Great explanation of the internal effects of using wrong fuel in a diesel engine:
Haven’t read the article yet, but I know the effects are not good. Essentially trashing the fuel system & motor is what I expect.
I found it interesting that part of diesel fuel necessary function is to lubricate things like the fuel pump, and that since gasoline is effectively a solvent, diesel systems essentially barf if you use it in them.
I haven’t read the article either - yet and this often happened in a Reserve(not limited to reserve folks) unit in the military I was in when various shops would take their various vehicles out for driver training or run the vehicle. Multifuel engines the military does have but they still prefer diesel.
There really should be some context on that, outside of “some dude in a dealership repair shop said something for an interview for an article on Jalopnik…”. (edit to add: here’s the “Screw Yahoo” link to the article on its home turf.)
Diesel fuel and gasoline are both solvents in the right light. I’ve used both in parts washers to clean “gunk” off old (car, usually) parts. They work fine. I like diesel better for a variety of reasons (less ka-boomy being right on up there), but NOT because gasoline is more solvent-y.
Here’s an article (well, more a “blip”) on diesel being a solvent:
Anywho, what is really being referenced there is the lubricity. And yes, diesel has better lubrication properties in that particular setting, but then that setting was literally manufactured specifically for diesel fuel’s lubricity profile. This is why if you take a diesel from, say, 1966 and run modern diesel fuel in it, it’ll do a lot of the same thing; that setting was manufactured for diesel fuel of 1966’s lubricity profile.
I’ll confess to being shocked there’s a 2023 Escalade diesel. Thought everybody pulled out of the small diesel market when VW got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, substantiated by Ford’s exit from the 1/2ton class diesel segment, and Dodge’s very-nearly-there exit, and other evidence that nothing’s shaking out of the diesel tree…
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