What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Havercroft
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the engine has run since it got in. Wherever the vehicle is — Wintersett, Havercroft — never run a motor that has not run yet. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, then count on a thorough flush plus a drain, carried out right where your vehicle sits in Havercroft. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. Stage one remains the same, even if the work grows.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in West Yorkshire it happened.
On a Havercroft forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the filler you opened was not the right one. It could be the the nearest petrol station, or the Tesco, or a different station in Havercroft.
The point: of every spot to find out, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is inside the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it just to move away from the pump. Get the attendants to help rolling it to a space, hold on to the bottle, then phone us right there. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, and so a car that can't be pushed clear gets drained right at the pump.
Havercroft, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a bottle, tipped it in at home, binned the empty — and at that point looked at the cap a second time, after the fact. Right off Cow Lane is no different from anywhere.
Put simply: if the vehicle has not been driven since, it is nearly equal to spotting it at the forecourt. On the floor of the tank is where AdBlue stays, since it will not mix with diesel — and a night going by makes no difference.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then call. Your driveway is where it gets emptied, be it in Havercroft or Newstead. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Havercroft?
A mile or two beyond topping up, the motor started playing up: roughness, smoke, less power, warnings on the dash. Maybe heading to Wakefield, under 10 miles away, or just down Church View Close.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled into your fuel system. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it too on a bigger trip, once the fuel filter and pipework have had it. Each restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
Pull in safely — that is the next job — then turn it off. Exit by the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M1, under 10 miles from Havercroft. No trial restarts: clearing is not something AdBlue will do. Phone, saying how far your car was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It's a car you have had for a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or somewhere else. On this one, its cap is just by the diesel cap — news to you. Wherever you happen to be across West Yorkshire, every motorist can be caught.
Put simply: one extra step on top of the cases above, and those depend on whether it's run. Plenty of rental and company agreements need the owner's sign-off before work.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our engineers arrive than after. If you're stuck in the car park at Fitzwilliam, or by Havercroft & Rhyhill Sports & Youth Centre, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around Havercroft?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. A slight ammonia-like smell hangs around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. A rushed stop by the gates of Outwood Primary Academy Newstead Green, or a visit to a friend in Felkirk: both fit.
Put simply: a spill round your filler leaves your engine unharmed. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in the tank would be sucked in by turning on the vehicle, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Take it that it got in, and don't turn the engine. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in every Havercroft AdBlue drain
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Anywhere your car stands — Havercroft Sports & Social Club's car park, a street beside St James, a drive, a forecourt — our van gets there and we ask about the liquid, the quantity, and whether your motor has turned over. Those replies determine the work, and you get our quote on the phone, before anyone sets off.
Then your tank is drained and the 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, so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Then comes the filter — cleaned, or replaced where needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of the car. Where your engine has not run, expect roughly half an hour on site, in most cases.
Starting it comes at the end. Our check that it runs correctly on clean diesel comes before we go. The entire job is done where the car is, and if it's noticed early, lasting damage is very uncommon. Paying is that day, never upfront. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a written report from the engineer. Check your insurance before we arrive: cover for misfuelling is included in many policies.
About Havercroft itself
Havercroft is a village in West Yorkshire, situated approximately 5.6 miles from Wakefield and 155.7 miles from London, at an elevation of around 82 metres. Havercroft lies near the villages of Newstead, Ryhill, and South Hiendley, and is characterized by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock. Havercroft has a population of around 2198 residents, making it a small but distinct community in the region.
Havercroft and West Yorkshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout WF postcodes, the vans covering Havercroft — a rural village — work nearby places as well, Ryhill and South Hiendley among them. Quickest of all: a WF4 2 postcode for where you stand.
No towing is needed, be it stopped centrally in Havercroft or in a layby heading to Willow Garth, so leave it where it is. The van drains it where it stands. If you're somewhere hard to explain, near St Paul's Methodist Church or close to a border, ring and ask rather than guessing.
In one line: your scenario
Still unrun? Keep it that way then phone. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Havercroft and anywhere in West Yorkshire on 0333 366 0103.