Cockfosters: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue got in? This one point decides nearly everything else from here. Over in New Barnet or here around Cockfosters, an unrun engine should remain that way. Usually this is draining and properly rinsing it on the spot in Cockfosters — and so leave the key and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Already run? Pull over when safe, then switch everything off. A bigger job, yes, yet the identical first step.
Further down: the situations we see, wherever in Greater London. Choose the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Cockfosters forecourt
Just now, nozzle yet in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the pump. Perhaps you are at the BP, perhaps at the Texaco, perhaps somewhere else in Cockfosters.
In short: there is no better place to be to spot it. No pump has drawn it in, so the AdBlue stays just inside that tank.
Your move: stay out of the car, even if the pump wants freeing. Get the staff to lend a hand pushing it into a bay, save the receipt, then ring us from there. If it cannot be shifted, it can be drained at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Cockfosters drive?
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Drives near Westpole Avenue see it as much as anywhere.
The point: zero miles since makes this almost equal to finding it at the pump. On the floor of your tank sits exactly where AdBlue waits, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing changes nothing of the difference.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Our technicians drain it on your drive, whether that's in Cockfosters or out in Barnet. Night-time clears beside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
Cockfosters: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two after the top-up. Perhaps it was on Cockfosters Road, possibly on the way out towards London, under 10 miles away.
Meaning? Your pump has sucked the AdBlue up. Mileage decides how far it goes: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. It travels further with every mile covered and each restart.
Next: find a safe place, stop, then turn the engine off. Cockfosters sits under 3 miles from the M25; on it, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on for the services. Don't restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Roughly what distance did it go? Tell us when you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a motor you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or puts it elsewhere, so no one warned you the AdBlue cap sits just beside your diesel. Anyone, anywhere around Greater London, could make it.
Meaning? Whatever case above counts too — run or unrun — plus one further stage. The owner often has to approve the work, under plenty of hire and fleet agreements.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before our arrival is faster. If you are stuck in the car park at New Barnet, or by Christ Church Cockfosters, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Cockfosters?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest answer there is. What cap came off, you cannot say; but the bottle feels less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. A rushed top-up by the gates of Trent CofE Primary School, or a call to a friend in Oakleigh Park: either fit.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no damage to your motor. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another story. Any AdBlue in the tank would be pulled in by starting the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Do this: behave as though it got in, and don't start your engine. 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.
What each AdBlue drain in Cockfosters has in common
The job opens identically, whatever the situation. Three things are asked when our technicians arrive — on a filling station, a drive, a street beside Capel y Drindod or the car park at The Cock Inn: the fluid, the amount, and whether it has been started. Those replies determine this work, and you hear the quote on the phone, before anyone sets off.
Emptying that tank comes next, followed by a full flush — more important with urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not go by themselves, however long it sits. Clean diesel goes in once the fuel filter is flushed or replaced, and the car is then tested. The majority of unrun cars are a half-hour visit after the moment our engineers arrive.
Starting the car comes last. Before our engineers leave, it's checked to be sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. We do the entire job where your car is, and long-term damage is very unusual when it has been noticed quickly. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money in advance. It is worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy while you wait is worthwhile.
About Cockfosters itself
Cockfosters is a suburban area in north London, situated near the River Lea and close to the borders of Hertfordshire. Cockfosters sits at an elevation of around 99 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Cockfosters is located near several other suburban areas, including Barnet, East Barnet, and Oakwood, and is around 9.7 miles from central London. Cockfosters has a population of approximately 4718 residents.
AdBlue drains across Greater London, Cockfosters included
Over EN postcodes, the teams serving Cockfosters — a residential suburb — reach nearby towns as well, East Barnet and Oakwood among them. A postcode starting EN4 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Cockfosters Cricket Club or in a car park in the middle of Cockfosters, it does not need to shift. The van drains it where it stands. Ring and check rather than guess when you're close to Chickenshed, on a border, or somewhere awkward to pin down.
In one line: your scenario
Not run yet: keep it off then ring. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Cockfosters and anywhere across Greater London on 0333 366 0103.