AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hopwood: 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 went in. Out in Back o th Moss or here around Hopwood, an unrun engine should stay unrun. Leave the motor and your ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Hopwood. Where your engine has run, stop safely straight away, then switch the vehicle off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Match what happened to one of the list below, anywhere around Greater Manchester you are.
Hopwood forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You are 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 could be the Texaco, or the Esso, or a different forecourt around Hopwood.
The point: of every spot to find out, the forecourt is the best. Still in the tank, and no fuel drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Ring us from the forecourt after your vehicle is in a bay — the attendants will help roll it — and keep the bottle. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, so a car that can't be pushed clear is emptied where it is at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Hopwood
On your dash, a reminder had shown for days. Only by the recycling, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd used on the driveway. Right off Green Lane is no less likely from anywhere.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's close to the forecourt case. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of that tank and remains put, no matter how long the night.
Your move: the keys indoors, so no one drives the vehicle off first thing. Then, phone. Out in Captain Fold or here around Hopwood, the draining is done at your driveway. Night-time drains outside a house are no problem: the pumps are low-noise.
Hopwood: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two after filling up, the engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, warnings on your dash. Summersgill Close, say, or the way towards Manchester — a run of under 10 miles.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through your fuel system. Mileage decides how deep it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. More miles, more restarts: deeper it travels.
Next: pick a safe place, stop, then switch your motor off. Leave by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M62, under a mile from Hopwood. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Phone, and say what distance your car went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
It is a car you have had for a week. Your own car either does without AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, and so no one warned you the AdBlue inlet sits right next to the diesel. Wherever you are around Greater Manchester, every driver can be caught.
The upshot: exactly as above, divided by if it ran, but with an added step. Any work on the car frequently requires the owner's approval under hire or fleet agreements.
Next: phone the rental company or your fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. Leave it switched off as the answer comes, even if you're waiting outside Castleton or close to St John the Evangelist.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Hopwood?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest as it gets. What cap was taken off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs less than expected, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. The gates of Hopwood Community Primary School in a rush, perhaps, or someone's driveway over in Hooley Brow.
In short: a spill round the filler does the engine unharmed. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Starting your car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it would pull it in.
Take it that it was put in, and never turn your engine. Phone and give what you saw: we'd sooner confirm a tank free of AdBlue than drain one after the motor has run.
Hopwood: what every AdBlue drain has in common
No matter the situation, one opening applies. Three questions come when we arrive — on a forecourt, a driveway, a street beside Heywood Library or the car park outside White Lion: the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has been started. Answers set the work; the quote comes on the call whilst no one has left yet.
Emptying your tank comes first, followed by a careful flush — more vital with urea than with petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not go on their own, no matter how long you wait. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Where your motor hasn't run, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most jobs.
Firing it up comes last. Before we head off, it's tested to be sure it runs correctly on new diesel. Long-term damage is very unusual if it's noticed soon, and the entire job is done where your car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Check your insurance before we're en route: misfuelling cover is built into plenty of policies.
About Hopwood
Hopwood is a suburban area in Greater Manchester, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 139 metres, with terraced housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Hopwood lies approximately 7.6 miles from Manchester and is close to nearby places such as Captain Fold, Heywood, and Broadfield. Hopwood has a population of around 5230 residents and is part of the larger North West region, about 168.1 miles from London. Hopwood's location near the river contributes to its scenic setting.
AdBlue drains around Hopwood, and across Greater Manchester too
Being a residential suburb, Hopwood shares its vans with the nearby places — Broadfield, Heywood — all the way through OL postcodes. A postcode starting OL10 2 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
No towing is required, be it stopped centrally in Hopwood or on a lay-by en route to Hopwood Park, and so leave it put. Draining happens on the spot. Assuming doesn't help near Saint Luke's Church, Heywood, close to a border or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
Your situation, in one line
Where it hasn't run, ring then keep it that way. Whichever case fits, Petrol in Diesel handles from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Greater Manchester and in Hopwood — after you stop, switch off and phone, if it's run.