What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Deneside
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if your engine has run since it got in. If it hasn't, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is in Deneside itself or out in Northlea. Phone 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and engine still off. Across Deneside, such a case is generally drained and flushed where it stands. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in Durham it happened.
On a Deneside forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the nozzle, you realise the cap you opened wasn't the right one. Perhaps you're at the Esso, possibly at the Jet, possibly somewhere else around Deneside.
Put simply: there is no better spot to be to discover it. Still inside your tank, and nothing pulled through: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it just to move away from the pump. Phone us from the forecourt after your vehicle is in a bay — the attendants will help roll it — and save the receipt. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof equipment keeps a busy forecourt sensible, so we can drain the vehicle in place.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Deneside
For days the dash had been nagging you. Bought a bottle, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and at that point looked at the cap a second time, too late. Driveways near Queensbury Road see it as much as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's close to the forecourt case. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue drops to the base of your tank and stays put, no matter how long the night.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then call. Your driveway is where it is emptied, whether around Deneside or Eastlea. Night-time empties beside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel in Deneside?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe driving for Sunderland, under 5 miles away, or simply down The Avenue.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked through the fuel system. It's been through the fuel filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: pull up anywhere sensible, then turn the motor off. Deneside lies under 10 miles from the A1(M); there, come off at the next junction instead of pushing on to the services. No trial restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Let us hear the mileage covered when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It's a car you have had for a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the inlet is right next to your diesel inlet — news to you. Anywhere you happen to be in Durham, every motorist can be caught.
Put simply: one extra step on top of the situations above, and those turn on if it's run. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before we arrive than after. If you are stuck in the car park outside Seaham, or by All Saints Church Deneside, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around Deneside?
Honestly, the best answer may be that you think it did. Too light, that bottle; a trace of ammonia near your filler; no clear recollection of the cap. Look familiar? The gates of Seaview Primary School in a hurry, perhaps, or a friend's drive out in Parkside.
Put simply: spillage near the filler does the motor unharmed. In the diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would pull in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't start the car. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats draining one once it has been run — so phone then tell us what you noticed.
What each AdBlue drain in Deneside has in common
No matter the case, one start is used. We come to your car, whether it's at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside The Mallard or a side street close to Eastlea Community Centre, and ask three things: what got in, about how much, and if the engine has run. On the phone, ahead of anything else, you are told our price, and those answers shape the job too.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to certain metals used in fuel systems, so it does not rinse out unaided; that is why the flush, after the drain, matters much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Clean diesel is put in once the filter has been cleaned or changed, and the car is then checked. Not started? In that case about half an hour on site covers most jobs.
Last, we fire it up. Before our technicians leave, it's tested to confirm it runs properly on new diesel. Our technicians do the entire job where the vehicle is, and lasting damage is very rare if it has been noticed early. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you receive what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Dig out your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes included in plenty of policies.
About Deneside
Deneside is a suburban area in County Durham, situated near the coast and approximately 4.8 miles from Sunderland. Deneside has a relatively low elevation of 79 metres and is characterised by predominantly terraced housing. Deneside is part of a larger urban landscape that includes nearby areas such as Eastlea, Westlea, and Dalton-le-Dale.
Deneside and Durham: AdBlue drains across the area
Deneside is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the towns near it too, Westlea and Dalton-le-Dale among them, across the SR postcode area. A postcode starting SR7 8 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No towing is needed, be it parked centrally in Deneside or on a layby en route to Malvern Field, and so leave it where it is. The van empties it where it stands. Guessing won't help near Independent Methodist Church, on a county line or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and ask.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off then call. Run already: pull over, power down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder, in Deneside or wherever in Durham.