What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Chalk
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the engine has been run since it got in. Over in Riverview Park or right in Chalk, an unrun motor should remain that way. Keep nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, then expect a thorough flush after a drain, done just where your car stands in Chalk. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A bigger job, then, yet the same opening step.
Below: the situations our technicians see, anywhere around Kent. Choose the one that fits.
On a Chalk forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you are stood at the pump, bottle or nozzle in hand. Maybe you are at the Esso, possibly at the Asda, possibly somewhere else in Chalk.
Put simply: no better place to be to discover it. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — and so don't get back in. Three jobs: a push into a space with the staff helping, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, so a car that cannot be pushed away is drained right at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Chalk
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Only by the recycling, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened on the drive. Houses just off Copperfield Close are hit as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue drops to the floor of the tank and stays there, no matter how long the night.
Your move: the keys indoors, and so nobody drives the car off first thing. Then, phone. Out in Denton or here around Chalk, the draining is done at your drive. The pumping kit runs quiet enough not to disturb the street at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Chalk?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Possibly it was on Miller Road, perhaps on the way out towards Southend-on-Sea, under 25 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. It has been through the fuel filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. More driving, more restarts: deeper it goes.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. Leave at the next junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M2, under 3 miles from Chalk. Don't restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone us and say how far you drove.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its inlet is just by your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Wherever you are around Kent, any driver could slip up.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Your move: hire firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us second, since sorting it beforehand cuts time. Leave the vehicle switched off while the reply comes, whether you are parked outside Gravesend or near Riverside Community Centre.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Chalk
Truthfully, the only answer might be that you think it did. What cap was taken off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle feels less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. A hurried top-up by the gates of Westcourt Primary School, or a call to a friend in Windmill Hill: both fit.
In short: spillage round your filler leaves your motor no harm. Once it's inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will pull in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't start it. Call us and describe what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in every Chalk AdBlue drain
Each case gets the same start to the work. Wherever your car stands — White Hart's car park, a street by St. Aidan's Church, a drive, a forecourt — the van gets there and we ask for the fluid, the amount, plus if your engine has been run. The price is given over the phone, before a van leaves, and the replies shape the work.
Draining your tank comes next, then a careful flush — more important after urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't go by themselves, however long you wait. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Where the motor hasn't run, expect about half an hour on site, in most jobs.
Starting the car comes at the end. Before we head off, it is tested to be sure it runs properly on fresh diesel. If it is noticed soon, the car very seldom has long-term damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. It is worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your policy while we travel is worthwhile.
About Chalk, for a moment
Chalk is a suburban area in Kent, situated on the coast near the Thames Estuary, with an elevation of around 17 metres above sea level. Chalk lies within commuting distance of London, approximately 23 miles to the west, and is also close to the city of Southend-on-Sea. Chalk is characterised by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock and is surrounded by nearby places such as Denton and Westcourt. Chalk has a population of around 6046 residents.
AdBlue drains across Kent, Chalk included
Westcourt and Parrock Farm have the identical teams as Chalk, a residential suburb, along with other places throughout DA postcodes. Telling us a DA12 4 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Central Chalk or a lay-by towards Gravesend Golf Centre: either way it sits, your car doesn't need to move at all for the drain. The drain is done right there. If you are somewhere hard to explain, close to St Aidan's Church Hall or close to a border, ring and ask rather than guessing.
In one line: your scenario
Still unrun? Leave the vehicle that way then ring. Run already: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder, within Chalk or wherever across Kent.