AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Kirkton: How It Occurs and How to Stop It
Stop reading a minute if the diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, motor off, then ring 0333 366 0103. Caught before the engine runs, it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Kirkton. The remainder of this page covers why it takes place and how to make sure it doesn't — handy if you are reading before it has happened.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel motor need its own filler?
Plenty of newer diesels in Gartmore, like those in Kirkton, carry on two liquids; your engine takes only your diesel. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to fresh it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
Each tank has its own filler. On a lot of motors the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. At the petrol pump, the diesel side gets filled constantly. The AdBlue side is fuelled far less regularly, normally from a bottle, and usually by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. Mistakes happen in the gap between them.
How does AdBlue in your diesel tank happen in Kirkton?
It is rarely carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
Hurry follows from the warning. The car tells you as AdBlue runs low, and a dry tank sends it into limp mode — so the top-up happens quickly, before work on a drive off Manse Road, or on the way home in the car park at The Forth Inn.
The old car's cap is where your hand reaches — but a hire car, a new vehicle or a company car puts the fillers somewhere else. That is the second thing: a strange vehicle.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, so nothing stops the tip once it has started. Whether it occurs in Aberfoyle or the middle of Kirkton, it is the same few seconds.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
A couple of seconds is all these take — so run through them before you pour anything, on a driveway in Dalmary or a forecourt in Kirkton.
- Where it sits misleads; the cap does not. AdBlue ones are often blue or carry the name "AdBlue" — diesel caps usually do not.
- Check the size: the smaller neck is, on many cars, the AdBlue one.
- The flap. Look inside the fuel flap for a label. Many vehicles say there which fuel goes where.
- The handbook. If the filler is not by the diesel cap, it's in your boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- Picking up a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park at the nearest station? Ask whoever drove the car last before you set off, rather than once the light goes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
The day the light comes on, wherever around Stirling, follow this routine.
- Stop on level, motor off, with time in hand — not rushing on the side of Duchray Road.
- Find the AdBlue filler, check the cap, and say the name "AdBlue" aloud as you unscrew it. It sounds daft. It does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave it on.
- Slowly does it, through the bottle's own spout, until it's full or the bottle runs out.
- Shut the cap, and look once more — confirm your diesel filler stayed shut the whole time. Only then, start the car.
Spot at stage two or three that it's already gone into the diesel side? Then stop right there. Never go on to step five.
AdBlue in your diesel tank already, in Kirkton?
What follows is a short order of things, beginning with not starting your motor. On plenty of diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so do not switch it on. Do not top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is sucked from.
On a forecourt — Highland, another forecourt nearby or another — the attendants will normally help roll the vehicle clear, when you ask. Your own driveway around Kirkton is the place it should stay.
When the engine has run by now, stop somewhere safe and switch it off. The next exit means the place to come off if you're on the M9, under 25 miles from Kirkton. Distance matters — a quick hop across Kirkton makes a smaller job than driving under 25 miles towards Stirling — so say roughly how far it went.
Our arrival around Kirkton, and what takes place next
Outside the local primary school, near Old Kirk or on your own drive: wherever the vehicle has stopped, our technicians come to it. What liquid got in, the quantity, and if it ran: our technicians ask since the replies decide the work and price. Nobody heads out until you've had our quote by phone.
Emptying that tank comes next, then a full flush of the system. More than with petrol, it matters here: the crystals build up, certain metals are attacked, and nothing washes away on its own, however long it sits. Testing is at the end: before that, fresh diesel is added, and the fuel filter is flushed or replaced if necessary. The motor is fired up next and checked to be sure it runs correctly, all before our engineers head off.
If the engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there, using pumps that are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night. Payment happens on the day, not upfront, and you are given the documents an insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. It's worth checking your insurance while we travel to you: misfuelling cover is included with plenty of policies.
About Kirkton
Kirkton is a suburban area situated on the riverside in Scotland, with an elevation of 26 metres. Kirkton lies near several nearby places, including Aberfoyle, Milton, and Shannochill, and is located approximately 17.9 miles from the city of Stirling. Kirkton has a population of around 631 people and predominantly features semi-detached housing. Kirkton is also relatively distant from London, being around 366.2 miles away.
AdBlue drains about Kirkton, and Stirling beyond
Kirkton is a residential suburb, and our teams that cover it also work the places near it, Milton and Shannochill among them, across the FK postcode area. A postcode starting FK8 3 gets the van to you fastest.
The car remains where it is. Wherever it sits — beside Scottish Wool Centre, in a lay-by en route to Aberfoyle Golf Club, at home — that's where it gets drained. Assuming doesn't help at the back of Aberfoyle Village Hall, close to a border, or anywhere hard to describe; phone and check.
In short, for Kirkton drivers
Before you tip, read the cap. If AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank anyway, leave it off and phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel drains it where it waits, anywhere around Stirling.