
He couldn't understand why the motorcycle wouldn't run.


Well.. I didn't bother telling him that with a tank full of diesel, a gasoline engine won't run.

[ApplegateRanch]

You can do much the same thing with water.

Bring the engine to operating temperature...do not try to do this to a cold engine.

Dribble it through the carb slowly enough that when the revved engine starts coughing, you can stop the water. The idea is to let the engine almost, but not quite actually, die. It is a form of steam cleaning. You can tell by the exhaust when it's had enough treatment.

Works best with a small-spouted water can in one hand, and the other hand operating the throttle linkage.

The advantage is that the water won't wash the oil off the cylinder wall like the diesel does, but it does a great job of blasting carbon off the top of the pistons & the combustion chamber of the heads & the valves. Also, no oil change needed.

[Nov3]

I have seen people sucessfully use gasoline in a diesel. You need to add a couple of quarts of oil to the tank though. First at diesel compression ratios gas will definitely ignite. The main problem is that gas provides no lubrication for the injection pump and it will seize unless designed for it. IIRC military diesels will run on gasoline.

[Redbob]

"Why is a construction company using off-road diesel?"

I'm going way out on a limb here, but my guess would be to power off-road construction equipment, graders and dozers and the like?

[Willie Green]

IIRC military diesels will run on gasoline.

I vaguely remember something about engines that will run on either.
I don't recall where I remember it from, and I don't know much about 'em.
But if I had to guess, I'd say that whatever design compromises had to be made to make 'em work probably also makes 'em less fuel efficient than the "normal" designs that are specificly for one or the other.

[amigatec]

I used to burn offroad diesel in my diesel pickup, but DO NOT get caught. It was a $1000 fine plus $10 for every gallon you had.

While on the subject Diesel engines have a normal compression ratio of around 16 to one. The Olds diesel was 21.5 to 1 and the VW rabbit was 23.5 to 1.

Most Cummins, Cat and Detroit Diesels are from 14 to 17 to 1.

[amigatec]

IIRC military diesels will run on gasoline.

The Multi Fuel Engine had a compensator in the Injection pump that would adjust for the density of the fuel being used.

Basically consisted of a piston and a spring, the thinner fuels would flow past the piston quicker.

[Doc Savage]

Hey, as a guy who likes to bathe in diesel I resent that smell remark. Ok, so I stink a little, but I still resent it!

[caver]

Last year in Indiana we had some idiots steal a Mercedes diesel and then put gasoline in the tank. There weren't too smart either.

[amigatec]

Last year in Indiana we had some idiots steal a Mercedes diesel and then put gasoline in the tank. There weren't too smart either.

I have seen what happens when you run a diesel on gasoline. It normally requires a complete rebuild.

The piston tend to swell and start 'squeaking' in the cylinders. That is if the engine will even turn over.

[Nov3]

The diesel was original designed to work of coal dust. A modern direct injection diesel will run on about anything that will ignite. Diesel Has the highest specific heat of any commonly available fuel, and as such fuel efficiency will suffer. However I have seen it done - with my own eyes - on a 97 Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel. 10 gallons of gas and 2 quarts of motor oil. I couldn't detect any difference in the way it ran though it will have less power due to the lower heat of gasoline.

The guy was knowledgable and said the main issue was the injection pump needed lubrication. The older injection pumps failed just from the modern low sulfur fuel. The specifically designed multi fuel engines had injection pumps that could handle the lack of lubrication in gasoline.

Will all diesel engines run on that mix? I don't know but that one certainly did with no issues. He is still driving the same truck.

[decal]

"An employee of Beer & Slabaugh..."

I'd LOVE to work for a company called Beer & Slobby! Where do I apply?

[GOPJ]

They acknowledged the theft explaining their mistake and saying their car would not run.

Smells a little like just deserts.

[xJones]

I'd LOVE to work for a company called Beer & Slobby! Where do I apply?

Some place named after Japanese diapers, Nappanee.

[RIGHT IN LAS VEGAS]

I thought "Dajuan" was a mustard

[drlevy88]

Depending on the proportion of diesel fuel relative to gas in the tank, a gasoline engine will either run poorly or stop altogether, necessitating another $500 trip to the repair shop for draining and flushing.

$450 of which is the greenie fee for disposing of the mixed fuel I suppose... this sounds stupid. Simply siphoning out the tank and refilling it to capacity with pure gas should be sufficient once the diesel purges out of the fuel lines (pretty quickly if it's fuel injection as the pressure regulator cycles fuel back to the tank). The mix drained from the tank would probably work OK in a 2 cycle engine, adjusted to the right proportion with additional gas or diesel.

[rmmcdaniell]

Any farm or construction vehicle that doesn't have plates to drive on the road can burn cheaper off-road diesel, it doesn't have all the taxes that normal diesel has. They put a deep purple dye in it, you never want to get caught driving a car with that stuff in the tank, its a HUGE fine.

Does it produce a colored exaust? How the heck would a cop know what color fuel you are using in your truck?

[Abathar]

"Does it produce a colored exaust? How the heck would a cop know what color fuel you are using in your truck?"

They have a stick with a white cloth attached and they stick it in the tank. At a huge farm auction I was at they went through every truck that was diesel in the lot, dozens of them, and all the semi's there too. They caught quite a few people, they made a fortune in fine that day.