On another forum there is an interesting discussion about using Diesel Oil in a petrol engined car.

Seems to be two distinct arguments for and against.

For;
Will clean out the build up inside the engine.
Will maintain older engines better than normal Petrol engine oils.

Against;
Can damage newer EFI type engines.
The build up that is dislodged can move into areas of the engine and do major damage by blocking ports and such.



I'm just reading all this and wondering .... wtf so thought I would ask here as we have some pretty smart(****s) people here.

The advantage to using diesel oil in a petrol engine is that in diesel oil there's a cleaning chemical which completely restores the internals of the engine. You only run it for a couple of hours otherwise it can seriously damage the engine and dry up the seals.My diesel mechanic mate always tells me to put some of it in my car but i'm still a bit weary. having said that, he's put it in his EL an has no problems.

Edit: nvm didn't read it properly... i thought you meant as fuel lol

Wouldn't it make your car smoke more than a bunch of pot heads at a bong party?

i'm told there'll be no difference.

i'm told there'll be no difference.
Yeah I read it wrong... I thought it was diesel fuel in the fuel tank Tessa was referring to, my bad.

I'm stuck here, do you mean the oil for a diesel motor, or actual diesel?

I'm stuck here, do you mean the oil for a diesel motor, or actual diesel?

Diesel motors use a different type of lubricant for the engine. this oil has a cleaning element in it. using diesel motor oil in a petrol motor will clean everything inside when used only for a short time.

As for diesel fuel in a petrol car, i'm not sure, would it even ignite?

I duno this sounds like a pretty stupid idea, why would diesel oil have all these magical powers if normal oil didn't?

I think I can see where this all went wrong, it's pretty common to flush out a cars oil with an additive, mostly made up from kero. There was also an idea that you could flush it out with diesel instead of kerro, but I have never heard of using diesel oil in a petrol car.

if you put the fuel in at a servo your car will run very very smokey but it will run. If you do come across this situation don't turn your car off until all the diesel has run through it.

I duno this sounds like a pretty stupid idea, why would diesel oil have all these magical powers if normal oil didn't?

I think I can see where this all went wrong, it's pretty common to flush out a cars oil with an additive, mostly made up from kero. There was also an idea that you could flush it out with diesel instead of kerro, but I have never heard of using diesel oil in a petrol car.

because diesel engines get alot more soot and crap built up in their engines so they need it.

because diesel engines get alot more soot and crap built up in their engines so they need it.

Exactly, with the extra oil content in diesel fuel, theres higher levels of carbon deposits. Diesel oil is made to clean this deposit.

if you put the fuel in at a servo your car will run very very smokey but it will run. If you do come across this situation don't turn your car off until all the diesel has run through it.

yup, it will run but will absolutely bugger up the catalytic converter and will run like a bag of ****. Its safer to get it towed and the whole system flushed out.

because diesel engines get alot more soot and crap built up in their engines so they need it.

then petrol engines don't and your wasting oil/money.

An $11 tin of kerro/oil flush will do the exact same.

then petrol engines don't and your wasting oil/money.

An $11 tin of kerro/oil flush will do the exact same.

except kerro will attack all the rubbers inside the engine and will not all come out when removed continuing to cause damage.

Diesel oil has the cleaning agent which does not attack rubbers and mixes with normal engine oil thus not continuing to damage the engine.

EDIT; badly worded. Diesel oil does attack the rubbers to a lesser extent.

except kerro will attack all the rubbers inside the engine and will not all come out when removed continuing to cause damage.

Diesel oil has the cleaning agent which does not attack rubbers and mixes with normal engine oil thus not continuing to damage the engine.

EDIT; badly worded. Diesel oil does attack the rubbers to a lesser extent.

Wrong.

Kero in the right ratio wont hurt your seals.

The guys here are right the "cleaning agent" is very similar to kero but has silicon content as well, ive used diesel oil in an old 308 red for a few thousand clicks and no issues with seals etc, although i dont advise it.

No real point putting it in only to use it for a few hours then drain it, better off using kero (500ml per 5litres is a safe quantity) or one of the off the shelf oil cleaners (same crap except has silicone content same as diesel oil)

Just dont run it for too long though, as it thins the oil out and can potentially damage your bearings.

Wrong.

Kero in the right ratio wont hurt your seals.

The guys here are right the "cleaning agent" is very similar to kero but has silicon content as well, ive used diesel oil in an old 308 red for a few thousand clicks and no issues with seals etc, although i dont advise it.

No real point putting it in only to use it for a few hours then drain it, better off using kero (500ml per 5litres is a safe quantity) or one of the off the shelf oil cleaners (same crap except has silicone content same as diesel oil)

Just dont run it for too long though, as it thins the oil out and can potentially damage your bearings.

I'm going on what my mate told me. he told me max one day.

My old boss started using diesel oil in our work cars cause someone told him it was a good idea. Within 2,000kms I had a rod from a 2000 model Barina shoot a hole the size of an orange through the engine block. One of the other cars, a 2002 Vectra, developed a bad "ticking" noise from the engine, then blew the head. The 2001 Nissan Pulsar blew smoke like nothing else and broke down.

Use it at your own risk.

you're supposed to use it to clean out your engine, not to run your car on all the time.

i often put a cup of deisel fuel into some nasty 20$ for 5litre repco oil to run through the engine at oil changes.

i warm the car up on the normal oil thats already in there, max a mix of roughly 10:1 oil/deisel fuel, drop the existing oil once warm, through i the mix stuff, run for a few minues, drop it, run some more cheap oil through it to take some of the deisel residue out, drop it again, replace new filter, and fill with the oil i like using, which is gneerally Mobil1 10w50. Ive done this too all my cars, equivelant to 100,000kms now and the only one to blow smoke is the bloody rada with its crappy valve stem seals, which were leaking before it brought it. POS

The deisel oil idea ive seen and heard being used, and everytime ive heard it it was meant to be like run it for an hour or so around town, and then change it in. Deisel always used to have very high sulphur contents, regardless of carbon deposits, sulphur = bad. The cleaning elements from deisel oil actively strip this out.

MAKE SURE THE ENGINE IS WARM. AND DONT REV THE ENGINE AS DIESEL FUEL WILL DAMGE THE BOTTOM END BEARINGS.

My Boss has been doing this for the last 35 years in the automotive game my magna had a ticking noise and he did that to my car and with nearly 200000km's on the clock the oil was black now its golden brown at the 7500 service i did last week

Its been covered before in a engine flush thread.

To reiterate, you don't "drive" with the diesel fuel in your engine. You simply run it in your engine at idle speeds prior to doing an oil change.

Its been covered before in a engine flush thread.

To reiterate, you don't "drive" with the diesel fuel in your engine. You simply run it in your engine at idle speeds prior to doing an oil change.

I did a search on Diesel Oil and nothing came up.

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52921&highlight=Engine+FLush

Not the oil specifically, but the use of Diesel fuel in a petrol engine for flushing purposes.

way of topic but that avatar is awesome NEMESIS i love that movie.

back on topic

yes only idle the motor for a few minutes to get it circulating, and it will always pay to do a rinse cycle so to speak before you put in the good stuff. Does wonders for the internal cleanliness.

Anyone want picks of a 100oookm old SR20DET with this done every 5000km? i got some ill find the link (my engine)

The original post was about using diesel ENGINE oil in the sump of a petrol engine, not using diesel FUEL in the sump, or am I gettin mixed up. :nuts:
I read on the info sheet of several petrol engine oils that they are suitable for use in diesel engines as well as petrol donks.:headbange

eh any oil is better than no oil
additives are all different, though

as for diesel oil in a petrol car,
at work ive done this by accident in a tiida
so far it hasnt come back
but then again, the oil viscosities are only 7.5W30 vs 10W40

obviously, a higher viscosity will be beneficial for worn engines with some wear

my tafe teacher swore by flushing engines with some diesel, though

edit- viscosity fix

If the oil is changed regularly then there shouldn't be any build-up in the engine. Engine oils all have an additive package that includes detergents to clean carbon, gums etc from inside the engine. Diesel oil has additives to cope with a lot more carbon plus an additive to neutralise the sulphur in diesel fuel otherwise there would be acid in the sump attacking bearings, cylinders and pistons. You don't need these additives in a petrol engine. Additives cost money so when an oil company adds one type they pull back on the quality/quantity of others.

At one time the only extra benefit of diesel oil was that it had more zinc so made life better for flat tappet cams and lifters. But thats changed too now that diesels have CATS. Zinc kills CATS on diesels too so the amount of zinc additive has been cut right down like for car oils.

Oil should be changed according to the type of oil and driving habits. Short runs, cold running and lots of idling kills oil fast because the additive package is quickly used up. The answer is more frequent oil and filter changes. Oil is CHEAP!

Good quality synthetic oils have a premium additive package ie, better quality additives and generally more quantity of additives. Synthetic thickens less as it gets older and lubes better when cold and costs only what we pay for a tank of fuel.

Cheers, Alan

cheers alan, you have already proven yourself to be a source of excellent and informative information. Glad to have you on board

Thanks Cybermonkey. I hope that I can add to informative discussion.

Cheers, Alan

oil and filter change doesn't even take 5 mins on a 3rd gen.. and at $40 max (bottle of HPR10 and Ryco filter) i can't see why there is a need to prolong service intervals.. i do mine every 5k or less..

the only problem i can see with diesel oil is that it is designed to run in a cooler diesel engine and would thin out at the higher engine temps of a petrol

as a general rule i dont use flushes unless the condition is bad and even then any form of flushing can move the crap to other parts of the engine

i suggest a good semi synthetic hpr to slowly remove deposits and when the engine is nice and clean inside go upto a full synth or stay with the semi synth

the only problem i can see with diesel oil is that it is designed to run in a cooler diesel engine and would thin out at the higher engine temps of a petrol

as a general rule i dont use flushes unless the condition is bad and even then any form of flushing can move the crap to other parts of the engine

i suggest a good semi synthetic hpr to slowly remove deposits and when the engine is nice and clean inside go upto a full synth or stay with the semi synth
Someone's pretty keen to sell something eh? You're replying to about every thread I've seen... :iough:

Most oil have a diesel & petrol rating on them now.
I think the lastest petrol rating is "SM" & the diesel is "CI-4"
A lot of diesel engine now have to use a low sapps oil for there particulate filters

A diesel particulate filter, sometimes called a DPF, is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine. Wall-flow diesel particulate filters usually remove 85% or more of the soot, and can at times (heavily loaded condition) attain soot removal efficiencies of close to 100%. A diesel-powered vehicle equipped with functioning filter will emit no visible smoke from its exhaust pipe.

In addition to collecting the particulate, a method must exist to clean the filter. Some filters are single use (disposable), while others are designed to burn off the accumulated particulate, either through the use of a catalyst (passive), or through an active technology, such as a fuel burner which heats the filter to soot combustion temperatures, through engine modifications (the engine is set to run a certain specific way when the filter load reaches a pre-determined level, either to heat the exhaust gases, or to produce high amounts of NO2, which will oxidize the particulates at relatively low temperatures), or through other methods. This is known as "filter regeneration". Sulfur in the fuel interferes with many "regeneration" strategies, so almost all jurisdictions that are interested in the reduction of particulate emissions, are also passing regulations governing fuel sulfur levels.

Bit of a shame that the origonal poster never got back to clear up the confusion of what they were actually wanted to know.:hmm:

But I have seen noisy lifters (hydraulic) cured with the Diesel fuel used as flushing oil. Drain the oil from the sump ,and fill with diesel fuel. Run for 15 minutes (at idle), drain and refill with regular oil. Or you can just use Nulon Lifter Free.:hmm:

disciple: im very passionate about maintaining cars... i work in the automotive trade and at the shop we see alot of neglected cars come our way... im not selling anything.... advice is free to those who want it.... if they dont or disagree then well... MEH!

ps what does this mean? :iough: seriously i have no idea

Well, for the argument of whether using petrol or diesel engine oil makes any difference, check out the following two Australian products:

http://www.nulon.com.au/products.php?productName=100%_Synthetic_5W-30_Long_Life_Diesel_and_Petrol_Engine_Oil

http://www.nulon.com.au/products.php?productName=100%_Synthetic_5W-40_Long_Life_Petrol_and_Diesel_Engine_Oil

And yes, according to the application guide these are two of the oils recommended for the TH or above models (you could also use the 5w-40 in a TF etc, its more about engine age)...

This oil is for diesels, normal or turbo AND petrols, such as the Magna.

Work that one out ;)

sumpoiler: you omitted the centrifuge system used on some of the late model diesel landrovers... from what i remember(and i may be slightly off the mark) they clean the oil by taking 10% of the pre filter flow and spin it up in a centrifuge removing the particulates effectively extending the oil life to around 20000km

downside is you gotta replace the centrifuge along with the oil filter at oil changes =$$$$$

also all the CRDI vehicles ive come across to date (mainly european) use superthin synthetics... merc ML = 0w40 (from memory i know its a 0 weight but i cant remember the viscosity)

admittedly there are some oils for both petrol and diesel... but was the question not about using a diesel only oil in a petrol engine?

I'd say follow the packet, if it says diesel only then use it for diesel only! The oils I listed are for turbo diesels, some oils are only for naturally aspirated diesels and petrol... probably got to do with how carbon the oil gets with the heat of the oil cooled turbo's...

The advantage to using diesel oil in a petrol engine is that in diesel oil there's a cleaning chemical which completely restores the internals of the engine. You only run it for a couple of hours otherwise it can seriously damage the engine and dry up the seals.My diesel mechanic mate always tells me to put some of it in my car but i'm still a bit weary. having said that, he's put it in his EL an has no problems.

Its also good to run 600ml of diesel in with the oil, let the car idle for 10 minutes before an oil change. Helped me in getting rid of valve tappet "ticking". I wouldnt put diesel oil in my car though, semi synthetic oils do the trick, I stick with Mobil 10w-40.