What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Aintree
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the motor has run since it was put in. Not run so far? Then leave the car like that, wherever your car is — Aintree or Westvale. Leave the engine and your ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Aintree. Stop the moment you safely can then switch off, if it has been run. It is a bigger job, yet step one does not change.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever around Merseyside it happened.
Aintree forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you're standing at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. Perhaps you are at the Asda, possibly at the Shell, perhaps somewhere else around Aintree.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. Nothing has drawn it through, so the AdBlue stays just in the tank.
Your move: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the queue needs clearing. Ring us from the forecourt once your car is in a bay — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — and save the bottle. If it cannot be shifted, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Aintree drive?
On the dash, a reminder had been lit for days. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in on the driveway — and it's only at the recycling that the cap got your eye. It takes place on drives just off Haileybury Avenue as regularly as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then ring. Waddicar or Aintree: wherever your driveway sits, that's where it is drained. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Aintree: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, pulled away, and soon the engine was running unevenly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Maybe it was on Lowther Avenue, maybe on the way out towards Liverpool, under 10 miles away.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it too on a bigger run, after your filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Do this: stop somewhere safe, then switch your motor off. Aintree sits under a mile from the M57; on it, come off at the first junction rather than pressing on to the services. No test restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue will do. Roughly what distance had it go? Tell us as you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had the car hardly a week. Unknown to you, the two fillers are side by side here — unlike your own car, which has none or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Merseyside.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts too — run or unrun — plus one extra step. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before we arrive than after. Hanging on for a reply in the car park at Old Roan, or beside Saint Giles? Keep the car off meanwhile.
Aintree: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is often as honest as it gets. Too light, the bottle; a trace of ammonia near your filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Look familiar? Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Holy Rosary Catholic Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Copple House.
Meaning? Drips around the filler never reach the engine at all. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Next: assume it went in, then leave the motor off. Inspecting a tank that proves clean is better than draining one after it's been run — so ring and tell us what you saw.
Every AdBlue drain around Aintree shares these steps
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Filling station, drive, The Valentine's car park or a road by The Methodist Church — our van reaches the vehicle, and three answers follow: which fluid, what amount, and if it ran. Over the phone, before dispatch, you hear our quote, and those answers decide the work too.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it is crucial, since crystals form and some metals corrode, and neither rinses away unaided. Last come your filter, flushed or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of the vehicle. The majority of unrun vehicles are a half-hour job after the moment our technicians arrive.
We fire it up at the end. Our technicians confirm it runs smoothly on new diesel before we leave. Our technicians do the entire job where your car is, and lasting damage is very uncommon if it has been spotted quickly. Nothing is taken upfront, payment is made on the day, and you get what the insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so look at yours as we head over.
About Aintree, briefly
Aintree is a village in Merseyside, situated on the riverside near Liverpool, with a mix of semi-detached housing and other residential properties. Aintree sits at a low elevation of around 15 metres, close to the River Alt and the M57 and M58 motorways. Aintree is located near several other communities, including Waddicar, Melling, and Kirkby Park, and is about 5 miles from Liverpool city centre. Aintree has a population of approximately 2708 people, according to recent estimates.
AdBlue drains across Merseyside, Aintree included
Melling and Kirkby Park have the same teams as Aintree, a village, along with other places throughout L postcodes. Your location comes quickest from a postcode that starts L10 6.
Centre of Aintree or a lay-by towards Aintree Golf Course: wherever it sits, your vehicle never needs to move at all for the drain. Where it sits, that's where it is drained. Awkward to pin down? Close to Church of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary or a border? Asking beats assuming, and so ring.
Your situation, in one line
Motor never started: phone, and leave it switched off. Started already? Pull over, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever it is, in Aintree and Merseyside, on 0333 366 0103.