AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Dudbridge, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your engine has been run since it went in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether your car is in Dudbridge itself or out in Ebley. Leave the motor and the ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Dudbridge. Where your engine has run, pull in safely straight away, then switch it off. It's a bigger job, though stage one does not change.
Below: the situations we see, wherever around Gloucestershire. Pick yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Dudbridge forecourt
Imagine it: stood by the pump, gripping the bottle, you realise the cap you took off was not the right one. Be it Esso, Tesco or anywhere else in Dudbridge, the case is identical.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. Just the tank holds AdBlue; not one part past it has drawn it in.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. A few jobs: a shove into a bay with the attendants helping, the bottle saved, and a call to us from the forecourt. If it can't be shifted, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
At home around Dudbridge with AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used at the driveway. Drives close to A419 get it as much as any other street.
Meaning? As long as your car hasn't been driven since, it's close to the forecourt case. On the floor of your tank sits where AdBlue stays, since it will not blend with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
Next: keys indoors, and so no one takes the vehicle anywhere first thing. After that, ring. In Cainscross or right here around Dudbridge, the draining is done on your drive. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Dudbridge?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Possibly it was on Dudbridge Road, perhaps on the way out towards Gloucester, under 10 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has drawn the AdBlue in. Through the filter, along the pipework, and — the further the mileage — on into the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. On the M5, under 5 miles from Dudbridge, that means the next junction, not the services further on. It won't have cleared, and so there's no sense starting it again to check. Call, saying what distance the vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
It's a motor you have had for a week. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers are side by side here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Anyone, anywhere in Gloucestershire, might make the same.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, and those turn on if it's run. Many hire and company contracts require the owner's approval before repairs.
Sorting it before we arrives is faster, and so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. If you're stuck in the car park outside Stroud, or by St Matthew, while you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Dudbridge
Truthfully, the best answer might be that you think so. Too light, the bottle; a trace of ammonia round your filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Look familiar? A hurried top-up by the gates of St Matthew's Church of England Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Hamwell Leaze: both fit.
In short: a spill near the filler does the motor no harm. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in that tank, starting the vehicle would draw it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Do this: act as though it did, and never start your motor. Phone and give the details: we would sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once your engine has run.
The common ground in each Dudbridge AdBlue drain
No matter the situation, one start is used. Three things are asked once we reach the car — on a forecourt, a drive, a street beside Stroud Squash Club or the car park at Bell Inn: the liquid, the quantity, and whether the motor has been started. Your price comes over the phone, before a van leaves, and the replies shape the work.
Then your tank is cleared and the fuel system purged thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Fresh diesel goes in after the fuel filter has been cleaned or changed, and the car is finally checked. Most unrun vehicles are a half-hour job from the moment our engineers get there.
The final step is firing it up. Our test that it runs smoothly on fresh diesel comes before our technicians head off. Our technicians do the whole job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very unusual when it has been noticed early. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many policies include misfuelling, so check yours while the van travels.
About Dudbridge, for a moment
Dudbridge is a suburban area in Gloucestershire, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 41 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Dudbridge lies near the city of Gloucester, approximately 8.7 miles away, and is close to nearby places such as Cainscross, Rodborough, and Selsley. Dudbridge is home to around 3200 residents and forms part of the wider Gloucester urban area. Dudbridge is located in the South West region of England, about 92.1 miles west of London.
AdBlue drains around Dudbridge, and across Gloucestershire too
Rodborough and Selsley have the identical teams as Dudbridge, a residential suburb, along with further places over GL postcodes. A postcode starting GL5 5 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Queen Elizabeth II Playing Field or in a car park in the middle of Dudbridge, it does not need to move. Our van drains it where it stands. Phone and check instead of guessing if you are by Stroud Rugby Club, on a boundary, or somewhere awkward to explain.
Your situation, summed up
Not run yet: keep the car off and ring. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Dudbridge and anywhere across Gloucestershire on 0333 366 0103.