AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Gortnahey: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if your motor has run since it was put in. Out in Largy or right around Gortnahey, an unstarted motor must stay that way. Normally this is emptying and thoroughly cleaning it on the spot in Gortnahey — and so leave your ignition and engine off then ring 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment it is safe and turn off, if it has been run. It's a larger job, though stage one does not change.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in County Londonderry it happened.
On a Gortnahey forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Just now, bottle yet in your hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Somewhere in Gortnahey, then — the nearest petrol station, another forecourt nearby, or somewhere else nearby.
The point: of every spot to notice, this is the best. Just your tank holds AdBlue; no part past it has drawn it in.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the pump wants clearing. Get the staff to help pushing it into a bay, save the bottle, then ring us right there. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, so a vehicle that can't be pushed away is emptied where it is at the petrol pump.
Gortnahey, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Several days had passed with the dash light on. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look a second time at the cap. Houses just off Crown Street are caught out as often as anywhere else.
Meaning? Provided the car has not been driven since, it is close to the pump case. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: stop any early drive by putting your keys in the house, then phone us. In Burnfoot or right here around Gortnahey, the drain is done at your drive. The pumping kit works quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
On the road around Gortnahey with AdBlue in a diesel
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. Rock Street, say, or the route to Derry — a trip of under 15 miles.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue in already. It's been through the fuel filter and the lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the injectors. More driving, more restarts: deeper it travels.
Next: find a safe place, pull in, and turn the motor off. Leave at the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M77, over 50 miles from Gortnahey. No trial starts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. About what distance had it gone? Say so as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
You've had the vehicle barely a week. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, since your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around County Londonderry.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies too — run or unrun — and one further step. Any work on the car frequently needs the owner's approval under rental or company terms.
Do this: rental firm or your fleet manager first, us second, since settling it early saves time. Waiting for a reply in the car park at the nearest station, or near the centre? Keep the car off throughout.
Gortnahey: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Honestly, the best answer might be that you think it did. Too light, that bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; no clear memory of which cap. Look familiar? A rushed stop by the gates of the local primary school, or a visit to a friend in Glack: either fits.
In short: a spill round your filler leaves the engine no harm. If it is inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Next: assume it got in, and keep the motor off. Phone and give what you saw: we'd sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than drain one after the engine has run.
Gortnahey: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Every situation gets the same opening to the work. Filling station, driveway, the pub in the village's car park or a street beside a street just off the centre — the van comes to your car, and three answers come next: which fluid, which quantity, and if it has run. The price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and those replies set the job.
Then that tank is emptied and the fuel system purged thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Then comes the fuel filter — cleaned, or swapped where necessary — then fresh diesel, and a test of your vehicle. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour visit from the moment our engineers turn up.
The last step is firing it up. Our test that it runs smoothly on new diesel comes before we go. Our engineers do the entire job where the car is, and permanent damage is very rare if it has been spotted quickly. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Gortnahey, for a moment
Gortnahey is a rural locality in County Londonderry, situated inland at an elevation of around 105 metres. Gortnahey lies approximately 13.7 miles from Derry, near the settlements of Burnfoot, Derrynaflaw, and Dungiven. Gortnahey is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its dispersed and rural nature.
Gortnahey and County Londonderry: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout BT postcodes, the teams serving Gortnahey — a small village — work nearby towns too, Derrynaflaw and Dungiven among them. Your whereabouts is quickest from a postcode that starts BT47 4.
No towing is needed, whether parked centrally in Gortnahey or on a layby heading to the green space at the edge of the village, and so leave it put. The drain happens right there. Awkward to pin down? Close to the far end of the built-up part or a county line? Checking is better than assuming, so ring.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Run by now: stop, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Gortnahey or wherever in County Londonderry.