AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Leacroft: What Now?
One fact counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if the engine has run since. Wherever the car is — Rumer Hill, Leacroft — don't start a motor that has not been started yet. Usually this is emptying and properly purging it on the spot in Leacroft — and so keep the key and motor off then ring 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. It's a bigger job, though stage one does not change.
Further down: the situations our engineers meet, wherever in Staffordshire. Pick the one that fits.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Leacroft forecourt
Imagine it: stood by the petrol pump, gripping the bottle, you realise the filler you took off was not the right one. It might be the Sainsbury's, or perhaps the Esso, or another station around Leacroft.
Put simply: no better place to be to spot it. Still inside the tank, with no fuel drawn through: that is where the AdBlue is.
Your move: keep out of the car, however much the queue needs freeing. Phone us from the forecourt once the vehicle is in a space — the staff will lend a hand to roll it — and save the bottle. If it can't be shifted, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt.
Leacroft, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. A bottle from the shop, tipped in on the drive — and it's just by the recycling that the cap caught a second look. Houses just off Voyager Drive are caught out as often as anywhere else.
The point: no miles since leaves this nearly equal to finding it at the pump. Being unable to mix, AdBlue settles to the base in that tank and waits. One night parked alters nothing.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves your car in the morning. Then ring. Out in Churchbridge or here around Leacroft, the draining happens on your driveway. Our pumping kit runs quietly enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Leacroft?
A mile or two after filling up, your engine began playing up: rough running, smoke, less power, lights on the dash. Maybe driving to Wolverhampton, under 10 miles away, or simply along Orbital Way.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. It has been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the injectors. It travels deeper with every mile driven and each restart.
Do this: pull up somewhere safe, then switch the engine off. Leacroft lies under a mile from the M6 Toll; there, come off at the next junction instead of pushing on for the services. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Let us know the mileage covered when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
A week ago, the car was new to you. Your own car either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue cap was right beside your diesel. Wherever you happen to be across Staffordshire, every motorist can slip up.
Put simply: an extra stage on top of the cases above, and those turn on if it's run. The owner often needs to sign off the work, under plenty of hire and company agreements.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is quicker. If you are stuck in the car park outside Cannock, or by TK Maxx, whilst you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Leacroft?
Occasionally the honest answer is "I think so". A faint ammonia-like smell hangs around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is a blur. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Bridgtown Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Mill Green.
Meaning? Drips outside the inlet never reach your engine at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another story. Any AdBlue in that tank would be pulled in by firing up your car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it got in, then keep the engine off. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats emptying one after it has been run — so ring then tell us what you noticed.
The common ground in every Leacroft AdBlue drain
Every case has the same start to the work. Our technicians come to the car, whether it's at a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside Brewers Fayre - Orbital or a side street close to St Marks Church, and ask three things: what got in, about how much, and if your engine has been run. Those answers settle this work, and you hear our quote by phone, before anyone heads out.
Then your tank is drained and the system cleaned thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not rinse out on its own. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. The majority of unstarted cars are a half-hour job from the moment our engineers arrive.
Lastly, we fire it up. Before our technicians head off, it's checked to be sure it runs properly on fresh diesel. Long-term damage is very rare if it's noticed early, and the whole job is done where the car is. Payment is that day, never upfront. For your insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Leacroft itself
Leacroft is a suburban area in Staffordshire, situated approximately 7.8 miles from Wolverhampton and 113.8 miles from London. Leacroft sits at an elevation of 141 metres, surrounded by other local communities such as Churchbridge and Bridgtown. Leacroft has a population of around 1396 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Leacroft is characterized by its inland setting, with nearby areas like Littlewood also forming part of the wider residential landscape.
AdBlue drains round Leacroft and across Staffordshire
Bridgtown and Littlewood have the same teams as Leacroft, a residential suburb, plus other places over WS postcodes. Telling us your WS11 8 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Longford Park or in a car park in the middle of Leacroft, it does not need to shift. The van empties it in place. Awkward to pin down? By Hawkins Sports & Social Club Sporting Grounds or a border? Checking is better than guessing, so phone.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and call. Run already: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, in Leacroft or wherever across Staffordshire.