AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Dalintober, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your motor has been run since it went in. Over in Kilkerran or here around Dalintober, an unrun engine must stay that way. Leave your engine and the ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is in Dalintober. Stop the minute you safely can and switch off, if it has already run. Step one remains unchanged, even though the work is bigger.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever across Argyll and Bute it happened.
Dalintober forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You are at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It could be the County Garage Filling Station, or the D. McNair & Son (Yard), or a different forecourt in Dalintober.
Meaning? Finding out here is the best it can be. No pump has pulled it through, so the AdBlue stays just in the tank.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up only to move away from the petrol pump. Three jobs: a shove into a bay with the attendants helping, the receipt saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. Can't move the car beside the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof kit keeps a live forecourt safe, and so we can drain the vehicle in place.
Dalintober, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Several days had passed with the warning light on. A bottle bought at the shop, emptied in on the drive — and it's just by the bin that the cap got a second look. Drives close to Saddell Street get it as much as any other street.
Put simply: if your vehicle has not moved since, it is nearly as good as finding out at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of your tank and stays there, no matter how long the night.
Put your keys indoors overnight — otherwise someone might take it away first thing — then phone us. Mill Knowe or Dalintober: whichever your driveway is, that's where it gets drained. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
Dalintober: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Topped up, pulled away, and before long the motor was turning unevenly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Anywhere on High Street or heading to Belfast — over 50 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into your fuel system. Through the fuel filter, through the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. It travels further with every mile covered and every restart.
Next: find a sensible spot, stop, then switch your motor off. Service stations further on are too far: from the M77, under 50 miles out of Dalintober, take the first junction. No test restarts: clearing is not something AdBlue will do. Roughly how far did it gone? Say so as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
A week back, the car was unknown to you. Your own motor either does without AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, so no one told you the AdBlue cap sits just beside your diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Argyll and Bute.
Meaning? Whichever case above counts here — run or unrun — plus one further stage. The owner frequently needs to sign off the work, under many hire and company agreements.
Next: ring the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before we arrive is quicker. Leave it switched off as the reply arrives, even if you are parked at the nearest station or near Glen Scotia Distillery.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Dalintober?
At times the fair answer is "I think so". A slight ammonia smell hangs around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. The gates of the local primary school in a rush, say, or someone's drive out in Askomill.
What it means: a little spilled around the filler does no harm to the motor. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, firing up your car would suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Next: assume it got in, and leave your engine off. Ring and give what you saw: we'd sooner find a clean tank than empty one once your engine has run.
Dalintober: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Each case gets the same opening to the work. Wherever your car stands — The Black Sheep's car park, a street by The Free Church, a driveway, a filling station — our van arrives and we ask for the liquid, the amount, and if the engine has been run. Those answers determine this work, and you get the quote by phone, before anybody sets off.
Draining your tank comes first, followed by a careful flush — more important with urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not clear on their own, however long it sits. Clean diesel is put in once the filter has been cleaned or replaced, and your car is then checked. Where your engine has not been started, expect about half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Our technicians start it at the end. Our technicians confirm it runs properly on clean diesel before leaving. Our engineers do the entire job where your car is, and lasting damage is very uncommon when it has been spotted early. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money in advance. Many policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours as we head over.
About Dalintober, briefly
Dalintober is a coastal suburban area in Argyll and Bute, situated near the town of Campbeltown and close to the settlements of Mill Knowe and Calton. Dalintober lies at a low elevation of around 9 metres, reflecting its position near the sea. Dalintober is characterized by its predominantly flat-type housing, which is typical of many Scottish coastal towns. Dalintober is located some distance from major cities, with Belfast being the nearest at approximately 59 miles away.
AdBlue drains round Dalintober and across Argyll and Bute
As a residential suburb, Dalintober shares its vans with the nearby towns — Campbeltown, Calton — all the way through PA postcodes. The location is clearest from a postcode that starts PA28 6.
Parked heading to Kinloch Public Park, or bang in the centre of Dalintober, the car remains where it is — there is no need to move it anywhere. Our van empties it in place. Assuming doesn't help near Campbeltown War Memorial, close to a county line or anywhere hard to pin down; phone and check.
The one-line version
Still unrun? Leave it off and phone. Run already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever case, across Dalintober and Argyll and Bute, on 0333 366 0103.