Tweet
This is going to be long...
This has just happened to me in the last 2 weeks..so bear with me on this...it could..and I say could , save you a fuel pump, injectors and necessary piping.
I am not saying, it WILL save..but I believe it may have contributed to the my final outcome that could have gone at any time "tits up" and cost me big $$$$$$$$
On the 25th Feb 2023 it was raining up here on the North Coast...and so I went to fill up my Paj and went to a fuel station that does the old fashion "Driveway Service", granted the weather was shite at the time and I had to line up with 6 other vehicles in the one horse towns' only fuel station.
Yes I could have gone to another place, but I was heading to work and the fuel station was on the way..so why not.
The Paj had about 120k left in the tank...so I decided to get the driveway attendant to fill the tank with about $50.00 of diesel to get me to Tenterfield and some cheaper fuel as I was going camping in the area over the weekend...I was right behind a Toyota Corolla (hold that thought!)
On the way home after work..about 5 ks from home..a small shudder from the engine..(that type of fuel starvation type shudder you get).I made it home.
I get changed, go back out to the Paj to then connect it up to the Camper..
I put the key in..the engine turns over..but no firing up..
Bugga..
I check the manual pump on the fuel pump..slack as...bugger..the fuel is not getting up to the filter from the tank..bloody air getting into the system.
Double bugga...just when I want to go camping.
So I manually primed the fuel system..but before I go to fire the Paj up...ahrr..I will stick in some Cost Effective Management (CEM) CRD Fuel Enhancer and Decarboniser in the tank as the Paj is due for a top up of that stuff, I was going to do on that wet day fuel up..but it was raining..
So I put the CEM stuff in at the recommended dose..then go to fire up the Paj.
It Lives!..bit of blue smoke..but it lives, so I take the Paj for a quick 10km squirt around the place just to see how it goes...ran like clock work.
The Pajero had good acceleration, none of the type of fuel deprivation shudder any more.
So in the back of my mind...yep, that shudder was just a bit of crap in the system..
I get back home...connect up to the camper..turn the Paj off to connect the electrics..then I jump back in the Paj..engine turns over..no go.
FK!!!!!!FK!!!!!FK!!!!
There goes my weekend camp..better to stay home and get this looked at, then go and get stranded out bush.
So I disconnect the camper..prime the fuel system, Paj fires up..I then park it for the weekend.
On Monday 27th I ring the mechanic..we have a chin wag.."yep sounds like a air is getting into the system from somewhere prior to the fuel filter..could be split hose....I can look at it Friday this week..I may be able to slip it in between jobs"...
In the mean time..I prime the Paj fuel filter and head into town for some shopping...still thinking that its a "Air in to the fuel system problem" and that just a manual prime will fix the issue.
On Monday night...park the Paj and park it up for Friday.
It's the Friday, so I manually prime the fuel system and fire the Paj up and drive to the mechanic..its about 8k's away..runs well..no shuddering, acceleration is fine..
I leave the Paj with the mechanic for all Friday..he rings me up in the arvo..he just got around to looking at it..but needs more time...so I will leave the Paj with him over the weekend..
So..at this stage I have driven the Paj since the first episode of stalling and pig rooting..maybe 30'km's..until it went to the mechanic.
Monday 6th of March...I get a phone call from the mechanic @0800.."yep we found the issue...you have unleaded fuel in the tank"
My heart has just collapse through my anus..
So they will drain the tank...and check to see what damage there is...prepare for the worst..maybe just maybe..but it depends on the amount of Unleaded..if it"s greater then 5% of the whole tank the mechanic mentioned...we may have issues.
So where is that bloody fuel receipt..Bugga...I didn't get one..that attendant, just finished filling up that Corolla..then filled mine without thinking..WTF!!!!!!!!!
I'm bloody kicking myself....
I should have filled the vehicle myself like I always have done for the last 8 years..
So the brain starts ticking over..
I has 120ks left..10ltrs per 100..so I had about 11 to 12 ltrs of diesel in the tank...I got a $50.00 top up..which now has turned out to be FKN unleaded, well is $2.05 Ltr...damn, damn,damn..over 22lrs of unleaded into the tank.
That's over a 50:50 ratio mix....I am well and truely bloody screwed..new fuel pump, injectors..$$$$$$$$$$.
My brain is ticking over..
On the off chance, I ring CEM..tell them the story..their take on the problem generally " if the vehicle has died and the engine refuses to fire up...the fuel system is cactus."..but yours is still going..so the unleaded, by the looks of it, may not have had the time heat up the fuel pump due and the CRD Enhancer prevented the seals from poor lubrication...so you may...may have dodged a bullet...but a 50:50 mix is interesting.." he went on "ring up back with the outcome..we will be interested..."
Monday 1600Hrs...the mechanic rings me .."you can come and pick up the vehicle...we drained the tank..cleaned out the fuel system..filled with diesel..fired up first go...it purrs like a kitten..we put it on the diagnostics...everything within proper Mitsubishi engine spec's..injectors are fine..fuel pump..good.
This weekend..a Tats ticket will be purchased..
I rang CEM and gave them the news..their reply.."maybe just maybe the Fuel Enhancer kept the rubber seals in the injectors and fuel pump lubricated enough plus with me travelling about 20kms..the fuel pump and injectors did not have time get overheated..So for the next 2 tanks..30mls of CRD Enhancer..then back to normal dosages".
I have literally dodged a bullet.
Note to self...
1/. ALWAYS....Fill the vehicle yourself.
2/. ALWAYS get a Fuel receipt REGARDLESS.
3/. Keep on using the CEM products.
This has just happened to me in the last 2 weeks..so bear with me on this...it could..and I say could , save you a fuel pump, injectors and necessary piping.
I am not saying, it WILL save..but I believe it may have contributed to the my final outcome that could have gone at any time "tits up" and cost me big $$$$$$$$
On the 25th Feb 2023 it was raining up here on the North Coast...and so I went to fill up my Paj and went to a fuel station that does the old fashion "Driveway Service", granted the weather was shite at the time and I had to line up with 6 other vehicles in the one horse towns' only fuel station.
Yes I could have gone to another place, but I was heading to work and the fuel station was on the way..so why not.
The Paj had about 120k left in the tank...so I decided to get the driveway attendant to fill the tank with about $50.00 of diesel to get me to Tenterfield and some cheaper fuel as I was going camping in the area over the weekend...I was right behind a Toyota Corolla (hold that thought!)
On the way home after work..about 5 ks from home..a small shudder from the engine..(that type of fuel starvation type shudder you get).I made it home.
I get changed, go back out to the Paj to then connect it up to the Camper..
I put the key in..the engine turns over..but no firing up..
Bugga..
I check the manual pump on the fuel pump..slack as...bugger..the fuel is not getting up to the filter from the tank..bloody air getting into the system.
Double bugga...just when I want to go camping.
So I manually primed the fuel system..but before I go to fire the Paj up...ahrr..I will stick in some Cost Effective Management (CEM) CRD Fuel Enhancer and Decarboniser in the tank as the Paj is due for a top up of that stuff, I was going to do on that wet day fuel up..but it was raining..
So I put the CEM stuff in at the recommended dose..then go to fire up the Paj.
It Lives!..bit of blue smoke..but it lives, so I take the Paj for a quick 10km squirt around the place just to see how it goes...ran like clock work.
The Pajero had good acceleration, none of the type of fuel deprivation shudder any more.
So in the back of my mind...yep, that shudder was just a bit of crap in the system..
I get back home...connect up to the camper..turn the Paj off to connect the electrics..then I jump back in the Paj..engine turns over..no go.
FK!!!!!!FK!!!!!FK!!!!
There goes my weekend camp..better to stay home and get this looked at, then go and get stranded out bush.
So I disconnect the camper..prime the fuel system, Paj fires up..I then park it for the weekend.
On Monday 27th I ring the mechanic..we have a chin wag.."yep sounds like a air is getting into the system from somewhere prior to the fuel filter..could be split hose....I can look at it Friday this week..I may be able to slip it in between jobs"...
In the mean time..I prime the Paj fuel filter and head into town for some shopping...still thinking that its a "Air in to the fuel system problem" and that just a manual prime will fix the issue.
On Monday night...park the Paj and park it up for Friday.
It's the Friday, so I manually prime the fuel system and fire the Paj up and drive to the mechanic..its about 8k's away..runs well..no shuddering, acceleration is fine..
I leave the Paj with the mechanic for all Friday..he rings me up in the arvo..he just got around to looking at it..but needs more time...so I will leave the Paj with him over the weekend..
So..at this stage I have driven the Paj since the first episode of stalling and pig rooting..maybe 30'km's..until it went to the mechanic.
Monday 6th of March...I get a phone call from the mechanic @0800.."yep we found the issue...you have unleaded fuel in the tank"
My heart has just collapse through my anus..
So they will drain the tank...and check to see what damage there is...prepare for the worst..maybe just maybe..but it depends on the amount of Unleaded..if it"s greater then 5% of the whole tank the mechanic mentioned...we may have issues.
So where is that bloody fuel receipt..Bugga...I didn't get one..that attendant, just finished filling up that Corolla..then filled mine without thinking..WTF!!!!!!!!!
I'm bloody kicking myself....
I should have filled the vehicle myself like I always have done for the last 8 years..
So the brain starts ticking over..
I has 120ks left..10ltrs per 100..so I had about 11 to 12 ltrs of diesel in the tank...I got a $50.00 top up..which now has turned out to be FKN unleaded, well is $2.05 Ltr...damn, damn,damn..over 22lrs of unleaded into the tank.
That's over a 50:50 ratio mix....I am well and truely bloody screwed..new fuel pump, injectors..$$$$$$$$$$.
My brain is ticking over..
On the off chance, I ring CEM..tell them the story..their take on the problem generally " if the vehicle has died and the engine refuses to fire up...the fuel system is cactus."..but yours is still going..so the unleaded, by the looks of it, may not have had the time heat up the fuel pump due and the CRD Enhancer prevented the seals from poor lubrication...so you may...may have dodged a bullet...but a 50:50 mix is interesting.." he went on "ring up back with the outcome..we will be interested..."
Monday 1600Hrs...the mechanic rings me .."you can come and pick up the vehicle...we drained the tank..cleaned out the fuel system..filled with diesel..fired up first go...it purrs like a kitten..we put it on the diagnostics...everything within proper Mitsubishi engine spec's..injectors are fine..fuel pump..good.
This weekend..a Tats ticket will be purchased..
I rang CEM and gave them the news..their reply.."maybe just maybe the Fuel Enhancer kept the rubber seals in the injectors and fuel pump lubricated enough plus with me travelling about 20kms..the fuel pump and injectors did not have time get overheated..So for the next 2 tanks..30mls of CRD Enhancer..then back to normal dosages".
I have literally dodged a bullet.
Note to self...
1/. ALWAYS....Fill the vehicle yourself.
2/. ALWAYS get a Fuel receipt REGARDLESS.
3/. Keep on using the CEM products.
Comment