AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Craghead, and What to Do Next
One thing matters above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if the motor has been started since. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether your car is around Craghead itself or out in Quaking Houses. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and count on a thorough flush plus a drain, carried out just where your vehicle stands in Craghead. Stop the moment it is safe and switch off, if it has already run. A larger job, yes, but the identical first step.
Compare your case to one of the ones below, anywhere across Durham you are.
At the pump in Craghead: AdBlue in a diesel
Just at this point, nozzle still in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Whether Texaco, Durham Fuel Centre or somewhere else around Craghead, the case is the same.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it gets. Only that tank has AdBlue; no part past it has taken any in.
What to do: don't get back in and crank it to clear the petrol pump. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a car that can't be pushed clear gets cleared where it is at the pump.
Craghead, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had passed with the warning light on. Bought a container, poured it in outside the house, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap a second time, too late. Drives near Middles Road see it as much as any other street.
The point: zero miles since makes it nearly as good to finding it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue drops to the base of your tank and remains put, however long the night.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then ring. Your drive is where it is drained, be it around Craghead or The Middles. Night-time empties beside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Craghead?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Craghead Lane, perhaps, or the way towards Durham — a run of under 10 miles.
The point: your system has pulled AdBlue through by now. It has been through the fuel filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. Each restart, like every mile, pushes it on.
Next: find a safe spot, stop, then turn your motor off. Craghead sits under 5 miles from the A1(M); on it, come off at the next junction instead of pressing on for the services. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Ring us and say how far you went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had this vehicle barely a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has none or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Durham.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies too — run or unrun — plus one extra step. Many rental and fleet agreements need the owner's sign-off for repairs.
Settling it before the van arrives is quicker, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Leave the vehicle off as the reply comes, even if you are waiting at Chester-Le-Street or near Craghead War Memorial.
Craghead: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. A slight ammonia-like whiff lingers near the filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. A hurried stop by the gates of Bloemfontein Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Grange Villa: both fit.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no harm to the motor. Inside your diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. Any AdBlue in your tank would be drawn in by starting the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Do this: act as if it got in, and don't start your motor. Inspecting a tank that proves clean beats draining one after it has been run — so ring then tell us what you noticed.
What each AdBlue drain around Craghead has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Three questions are asked once our engineers arrive — at a filling station, a drive, a road beside Craghead Spiritualist Church or the car park outside Punch Bowl: the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has been started. Answers set the job; the quote follows by phone while nobody has left yet.
Draining your tank comes first, followed by a careful flush — more important after urea than with petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not go on their own, no matter how long it sits. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Where the motor has not run, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. Before we leave, it's checked to confirm it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. Permanent damage is very unusual when it is spotted quickly, and the entire job is done where the car is. Paying is on the day, never upfront. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Dig out your insurance before we arrive: misfuelling cover comes included in plenty of policies.
About Craghead itself
Craghead is a village in County Durham, situated near the River Wear and approximately 6 miles from the city of Durham. Craghead sits at an elevation of 173 metres, with the surrounding landscape characterised by rolling hills and scenic views. Craghead is a relatively small community, with a population of around 921 people, and predominantly features terraced housing. Craghead is located near other local places, including The Middles, Holmside, and South Stanley.
AdBlue drains in Craghead, and across Durham too
As a village, Craghead has the same vans as the surrounding places — South Stanley, Holmside — right across DH postcodes. Quickest of all: a DH9 6 postcode for where you stand.
Central Craghead or a lay-by towards Ousterley Wood: either way it is, the vehicle never needs to move at all for the drain. The drain is done on the spot. If you're somewhere hard to explain, close to Craghead Miners Lamp or close to a border, ring and ask rather than guessing.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep it off then ring. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel handles from there on 0333 366 0103, across Durham and in Craghead — after you pull over, turn off then phone, if it has run.