AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in East Stanley, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the motor has run since it went in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is in East Stanley itself or out in No Place. Ring 0333 366 0103 with the ignition and engine still off. Across East Stanley, such a case is typically emptied and cleaned on the spot. When your engine has been run, stop somewhere safe first, then switch it off. Step one remains the same, even if the job is bigger.
Compare your case to a situation from the ones below, anywhere around Durham you happen to be.
At the pump in East Stanley: AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. It might be the Texaco, or perhaps the Esso, or another forecourt in East Stanley.
Put simply: no better place to be to discover it. Only that tank has AdBlue; no component past it has taken it in.
Your move: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the pump needs clearing. Three jobs: a shove into a bay with the staff helping, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a East Stanley drive?
On your dash, a warning had been lit all week. Picked up a bottle, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and at that point looked at the cap again, too late. Driveways near St Heliers Way see it as much as anywhere.
In short: if your vehicle has not moved since, it's almost equal to spotting it at the pump. At the bottom of your tank sits where AdBlue waits, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
Keep the keys indoors tonight — or someone may drive it off first thing — and phone us. Our engineers drain the car on your driveway, whether that's around East Stanley or out in Shield Row. Our equipment runs quietly enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in East Stanley?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. It might have been driving to Durham, under 10 miles away, or simply along East Street.
Meaning? The pump has sucked the AdBlue in. Mileage decides how deep it goes: filter and lines first, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. More miles, more starts: deeper it goes.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the first job — then switch everything off. Exit by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you're on the A1(M), under 5 miles from East Stanley. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Phone, saying how far the vehicle was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
Seven days back, it was new to you. Your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap sits just next to the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Durham.
Put simply: an extra step on top of the situations above, and those turn on whether it's run. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on your car.
Your move: rental firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us next, because sorting it beforehand saves time. If you're stuck in the car park at Chester-Le-Street, or by Log, whilst you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
East Stanley: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
At times the honest answer is "I think so". A faint ammonia smell hangs near the filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. A rushed top-up by the gates of East Stanley School, or a visit to a friend in South Stanley: either fit.
Put simply: a spill round your filler leaves the engine no harm. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Next: act as though it got in, then keep the motor off. Ring with the details: we would sooner confirm a tank free of AdBlue than drain one after the motor has been run.
What every AdBlue drain around East Stanley has in common
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Anywhere your vehicle stands — The Hilltop's car park, a street by Stones, a drive, a filling station — the van arrives and we ask about the liquid, the quantity, and whether the motor has turned over. The price comes over the phone, before a van leaves, and the replies shape the work.
Draining the tank comes first, then a full flush — more vital after urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion won't go by themselves, however long it sits. Finally come the filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; clean diesel; and a test of your vehicle. If your motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Firing it up comes last. With new diesel in, it runs while our engineers check it's running smoothly, and then we leave. If it's caught early, the vehicle very rarely has long-term damage, and the whole job happens where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Worth remembering: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your policy while you wait pays.
About East Stanley, briefly
East Stanley is a suburban area in County Durham, situated approximately 7.7 miles from the city of Durham, and is characterized by its terraced housing. East Stanley sits inland at an elevation of around 220 metres, near the communities of Shield Row and Kip Hill. East Stanley is part of the larger Stanley area, which has grown in population over the years to around 3402 residents. East Stanley is located in the North East region of England, about 241.3 miles from London.
AdBlue drains across Durham, East Stanley included
East Stanley is a residential suburb, and the same teams that cover it work the towns near it too, Kip Hill and Stanley among them, across the DH postcode area. Quickest of all: a DH9 0 postcode to show your location.
No moving is needed, be it stopped centrally in East Stanley or on a lay-by en route to Beamish and East Stanley Sports Club, so keep it where it is. Where it stands, that's where it gets drained. If you are somewhere hard to explain, close to Pine Feature or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than guessing.
Your scenario, summed up
Where it has not run, ring and leave it off. Whichever line applies, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Durham and in East Stanley — after you pull over, switch off and phone, if it has run.