AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Broadclyst? Don't Start It
Motor off, ignition off: that's how you begin if AdBlue has gone into the diesel tank. Water with urea mixed in it: that is AdBlue. Unlike fuel, it neither burns nor blends, and nothing starts until the engine pulls it round. If the engine hasn't run yet, AdBlue in a diesel tank is normally drained and carefully rinsed where the car stands in Broadclyst. Before you do anything else, call 0333 366 0103.
What to do right now, Broadclyst: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Do:
- Pull your keys out, and so nobody switches the ignition on.
- If you're at all near moving traffic, put your hazards on.
- Which product, and about what volume? Save the bottle or the till receipt, and we can know.
- Call just where you are. Say a EX5 3 postcode or the closest street sign, and nobody has to search for you.
Don't do these:
- No starting your engine — not for a second, not to reposition your car.
- Do not switch your ignition on. On many diesels that alone runs the fuel pump.
- AdBlue does not mix in diesel — it separates out — so adding more diesel won't weaken it.
- Even a short way down Town Hill is too far to drive the vehicle.
- No draining it yourself, either, on the verge.
The attendants working at any Broadclyst forecourt — the Murco among them — will normally lend a hand pushing it aside if you ask. At home, the car remains just where it is.
AdBlue in a diesel tank, and what it does there
Not the engine but your exhaust is where AdBlue belongs. From a dedicated reservoir it goes straight to your exhaust, cleaning what your motor emits. A fuel pump is not designed to take it, and AdBlue was never intended to travel through one.
Inside a diesel tank it behaves really differently from fuel. It doesn't mix in. It is heavier than diesel, and so it sinks and collects at the bottom of that tank, which is where the pickup draws fuel from. The first thing the fuel system pulls through, once it runs, is the AdBlue. So a motor that had AdBlue poured in on a drive in West Clyst last night, and hasn't been started since, is still the simple case: the AdBlue is lying at the bottom of your tank, and nothing has sucked it in.
From there it does two kinds of damage. Crystals and corrosion. As the water evaporates, it leaves urea that hardens in filter elements and tiny channels; and, because it eats at certain metals, every part it reaches suffers for as long as it remains inside. Pipes carrying AdBlue spell harm overnight for a vehicle parked in Broadclyst. Just in the tank, it stays the same. Water protects nothing. The high-pressure pump and every injector need diesel flowing past them, so the water part harms them in its own right.
Petrol or AdBlue in a diesel: why AdBlue is commonly worse
Fill a diesel with petrol by mistake at the Sainsbury's, and this problem is diluted fuel. Blended through your diesel and sitting still, it is harmless at that stage; using your motor does the damage.
AdBlue in a diesel is another matter: not thin fuel, but no fuel at all. Because it doesn't burn, running it through isn't an option. Nor can it be thinned, because it splits back out — and the next tankful will not rinse away deposits or corrosion. So the flush counts for more with AdBlue, and trying your engine "to see", in the heart of Broadclyst or out in Ratsloe, costs more than nearly any other slip.
As with petrol, there is good news. Anywhere around Devon your vehicle has stopped, an unrun motor leaves the AdBlue still in the tank: the easiest part of any fuel system to clear.
AdBlue in a diesel tank around Broadclyst: how it ends up there
It is not deliberate. Plenty of vehicles keep the AdBlue cap alongside the diesel inlet, occasionally under one flap, and mixing them up is simple in poor light. Mostly it's not the forecourt: a driver buys a container heading home and tips it in outside the house.
A few familiar ways account for most cases. Rushing, outside Broadclyst Community Primary School, after a warning lamp came on during the school run, a parent refills your car. Near Church Close, someone tips a container in on the drive after work. Or your car is topped up in the car park at Red Lion Inn, in poor light, by someone who has never opened that flap before.
Hired motors, brand-new motors, fleet motors, or the second car in a home with one of each: the least known vehicles get it the most. Wherever you are in Broadclyst or the rest of Devon, it's the same mistake and the same first answer: leave it off.
Already started your engine with AdBlue in your diesel tank around Broadclyst?
In that case, the AdBlue is no longer in your tank. Via your filter, along the pipework, and — with any running time — into the injection pump and each injector: that is how far it travels.
Rough running, smoke from the exhaust, dropping power, dashboard warnings or stalling: any might show up, perhaps midway across Broadclyst or coming back from Moor Plantation. When you safely can, stop and turn it off — with no restarting to see. With each start, more of it is pulled through.
Exit the M5, under a mile from Broadclyst, at the next junction and park somewhere safe, rather than carrying on.
A quick hop across Broadclyst to the car park by Victory Hall is one matter; driving for Exeter, under 5 miles away, is something else, because each mile pushes the AdBlue deeper in. So mileage counts. Let us know roughly how far it had come.
We do all of the rinsing where your car has stopped, and once your engine has run there is more of it. Noticed quickly, it very seldom leaves long-term damage.
Clearing AdBlue in a diesel in Broadclyst: what it takes
The vehicle remains put, whether that is a road beside St.John the Baptist, a driveway, a layby or a filling station around Broadclyst, and the van comes to it. What got in, about how much, plus whether the motor has turned over: we ask first, since those decide the work.
The contaminated diesel and the urea leave as one when that tank is emptied, on the spot. Residue from AdBlue will not wash out unaided, and so the whole system gets a full flush, which counts far more with urea than with petrol. After that, the filter: cleaned, or replaced if it must be. After that fresh diesel, and then a check of your car. Roughly half an hour once we arrive is typical for most jobs where your engine has not run. The pumps are explosion-proof, safe on a working forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Lastly, the fuel system is bled with new diesel. After that our engineers start the engine and you head off, whether from a parking bay at Cranbrook (Devon) or a drive around Broadclyst. Before we go, our engineers check it's running smoothly with fresh diesel in. As the job is done in its entirety where the car is, a workshop never comes into it. The insurer will want an engineer's report and the VAT invoice — each handed over afterwards.
About Broadclyst and where it is
Broadclyst is a village in Devon, situated near the River Clyst and close to the city of Exeter. Broadclyst has a population of around 857 people and is characterized by its terraced housing. Broadclyst sits at an elevation of 25 metres, in a riverside setting that is typical of many villages in the South West region. Broadclyst is located near other small settlements, including Dog Village and Poltimore.
AdBlue drains across Devon, Broadclyst included
Dog Village, Poltimore and Higher Burrowtown are among the places around Broadclyst that the same teams serve, along with much of Devon beyond, throughout the EX postcode area. Close to a border, or somewhere awkward to pin down? Asking beats assuming, so ring.
Wherever the vehicle stands — a drive at home, a side street, a parking area, a filling station — we drain it there, with no need to bring it to us; that suits Broadclyst, a village, well.
What AdBlue in a diesel tank costs to put right in Broadclyst
Each job differs, and so no single quote is honest. Three things move the cost: whether the motor has been running and for how long, how much AdBlue went in, and where the vehicle is. That last one rests on whether a technician can reach it safely, and an open drive is easier than a tight space behind Marker's Cottage.
What was put in, how much, and if it ran: every Broadclyst enquiry opens by asking precisely that, before any figure, never after. When they are answered, a range turns into a single fixed number.
Before a van heads out, you are told our quote on the phone. Then payment is on the day, card or by phone, with nothing in advance. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
In Broadclyst and still next to the car?
Leaving your vehicle alone is, right now, the most useful move you can do. Engine off, keys out, ignition off. Say it was AdBlue, roughly what quantity, and whether the engine ran, on 0333 366 0103. From there Petrol in Diesel handles it, across Broadclyst or anywhere within Devon.