petrol oil into diesel engine

woody1

the wifes cars oil light came in, i had oil, i put it in , small bottle, only later did i discover that there are different oils for the different engines and i put petrol oil into her diesel engine, its gone for about 2 weeks now with no bother but should i drain it and refill it with diesel oil or will it make any difference at all...

Atlantic Dawn

What sort of car is it, how much did you put in? If it's half a litre I wouldn't worry too much about it. What spec oil did you put in and have you any idea what oil it required? I see most new Castrol oil they currently sell is for petrol or diesel cars, can be used in either.

sean1141

at the end of the day any oil is better than no oil!! depending on what car it is and what oil you put in i would leave it till its due a service. i would be more worried as to why the oil light came on (leak, burning oil etc)

woody1

it was just the half litre, but wasnt castrol and definitely said petrol oil, i checked later..
the car is an octavia ambiente 1.9 tdi1 2005
yep im more worried about the oil light coming on meself, im tempted to put it in for the free skoda healthcheck and see what they find.. :eek:

sean1141

them tdis have to have a certain spec oil. it havs to meet vw 505.01 spec. not any diesel oil will do. if it was my car i would change it asap but as i said i would be more worried about why the oil light came on. is there any visible leaks or any oil stains on the engine

Nissan doctor

On modern engines there is no such thing as 'petrol oil' or 'diesel oil'.

The oil has to be the correct spec for the engine, regardless of its type.


@op, if the oil light came on and you only put half a litre in the the engine is still very low on oil!

woody1

yep, ringing mechanic now to get it in to change oil and put right stuff in and in the process find out what caused the light to come on...

_Conrad_

woody1 wrote: »

yep, ringing mechanic now to get it in to change oil and put right stuff in and in the process find out what caused the light to come on...

There could be nothing actually "wrong" with the car but it would still eventually get low on oil. Small bits are always lost through use/burning off a small amount, small leaks etc. Or something as minor as a fairly mild leak on it's own over a long time combined with not regularly checking the level will eventually mean the oil light will come on when it finally reaches that point.

mickdw

That engine requires a very specific oil so certainly if it needs any further top up, you would be best to get the oil changed.
Interestingly, an irish vw/audi dealer parts supervisor put it down my neck that the 10w/40 quantum synta was the correct oil for these engines and is what is used 'in this country'. I didnt go for it although if thats what the very experienced parts guy is saying, I can only assume that this is what they are using when servicing.

JJJJNR

I ran my car on semi synth for 10,000 miles before I realised it was the wrong oil.. that was 100,000 miles ago.

woody1

was chatting to the mechanic, orange light so just telling me it needed top up.. and he says not to panic re oil type.. i have the date the light came on marked on a calendar so if it comes on again anytime soon il know to check further

Nissan doctor

woody1 wrote: »

was chatting to the mechanic, orange light so just telling me it needed top up.. and he says not to panic re oil type.. i have the date the light came on marked on a calendar so if it comes on again anytime soon il know to check further

Don't wait until the light comes on, check the oil properly and regularly on the dipstick to see if its losing any.

Every time you let your car run low on oil(oil light on) you are causing long term wear/damage.

And as for your mechanic saying don't worry about oil type...:rolleyes:

Wheelnut

mickdw wrote: »

That engine requires a very specific oil ....

The PD (pump deuse) diesel engine requires a special oil because the pumps are driven by the camshaft which generates very high shearing forces on the oil. Strangely, no one has suggested checking the handbook to see what engine is in the car and what oil is required. I don't think a half litre top-up would destroy the properties of the main body of oil but it should definately be checked by a competant mechanic.

Chimaera

For a 05 TDI, chances are the specified oil is 506 00 or 507 00. The main difference between these and the older 505 01 standard AIUI is less phosphate additives for emissions reasons, and there are some arguments in favour of continuing to use the older standard in the PD engine. IMO using the oil specified in the handbook is probably the best option, but a drop of something differnet to top it up is not the end of the world.

The main difference between petrol and diesel specific oils is that diesel oils have additives designed to mop up the soot particles that get into the oil and prevent them agglomerating and blocking up the oil passages.

Oil loss in a turbocharged car is pretty normal as the seals on the shaft are not perfect and can let a small amount of oil through. Losing up to a litre inbetween oil changes is not uncommon.