AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Catchems End, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has run since it went in. Over in Habberley or right around Catchems End, an unrun motor must stay that way. Normally this means emptying and thoroughly rinsing it right there around Catchems End — so keep your ignition and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. Stop the minute you safely can and switch off, if it has been run. Step one remains the same, even if the work grows.
Below: the situations our engineers meet, wherever around Worcestershire. Pick yours.
At the pump in Catchems End: AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, nozzle still in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. Somewhere around Catchems End, then — Texaco, Esso, or somewhere else close by.
Meaning? Finding out here is the best it can be. Only the tank holds AdBlue; not one part past it has taken it in.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Ask the staff to help you roll the vehicle into a parking spot, keep your receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Draining it there at the pump is fine if it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
Catchems End, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On your dash, a warning had been lit for days. Bought a container, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, after the fact. Driveways close to Threlfall Drive see it as much as anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Keep the keys in the house overnight — or a person might drive it away first thing — then phone us. Your driveway is where it gets drained, whether in Catchems End or Wribbenhall. The pumping kit works quietly enough that it won't wake the street at night.
On the road in Catchems End with AdBlue in a diesel
Rough running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two after the fill. It might have been driving for Worcester, under 15 miles away, or simply along Habberley Road.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue in already. It's been through the fuel filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors. Every restart, like every mile, carries it on.
Next: pick a safe spot, pull in, then turn your engine off. Leave by the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M5, under 10 miles from Catchems End. No test starts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue will do. Tell us know the mileage covered as you ring.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've only had this vehicle for days. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the inlet is right by your diesel cap — news to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Worcestershire.
The point: exactly as above, split by if it ran, only with an added step. The owner frequently has to sign off any work, under plenty of hire and fleet agreements.
Settling it before we arrives is quicker, so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Leave the vehicle off while the reply comes, even if you are waiting at Kidderminster or close to Safari Park Theme Park.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Catchems End?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. A faint ammonia smell lingers near your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. The gates of Bewdley Primary School in a rush, say, or a friend's drive over in Sutton Farm.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no harm to the motor. Once it is inside your diesel tank, though, it does. If there is AdBlue in your tank, turning on your car would suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Assume it got in, and never turn your engine. Checking a tank that turns out clean is better than draining one after it's been run — so phone then tell us what you noticed.
Each AdBlue drain in Catchems End shares these steps
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Three things come once our technicians arrive — at a filling station, a drive, a road by All Saint's Parish Church Wribbenhall or the car park at The Rising Sun: the liquid, the quantity, and whether it has been started. Those replies settle this work, and you get the price on the phone, before anybody heads out.
Emptying that tank comes first, then a full flush — more important with urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, no matter how long you wait. Last are the fuel filter, flushed or renewed as needed; clean diesel; and a check of your car. Never started? Then about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Last, our engineers start it. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it's running properly, and then we leave. When it's spotted early, the vehicle very seldom has permanent damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. Payment comes on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes included in plenty of policies.
About Catchems End, for a moment
Catchems End is a suburban area in Worcestershire, situated inland at an elevation of 44 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Catchems End lies approximately 13 miles from Worcester and 110 miles from London, placing it in a relatively rural setting. Catchems End is close to nearby places such as Wribbenhall, Bewdley, and Summerhill, and has a population of around 2651 residents. Catchems End forms a small but distinct community within the wider West Midlands region.
AdBlue drains in Catchems End, and across Worcestershire too
Bewdley and Summerhill get the same vans as Catchems End, a residential suburb, plus further places over DY postcodes. Your location comes quickest from a postcode that starts DY12 1.
No moving is required, be it parked centrally in Catchems End or on a layby en route to Shaw Hedge Road Play Area, and so leave it put. The drain happens on the spot. Phone and ask instead of guessing when you're by Spring Grove House, on a boundary, or somewhere tricky to explain.
Your scenario, summed up
Where it hasn't run, phone and keep it that way. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Catchems End and anywhere across Worcestershire on 0333 366 0103.