What to do in the first ten minutes, and how to fix it at home for about $150 in parts.
Glovebox Guides for your ADHD toolkit, because S#!T happens.
Screenshot this screen. It's the glovebox card.
It comes down to one thing: did the engine run, and on how much petrol?
High risk? Drain and flush, then have a diesel specialist test the pump and injectors.
The engine only draws from the main tank. Petrol is mostly there, but some may have reached the sub-tank. Not sure? Drain both.
The fix: half a day, six phases, seventeen steps. Stop between phases if you need to.
Away from drains and anything that sparks.
Before you touch any fuel line.
Jerry cans, drip tray, rags, extinguisher, multigrips. Write CONTAMINATED on every can before a drop goes in.
Feed the jiggle siphon in slowly and twist. If it jams, don’t force it.
From the real job: the hose wouldn’t fit the main filler neck, so with the connector hose off it went in through the tank collar instead.
Take the outlet hose (the one to the injectors) off the filter, and drain the filter and lines into a can.
From the real job: another 10 L or so came out this way.
About 10 L of fresh diesel in, rock the car gently, then drain it into a separate labelled can.
The water sensor sits at the bottom of the filter. Follow its cable to the plug and pull the plug apart.
Two nuts on the bracket at the top hold the filter. 13 mm [confirm size].
The inlet comes from the tank. The outlet is already off from draining.
The brass shroud around the bottom protects the sensor switch. Undo the two small hex-head screws on its clamp and slide the shroud off.
Wrap a rag around the plastic sensor and unscrew it with multigrips — gently. It can be brittle if it’s old. Easier with two people.
From the real job: multigrips are a must-have for this job.
Unscrew the grey head off the top of the canister. It has a nylon thread and an O-ring seal, so firm but gentle. Sometimes needs two people to loosen.
Screw the head onto the new Ryco Z252X (new O-ring, lightly oiled with clean diesel), the sensor into the bottom and the brass shroud back on. Back into the bracket. Reconnect the inlet (from the tank) and the outlet (to the injectors), then plug the sensor back in. [Confirm the order on the car.]
From the real job: priming the new filter before fitting it made the restart easier.
At least 20 L of fresh diesel. Pump the black primer button on top of the grey head until it goes firm — short up-and-down strokes.
No more than 10 seconds cranking, with 30 seconds rest between.
Look at every fitting you touched.
From the real job: it blew smoke for about five seconds, then ran smoothly.
Light load. If it ran on mostly petrol, book an injector back-leak test with a diesel specialist.
Something didn’t match your car? Tell us: gloveboxguides@inmatters.com.au
Shopping list Get rid of the old fuelAbout $150 all up for parts and consumables. Prices as seen at Supercheap Auto, October 2026. Check fitment for your car.
No battery siphons or pumps. Use the hand jiggle siphon. A spark from a battery or 12 V pump can ignite petrol vapour.
Never on the ground, down a drain or in a bin.
Outside Victoria: check your council or state EPA for household chemical drop-off.