AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Dollar, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the engine has been run since it went in. Over in Tillicoultry or here in Dollar, an unrun motor should stay that way. Leave your engine and your ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Dollar. Stop the moment it is safe and switch off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Compare what happened to a situation from the ones below, anywhere across Clackmannanshire you happen to be.
At the pump around Dollar: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you only notice it as you are standing at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. It might be the Shell, or perhaps the another forecourt nearby, or a different station in Dollar.
In short: no better spot to be to discover it. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, however much the pump wants clearing. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. Can't move it by the pump? Explosion-proof equipment keeps a busy forecourt safe, and so it can be drained where it is.
At home around Dollar with AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in at the drive — and it was only at the recycling that the cap got a second look. Houses just off Bridge Street are hit as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the floor of your tank and remains put, no matter how long the night.
Next: the keys indoors, so nobody takes the vehicle anywhere at breakfast. Then, ring. Lower Mains or Dollar: whichever your drive is, that's where it is emptied. Late-night empties beside a house are no problem: the pumps are quiet.
Dollar: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A short way after filling up, the motor began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on your dash. West Burnside, perhaps, or the way to Dunfermline — a trip of under 15 miles.
The point: the system has pulled AdBlue through already. It's been through your filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. It goes deeper with every extra mile driven and each restart.
Pull in somewhere safe — that is the first step — then switch everything off. Dollar sits under 10 miles from the M876; there, pull off at the first junction rather than pushing on for the services. No test restarts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue will do. Phone, saying how far the car went.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have only driven this vehicle a week. The AdBlue filler is right next to the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anyone, wherever around Clackmannanshire, could do it.
Put simply: one extra step on top of the situations above, which turn on if it has run. The owner often needs to sign off any work, under plenty of rental and company contracts.
Sorting it before we arrives is faster, and so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Waiting for an answer at the car park outside Alloa, or beside Dollar Parish Church? Keep the car off meanwhile.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Dollar?
Truthfully, the best answer may be that you think it did. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia about the filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. It might have been at a friend's drive in Devonside, or rushing by the local primary school on the school run.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no harm to your engine. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting the vehicle will suck it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Your move: behave as though it did, and don't start your motor. Describe what you saw on your phone. A clean tank looked at is a better outcome than an already-run one drained.
What each AdBlue drain around Dollar has in common
Whatever the case, one opening applies. Forecourt, driveway, Ochils Arms's car park or a street beside Dollar Civic Centre — the van comes to your vehicle, and three answers follow: what liquid, what quantity, and whether it ran. Your price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the answers shape the job.
Emptying that tank comes first, followed by a full flush — more important after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not go by themselves, no matter how long you wait. Finally come the fuel filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; clean diesel; and a test of your vehicle. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour visit from the moment our engineers turn up.
Our technicians fire it up last. Our engineers check it runs properly on fresh diesel before we go. Long-term damage is very unusual if it's caught soon, and the whole job is done where the vehicle is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies cover misfuelling, so check yours while the van travels.
About Dollar, for a moment
Dollar is a town situated on the banks of the River Devon in Clackmannanshire, with a mix of detached housing and other residential properties. Dollar sits at an elevation of 46 metres, looking out over the surrounding countryside. Dollar is located near several smaller communities, including Lower Mains, Blairingone, and Forestmill, and is within commuting distance of Dunfermline. Dollar has a population of around 3076 people, making it a small but distinct urban centre in the region.
Dollar and Clackmannanshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Over FK postcodes, the teams serving Dollar — a riverside town — reach nearby towns as well, Blairingone and Forestmill among them. A postcode starting FK14 7 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No moving is needed, whether stopped in the centre of Dollar or in a layby heading to Dollar Golf Club, and so leave it where it is. Wherever it sits, that's where it gets emptied. Ring and check rather than guess if you are by War Memorial, near a border, or anywhere tricky to pin down.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Run already? Stop, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever it is, in Dollar and Clackmannanshire, on 0333 366 0103.