Mike:

Sounds like you need a tax revolt over there.

Collected the car this afternoon from the garage.
Everything 100% when they checked it out.

They also changed the fuel filters.
Had a look at them and for a 30k miles car they were somewhat dirty and partially clogged with particles.

Car now seems more responsive to throttle. Probably the filters were restricting the flow.

Filled the tank up from nearly empty (First Time).
Cost me nearly$70.

Thanks for all the advice.

Mike

Personally I would have just run it through, maybe fill up a little earlier the next go around and throw in a bottle of DFC. On my 89 Diesel Jetta it said you could mix up to 30% gasoline and not have any long lasting ill effects. On my 300D I bet it's even higher.

Actually with the Jetta and the Diesel Rabbit before it (same drivetrain actually) my mom has accidentally filled it with gas instead of Diesel, somehow she was able to get it home with a thick cloud of smoke billowing out of the tail, we were able to just drain out the tank(didn't even change the filter) fill it with Diesel and just let it run through the gas that was remaining.

A small amount of gas mixed in with Diesel fuel isn't going to kill any bearings that I know of, these engines are very durable and aren't very picky on whats going through em.

I think you were ripped off, and that the dealer is saying that to get a little extra money, but it's good that you care for your car that much to pay for the tank to be drained with such little amount of gas in it. That car will last a lifetime with such great care.

__________________
2005 Audi A4 1.8T CVT -Silver/Black "Siegfried"

1982 300D - Silver/Blue "Ralph" -For Sale:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-cars-sale/119226-1982-300d-sale.html#post852260

1989 VW Diesel Jetta Blue/Blue "Bodo" RIP

Mike, when you got the car home from the garage and filled the fuel tank.....what did you fill it with??? Sorry, I had to ask!!

What a sweet car!!

__________________
1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)

Mike, when you got the car home from the garage and filled the fuel tank.....what did you fill it with???

What a sweet car!!

__________________
1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)

Ok, enough is enough. I know what I would do. I'd drive it, unless the outside temps. are above 50°F . If it's warmer than this where you are then try this. Add 8oz. of 2 cycle oil to your fuel tank. PUMP LUBRICATION SOLVED. Cost ? around $2 here in the states.
I'm NOT going to dis your favorite garage, personally I don't trust ANYONE to work on my car but ME! That is entirely up to you. Although I don't care for changing the oil filter on my '76 W115 ( very messy) I would still rather do it myself.
Anyone who claims that it is an emergent situation that you have what did you say 3 gallons of petrol with 10 gallons of diesel?, is just plain silly. Let me quote from page 80 of my MB owners manual "If regular gasoline (petrol to you folks on the other side of the pond) does have to be added, it's proportion should NOT exceed 30%. Premium fuels are not to be used." end quote. THis is in the fuels, coolants, and lubricants section of the owners manual and is referring to temps. below -16°C. Past experience has shown me on my vehicles that it would be OK to drive your car, and I only own one diesel out of 7 that has less than 200k miles on it.
Thirty percent of your tank would be 4.5 gallons, if you have a 15 gallon tank, so you are well under the "extreme" limits. Still , it's your call. Just the facts Tom

I myself have added a gallon or two of unleaded regular gasoline to my 1977 300D. My manual also said up to 30% gas was ok to mix. Interesting discussion of fluids going on here. I just saw it or I would have chimed in earlier, maybe saving someone several GBP (?)...

A cheaper solution would have been to siphon off maybe a 5 gallon can, fill the tank with diesel, then at next fillup time dump the can in and fill up with diesel, all the while adding a third to half bottle of Redline DFC at each fillup. This is if one was worried about the concentration of gasoline to diesel.

I second the notion that gas and diesel would mix via diffusion rather than form globules. More like mixing iced tea and water rather than oil and water, I would think.

__________________
Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

While I doubt that a one-time accidental addition of a small amount of gasoline would be fatal to the engine or fuel system, I do seem to recall that the advise to routinely mix a small amount of gasoline in the fuel tank during cold weather was later rescinded. It was in the owners manual for many years, but does it still say that for the newer models?

__________________
Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

I don't know about the newer MB diesel injection pumps, but I could run up to %50 gasoline in my 300D, depending on the outside temperature. Infact, the owners manual tells you to do so in the winter, if you cannot obtain winterized diesel fuel, which chemically is very similar to a mixture of gasoline and diesel. The problem is that using the gasoline/diesel mixture in warm weather causes the combined densities to change, possibly thinning the lubricating characteristics of the fuel. That is probally why the owner's manual was changed. People probally started diluting the diesel fuel for reasons other than ambient temperature. They should be very miscible as they
both are petrolium based, they should have mixed very well. I would have just ran it, and maybee topped it off with more diesel, a quarter tank down the road. Atleast you got your filters changed, though it wouldn't be necessary to change them if gas was in your system, as gasoline is thinner than diesel, and would not really affect the filter, even if you ran full gasoline through the system (which by no way am I telling you to do, or condone). The gasoline concentration you had would not have been harmful, but %20 would be about the maximum safe level in normal temperatures, as indicated the the thermodynamic tendencies of diesel fuel versus standard petrol. Also, the lower the octane of petrol you used the safer you are.

I guess though it's better to be safe than sorry, remembering that the car is a MB and would be pricy to have repaired; rebuilt.

Dr. Adam T. L. Deleki

The later model diesel manuals (well, if you consider 1982/87 "late model" ) don't mention mixing gasolene into the fuel for cold weather.

They specify kerosene. Also known as #1 Fuel Oil.

Ken300D

Put a quart or liter of engine lubricating oil in the tank and forget about it. This oil will make up for any lost lubricity of the gasoline.

One time I was out late at night and needed a small amount of fuel to get home. I couldn't find a Diesel fuel station so I put 2 gallons of gasoline in the tank. I got home fine and filled the tank the next with Diesel fuel. I used to say it was the only car I ever had that went 50,000 miles on 2 gallons of gas.

Ken,
My 85' manual says dilute with (gasoline). But it's a euro.

Go figure

Adam

I seem to remember reading something about some incidents at gas pumps, fires maybe? Someone else suggested that diesel fuel became more prone to catch fire in an accident where fuel spills. These were supposedly the main reasons MB substituted the recommendation to use kerosene for gasoline in their owners manuals.

Robert Roe,

If that were true, MB should say to put kerosene in all the gasoline cars. Liquid fuels do not burn, they must be vaporized and mixed with air or oxygen to ignite. The reason gasoline ignites easier in air is because it vaporizes easier than Diesel fuel.
Diesel fuel ignites easier in an engine because it ignites at a lower temperature than gasoline.

P E H

Ken, that is rather odd. Up here Kerosene is currently $1.75 per gallon (taxed) and our #1 diesel is only $1.39 (taxed) Both are dyed green/yellow.
Tom