What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Ballybogy
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the engine has run since it went in. Not started yet? Then keep it that way, wherever your car sits — Ballybogy or Dervock. Leave the motor and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Ballybogy. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever across County Antrim it happened.
Ballybogy forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Just at this point, bottle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the pump. Be it the nearest petrol station, another forecourt nearby or anywhere else in Ballybogy, the situation is the same.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Still inside your tank, with nothing pulled through: that's where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: don't get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Ask the attendants to help you roll your car into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Draining it there at the petrol pump is fine if it can't be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home around Ballybogy with AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Houses just off Frederick Crescent get hit as much as anywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Your move: the keys in the house, so nobody drives the car off first thing. After that, phone. Out in Ballyrashane or here in Ballybogy, the drain is done at your drive. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Ballybogy?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe driving to Derry, under 50 miles away, or just along Pier Road.
The point: the system has drawn AdBlue through already. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it too on a bigger trip, once the fuel filter and pipework have it. It travels further with every mile driven and every restart.
Next: find a sensible spot, stop, then switch the engine off. Exit by the next junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M77, over 50 miles from Ballybogy. It will not have cleared, so there is no point restarting to check. Ring us and say how far you travelled.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had this car barely a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around County Antrim.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, which turn on whether it's run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Sorting it before we arrives is quicker, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. If you are stuck in the car park outside the nearest station, or by the centre, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, in Ballybogy
Honestly, the best answer might be that you think it did. Lighter, the bottle; a hint of ammonia near the filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Look familiar? The gates of the local primary school in a hurry, perhaps, or someone's driveway over in Ballymoney.
Meaning? Spills outside the filler don't touch your engine at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. Any AdBlue in your tank would be drawn in by starting the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Assume it went in, and never start your key. Call us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each Ballybogy AdBlue drain
Every case gets the same opening to the job. Forecourt, drive, the pub in the village's car park or a road by a street just off the centre — the van reaches the car, and three answers follow: what liquid, what amount, and if it ran. Answers set the work; the price comes on the call whilst no one has set off yet.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to certain metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out unaided; that is why the flush, after the drain, counts far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Last come the fuel filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a test of the car. Most unrun cars are a half-hour job after the moment we arrive.
Lastly, we start the engine. Before we go, it is checked to be sure it runs smoothly on new diesel. The entire job is done where the car is, and when it's spotted soon, long-term damage is very unusual. Paying is on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Many insurance policies cover misfuelling, so look at yours while the van travels.
About Ballybogy itself
Ballybogy is a small locality in County Antrim, situated inland at an elevation of 51 metres. Ballybogy lies near the towns of Ballyrashane, Balnamore, and Coleraine, and is approximately 30 miles from Derry. Ballybogy is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its rural setting. Ballybogy is a relatively small community, with a population of around 717 people.
AdBlue drains across County Antrim, Ballybogy included
Ballybogy is a small village, and the same teams that cover it work the places near it too, Balnamore and Coleraine among them, across the BT postcode area. A postcode starting BT53 6 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to the green space at the edge of the village or in a car park in the middle of Ballybogy, it does not need to shift. Draining happens on the spot. Awkward to explain? By the far end of the built-up part or a county line? Asking is better than guessing, and so phone.
The one-line version
Motor not started: phone, and leave it switched off. Run already? Stop, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whatever case, across Ballybogy and County Antrim, on 0333 366 0103.