What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Hulme
One thing counts above all once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether the engine has been started since. Anywhere your car stands — Manchester, Hulme — never run an engine that hasn't run yet. Normally that is draining and thoroughly rinsing it on the spot in Hulme — and so leave the ignition and motor off then phone 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. Stage one stays the same, even if the job is bigger.
Below: the cases our technicians meet, anywhere around Greater Manchester. Pick the one that fits.
Hulme forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Imagine it: standing by the pump, gripping the nozzle, you realise the filler you opened was not the correct one. Whether Asda, Esso or anywhere else in Hulme, the situation is identical.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is as good as it gets. Nothing has drawn it in, so the AdBlue stays only in the tank.
Clearing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — and so do not get back in. A few things: a push into a space with the attendants assisting, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from where you stand. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a vehicle that cannot be pushed away is drained where it is at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Hulme drive?
On the dash, a reminder had been lit all week. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. Driveways near Leaf Street see it as much as any other street.
The upshot: no miles since leaves this nearly equal to spotting it at the petrol pump. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue settles low in the tank and stays. A night parked changes none of that.
Keep your keys indoors tonight — or a person might take it away at breakfast — then call us. Our engineers drain it on your drive, whether that is around Hulme or out in University. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road in Hulme with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. It might have been driving to Manchester, under a mile away, or simply down Stretford Road.
Meaning? Your pump has taken the AdBlue in. It has been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Stop safely — that is the first step — then switch it off. Hulme sits under a mile from the Mancunian Way; there, come off at the next junction instead of pushing on to the services. No trial starts: clearing is not something AdBlue will do. Call, and say how far the car was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had this car barely a week. Your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was just beside your diesel. Any driver, anywhere around Greater Manchester, could do it.
In short: one extra step on top of the cases above, which depend on if it's run. Many rental and fleet contracts need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
Sorting it before the van arrives is quicker, and so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Hanging on for an answer at the car park outside Deansgate, or beside Venture Arts Studio? Leave your car off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Hulme?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. Lighter, the bottle; a hint of ammonia round your filler; no clear memory of the cap. Sound familiar? Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at St Philip's Church of England Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Brunswick.
The point: your engine is not hurt by some AdBlue spilled on the filler. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Firing up the car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will pull it in.
Do this: act as though it did, and don't start the engine. Checking a tank that proves clean beats draining one after it's been run — so ring then tell us what you saw.
Each AdBlue drain around Hulme shares these stages
Whatever the situation, a single opening is used. Filling station, drive, The Salutation's car park or a street beside Church of the Ascension — the van reaches your car, and three answers come next: what liquid, which quantity, and if it has run. Over the phone, before anything else, you are told our price, and those answers decide the job too.
Then that tank is drained and the fuel system flushed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Next comes your filter — cleaned, or swapped when needed — followed by clean diesel, and a test of the car. If the motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
We start it last. With clean diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it is running properly, and then we head off. Our technicians do the entire job where the vehicle is, and permanent damage is very unusual when it has been noticed quickly. Paying is that day, never in advance. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About Hulme itself
Hulme is a suburban area in Greater Manchester, situated on the riverside near the city centre of Manchester. Hulme is characterized by its predominantly flat-type housing and is located close to the University and other nearby places such as Moss Side and St Georges. Hulme has a population of approximately 15850 people and is just 0.8 miles from Manchester city centre. Hulme sits at an elevation of 36 metres above sea level, making it a relatively low-lying area.
AdBlue drains in Hulme, and across Greater Manchester too
Moss Side and St Georges get the identical teams as Hulme, a residential suburb, plus further places over M postcodes. Telling us your M15 6 postcode finds you quickest of all.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Leaf Street Community Garden or in a car park in the middle of Hulme, it does not need to shift. The drain happens on the spot. Phone and check rather than guess if you're by Union Hall Evangelical Church, near a border, or anywhere tricky to explain.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Greater Manchester and within Hulme — after you stop, switch off and ring, if it's run.