AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Didsbury: What Now?
Everything hinges on one fact: whether the engine has been run since the AdBlue was added — far more than anything else. Anywhere your vehicle is — Burnage, Didsbury — don't run an engine that has not been started yet. Normally that is draining and properly purging it on the spot around Didsbury — and so leave your ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Stop the moment it is safe and turn off, if it has already run. A larger job, then, but the same first step.
Match what happened to a situation from the list below, anywhere across Greater Manchester you happen to be.
Didsbury forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: standing by the petrol pump, holding the bottle, you realise the cap you took off was not the right one. It could be the Esso, or the Shell, or another station in Didsbury.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, this is the best. The AdBlue is in your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
What to do: don't get back in and start it to clear the pump. Ring us from the forecourt once the car sits in a space — the attendants will lend a hand to push it — then keep the bottle. If it cannot be shifted, it can be drained at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Didsbury
On your dash, a warning had shown all week. Picked up a container, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, after the fact. Homes just off Ogden Street get hit as often as anywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue settles to the base inside the tank and waits. A night standing changes none of that.
Next: the keys indoors, so no one takes the vehicle off at breakfast. After that, ring. Our technicians drain the car on your drive, whether that's around Didsbury or out in East Didsbury. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Didsbury?
Filled up, drove away, and soon the motor was turning roughly, smoking, down on power, or flashing up your dash. It might have been heading to Manchester, under 5 miles away, or simply along School Lane.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. Distance decides how far it goes: filter and pipework first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. More driving, more restarts: further it goes.
Your move: stop anywhere sensible, then switch your motor off. On the M60, under 3 miles from Didsbury, that means the next junction, not the services further on. No test restarts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. Call us and say how far you drove.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
Seven days ago, it was new to you. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it in another spot. Anyone, wherever in Greater Manchester, could make the same.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. The owner frequently needs to sign off any work, under plenty of rental and fleet contracts.
Sorting it before we arrives is faster, so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. Keep it off as the answer arrives, whether you are waiting at East Didsbury or close to 2nd Didsbury Scouts.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Didsbury
At times, "I think so" is the most you can honestly say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia around the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Beaver Road Primary School in a hurry, say, or a friend's driveway over in Northenden.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no damage to the motor. Once it is inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in that tank would be sucked in by starting your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Take it that it went in, and never start the key. Ring with the details: we would sooner confirm a clean tank than empty one after the engine has been run.
Each AdBlue drain in Didsbury shares these steps
The job begins the same way, whichever your situation. We come to your car, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside Dog and Partridge or a side street near Rhodes Memorial Clock Tower, and ask three things: what went in, about how much, and whether the motor has been run. Those answers decide this work, and you hear the quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
Emptying that tank comes next, then a careful flush — more vital with urea than after petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, however long it sits. Next comes your filter — flushed, or swapped when needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of your car. Most unrun cars are a half-hour visit after the moment we turn up.
Starting the car comes at the end. Before our engineers leave, it's tested to confirm it runs properly on new diesel. When it is caught quickly, the car very rarely has lasting damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you get what the insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Worth remembering: lots of insurers include misfuelling cover, so a check of your policy as we travel pays.
About Didsbury itself
Didsbury is a suburban area in Greater Manchester, situated approximately 4.3 miles south of Manchester city centre. Didsbury lies in a relatively low-lying area, with an average elevation of around 39 metres, and is characterized by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock. Didsbury is bordered by nearby places such as East Didsbury, West Didsbury, and Withington, and is home to a population of around 8971 residents.
AdBlue drains across Greater Manchester, Didsbury included
West Didsbury and Withington get the same vans as Didsbury, a residential suburb, plus other places over M postcodes. Quickest of all: a M20 6 postcode to show where you stand.
Parked heading to Didsbury Library Garden, or bang in the centre of Didsbury, your vehicle stays where it is — there's no need to shift it anywhere. Where it sits, that is where it gets cleared. If you are somewhere hard to describe, near Didsbury Library or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Your situation, summed up
Engine not started: phone, leaving it switched off. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Didsbury or anywhere in Greater Manchester.