AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Knockentiber: Why It Occurs and How to Avoid It
Stop reading for a moment when your diesel tank already has AdBlue in it: ignition off, engine off, then call 0333 366 0103. A drain and a thorough flush, done just where the vehicle sits in Knockentiber, is usually all it takes when found before the motor runs. If you are reading before it has happened, the remainder of this page is about why it happens and how to make sure it doesn't.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Plenty of modern diesels in Kilmaurs, as well as Knockentiber, carry on two liquids; your engine gets only your diesel. AdBlue's own tank holds it, and from there it goes to the exhaust, where spraying cleans the fumes.
There's a filler for each tank. Under one flap, side by side: that's the layout on a lot of cars. Elsewhere, AdBlue's filler is under the bonnet or in your boot instead. The diesel side is filled at the petrol pump all the time. The AdBlue side is fuelled far less regularly, usually from a bottle, and normally by someone who has to stop and think where it goes. The slip lives in that gap.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank happens in Knockentiber
It is rarely carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
Haste follows from the warning. The vehicle tells you as AdBlue runs low, and a dry tank puts it into limp mode — so the top-up gets done quickly, before work on a driveway off Kilmaurs Road, or on the way home in the car park at the pub in the village.
New-to-you vehicles come next, as well. Rentals, new cars and company cars put their fillers in new places, and habit reaches for the cap it used on the old one.
And the bottle fits. A bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one, and so nothing stops the tip after it has started. Crosshouse or the middle of Knockentiber: it takes the same few seconds in both.
Telling the AdBlue filler from the diesel filler
Before you tip anything, whether on a drive in Bonnyton or a forecourt around Knockentiber, check these. They take a few seconds.
- Check the cap instead of going by position: AdBlue ones are commonly blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel caps normally are not.
- Plenty of motors give AdBlue the smaller filler of the two.
- Open the flap and check for a label — plenty of vehicles show what goes in each inlet just there.
- The handbook says which it is if the filler is not next to your diesel cap: your boot, or under the bonnet.
- The previous driver will know. Check when you pick up a rental or fleet car — at Kilmaurs's car park, say — rather than once the light comes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank
When the light goes on, anywhere in East Ayrshire, follow this routine.
- Not in a rush on the side of Hannah Drive, not on a slope, not with the motor running: park then switch off properly.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds daft and it works.
- Leave your diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Stop once your tank is topped up or the bottle is empty; before that, tip gently through its built-in spout.
- Only then, start the car: close the cap, check once more, and make sure the diesel cap was never opened.
Stop there if you find, at stage two or three, that you've already poured into the diesel side. Step five is out.
Put AdBlue in the diesel tank in Knockentiber already?
What follows is a short order of things, starting with no starting the engine. On many diesels your ignition alone runs the fuel pump, and so do not switch the car on. AdBlue does not mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is drawn from — so do not top up with diesel to dilute it.
Ask the attendants to help push the vehicle away from the pump if you're at a forecourt — the Morrisons, the Shell or somewhere else. On your own drive in Knockentiber? So the car remains where it is.
Stop as soon as it is safe then switch off, if your motor has already run. Knockentiber lies under 5 miles from the M77; there, take the next exit. Mileage counts — a short hop across Knockentiber is a smaller job than heading under 25 miles to Glasgow — so tell us about how far it went.
Knockentiber: what occurs when our engineers arrive
The van reaches the car wherever it has come to rest — your own driveway, near Crosshouse Parish Church, or by the local primary school. Those answers decide the work and our quote, and so our technicians ask what went in, about how much, and whether it has run. The price comes over the phone, before any van leaves.
Next: draining, then a thorough flush of the entire system. Not like petrol, AdBlue forms crystals and attacks some fuel-system metals, and neither washes out by itself. That is why it matters more. The filter flushed or, if needed, replaced; clean diesel in; then a check of the vehicle. We don't leave until it has been started and is running properly.
With pumps safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough for use outside a house at night, most jobs in which the motor hasn't run need about half an hour once our technicians arrive. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Before we get there, have a look at your insurance documents; many include cover for misfuelling.
About Knockentiber
Knockentiber is a small village situated on the riverside in East Ayrshire, with a population of around 578 people. Knockentiber sits at an elevation of 43 metres, close to the nearby settlements of Crosshouse, Busbiehill, and Kirktoun. Knockentiber is characterized by its semi-detached housing stock and its proximity to Glasgow, which is approximately 20 miles away. Knockentiber is located in a scenic area, with the city of Glasgow and the surrounding countryside within easy reach.
Knockentiber and East Ayrshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Busbiehill and Kirktoun are among the places around Knockentiber, a village, that the same teams cover, over KA postcodes. A postcode starting KA2 0 gets our van to you fastest.
Shifting your car isn't necessary. Wherever it sits — beside Crosshouse War Memorial, in a lay-by en route to Jubilee Wood, on a drive — that's where it is emptied. Guessing doesn't help behind Andrew Fisher Memorial Cairn, close to a border, or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and ask.
The short version for Knockentiber motorists
Read the cap before you tip. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank anyway, leave the vehicle off then phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel clears it where it sits, anywhere across East Ayrshire.