So apparently at Home Depot in my area, pre-mixed 2 cycle fuel is in a grey bottle and 4 cycle is in a green bottle. And at Lowe's, it's exactly the opposite. The last time I bought fuel, I bought at the other store and picked based solely on color. This means I have now run about 48 ounces of 4 cycle fuel through the engine of my 2 cycle string trimmer. I know, stupid me for not reading the label.
As I was using it today, it would stop running if I let it idle. I thought that was weird but pressed on. Eventually it died while I was using it at full throttle. I have not been able to restart it at any choke position. It's currently cooling down in the garage.
Have I done permanent damage to the engine? What should I do?
Best Answer
There is quite the extreme possibility there has been permanent damage done. 4 cycle engines do not need oil mixed with the gas to provide lubrication, since it has oil in the crankcase. Two cycle engines have to have oil mixed in the gas to provide the lubrication needed, since there is no oil in the sump. When you used the 4 cycle gas, there was no much needed oil mixed with the gas. There may be a small chance the engine has not seized, it may start again, but the life of the engine has been greatly reduced.