AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in East Didsbury: How It Occurs and How to Prevent It
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave your engine and your ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103. In East Didsbury, finding it before your motor turns usually leaves a drain and a full flush where it stands. Nothing happened yet? Below, the rest of the page explains the reasons it happens and the ways to prevent it for good.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Diesel goes to the engine — but many newer diesels seen round East Didsbury and Cheadle Heath carry another fluid too. AdBlue's own tank holds it, and from there it goes to the exhaust, and there a spray treats the gas.
Separate tanks, separate fillers. Under one flap, next to each other: that is the arrangement on a lot of motors. Elsewhere, AdBlue's filler is under the bonnet or in the boot instead. The diesel side is fuelled at the petrol pump all the time. Someone who has to stop and work out where it goes usually fills the AdBlue side, from a bottle, and much less commonly. The slip lives in that gap.
How does AdBlue in the diesel tank occur in East Didsbury?
It's rarely carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
On a drive off Gawsworth Avenue before work, or in the car park at The Gateway on the way home: that is where the hurried top-up happens. What is the reason for the rush? As AdBlue gets low the car warns you, and once it is empty, limp mode kicks in.
Then the vehicle is strange. A hire car, a new car or a company car puts the fillers where your last one didn't, and your hand gets to for the cap it would have used on the old one.
A spouted bottle finds no obstacle at a diesel filler no more than at an AdBlue one. And so the tip, once begun, carries on. The same few seconds settle it, in the middle of East Didsbury or out in Didsbury.
Telling the AdBlue filler from the diesel filler
Whether a East Didsbury forecourt or a driveway out in Northenden, spend a few seconds over these before anything is poured in.
- Position misleads; the cap does not. AdBlue ones are often blue or bear the word "AdBlue" — diesel ones usually do not.
- Look at the size: the smaller neck is, on many cars, the AdBlue one.
- The flap. Look inside the fuel flap for a label. Plenty of vehicles say there which fuel goes where.
- In your boot or under the bonnet: that's where your filler sits if it is not by your diesel cap, and the handbook tells you which.
- Whoever had it before knows. Check when you collect a rental or fleet car — from the nearest station's car park, perhaps — rather than once the light appears.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
When the light comes on, wherever across Greater Manchester, follow this routine.
- Not in a rush on the side of Parrs Wood Road, not on a slope, not with the engine running: park then switch off first.
- Daft as it sounds, speaking "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap does the trick — after you have found your filler and read the cap.
- Both behind a single flap? So confirm the lid on your diesel side stays closed ahead of raising the bottle.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Only then, start the vehicle: close the cap, check a second time, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
If at stage two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Leave out step five entirely.
East Didsbury: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Then the order of things is short. Don't start the engine. The fuel pump runs on plenty of diesels as soon as the ignition is switched on — and so keep it off. Don't top up with diesel to thin it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where the fuel is drawn from.
If you are at a forecourt, whether it's the Esso or the BP, ask the attendants to help push the car clear of the petrol pump. Leave it where it is if you're on your own drive in East Didsbury.
Stop as soon as it is safe then switch off, if your engine has already run. On the M60, under a mile from East Didsbury, that means the next junction. Mileage counts — a quick hop across East Didsbury makes a smaller job than heading under 10 miles to Manchester — so tell us about how far it went.
East Didsbury: what takes place when our technicians turn up
Anywhere the vehicle has stopped, be it outside Broad Oak Primary School, beside Didsbury Cricket Club or on your own drive, our van comes to it. What liquid went in, the amount, and whether it ran: our technicians ask because the answers set the work and price. You get that quote on the phone, before anybody heads out.
After that: a drain, then a full flush of the whole system. More than with petrol, it matters with AdBlue: the crystals form, some metals are attacked, and none of it clears away on its own, however long it is left. Testing comes last: before that, fresh diesel is added, and the filter is flushed or changed if necessary. We do not leave until it has been fired up and is running correctly.
Unstarted vehicles usually need a half-hour job from arrival. The equipment is fine on a busy filling station, and quiet enough for a driveway after dark. No money upfront; you settle up that day. At the end, a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer go to you for the insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About East Didsbury and where it is
East Didsbury is a suburban area in Greater Manchester, situated on the banks of the River Mersey at an elevation of 38 metres. East Didsbury lies approximately 5 miles south of Manchester city centre and is bordered by nearby places such as Didsbury, Gatley, and Heaton Mersey. East Didsbury has a population of around 4749 residents, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation in the area.
AdBlue drains round East Didsbury, and Greater Manchester beyond
Throughout M postcodes, the teams covering East Didsbury — a residential suburb — work the surrounding spots too, Heaton Mersey and Gatley included. Quickest of all: give a M20 5 postcode to our van.
Shifting the vehicle is not needed. Wherever it sits — near United Didsbury Methodist Church, in a lay-by en route to Fletcher Moss Botanical Garden, on a drive — that is where it gets emptied. Ring and ask rather than guessing if you're close to a boundary, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of 306th Manchester Scout Group.
For East Didsbury motorists, the short version
First, the cap; then, the pour. Even so AdBlue in the diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel can empty it where it stands, wherever in Greater Manchester: keep the car off and ring 0333 366 0103.