My car is a VW Passat '92 and I usually fill it with unleaded 87 gas. This afternoon I made a mistake by filled it up with leaded 89 gas. Is that gonna hurt my engine?
2007-04-25 18:09:58 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I am surprised you could find Leaded gas but depends on what country your in.
As to engine harm, yes it can affect the emissions equipment and DO HARM TO THEM. It doesnt take many gallons to destroy a modern Catalytic con AND ruin the o2 sensor.
Run the car down to 1/2 tank then fill it back up with unleaded to dilute the leaded gas. It is possible it might set a check engine light and at worst, you might have to replace the o2 sensor. Most likely nothing will happen, just try not to make it habit.
2007-04-25 20:40:06 · answer #1 · answered by gary 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lead is an antiknock ingredient that is added to gasoline to keep the engine from knocking or pinging. It increases the octane of the fuel (makes it burn more completely). That stuff also leaves a white residue behind in the engine. It won't hurt to do a tank full. But keep in mind that it was removed from fuels because lead is not exactly good stuff to breath. Also to keep from putting it in your car, the fuel nozzle was changed at the pumps so it should not have fit your gas tank. That means you may have an older model car that was before the change or someone at the gas station put the wrong nozzle on the pump. Just don't do it again. By the way I think that residue I mentioned should burn off after you put the right fuel in.
2007-04-25 18:29:36 · answer #2 · answered by oldwolf1951 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yea where did you find leaded fuel here where I live you cant have it and no one sells it, but no you will have no problems with running leaded fuel in your car just dont make a regular habit of it, and to be safe I would drive your car regularly until it was just above the E than I would get some fuel injection cleaner I recommend using STP brand you pour that into your car than fill it up full, that would clean out any gunk that may have built up from using leaded fuel. Good luck to you
2007-04-25 18:48:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
it wont hurt your engine. however it will hurt your catalytic converter. are you sure you filled up with leaded? because most cars these days {all in California} before 92 were equipped with a fuel pipe restricter that doesn't allow a lead fuel pump nozzle into the gas take to fill it up.
2007-04-25 22:46:39 · answer #4 · answered by b_rent2003 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no it will not hurt anything in fact it will probably run better than it did before. The lead in gasoline is in there to cushion the lifters and if you had a bit of ticking noise before now it will be gone until you put unleaded back in. no problems though go ahead and drive it
2007-04-25 20:15:32 · answer #5 · answered by Rev. Os. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no problems to worry about. it will not effect your engine to any noticeable degree. just run regular fuel through it. the only reason leaded was discontinued as the standard was because of the health risk but it actually runs cooler and easier on the engine. where are you that you get leaded gas? if you have further questions contact me at hunter1stshot@yahoo.com. best of luck.
2007-04-25 18:23:03 · answer #6 · answered by hunter1stshot 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
First of all where did you get leaded fuel?
The damage will not be to the engine but to the catalytic converter.
2007-04-25 18:29:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no it wont hurt your engine horribly, it is mainly for health reasons. there may be some left over deposits in your engine, but only if you continue putting leaded gasoline.
2007-04-25 18:14:36 · answer #8 · answered by maynard_13th 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I didn't think you could buy leaded gas anymore. Don't do it again. It will crash your catalitic converter eventually.
2007-04-25 18:49:28 · answer #9 · answered by Fordman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋