AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Lee: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: if the motor has been run since it got in. Out in Oteley or here in Lee, an unrun engine must stay that way. Leave the engine and the ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Lee. Stop the minute it is safe then turn off, if it has been run. Stage one remains the same, even if the job is bigger.
Wherever in Shropshire it happened, one of the situations below matches yours.
Lee forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Only at this point, bottle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. Anywhere around Lee, then — Texaco, Swan Petroleum, or somewhere else nearby.
The point: of all places to notice, this is the best. The AdBlue is inside your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: avoid the temptation to fire it up just to free up the pump. Ring us from the forecourt after your car sits in a bay — the attendants will help roll it — and keep the receipt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, so a vehicle that can't be pushed away is cleared right at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Lee
On your dash, a warning had shown for days. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in on the drive — and it was only by the recycling that the cap got a second look. Houses just off Ellesmere Road get caught out as often as everywhere else.
The upshot: zero miles since leaves this almost equal to spotting it at the pump. At the floor of the tank sits exactly where AdBlue stays, because it will not blend with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
Next: stop any early-morning move by putting your keys indoors, then phone us. Wood Lane or Lee: whichever your drive sits, that is where it is cleared. Our equipment runs quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
Lee: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Lumpy running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two beyond the top-up. It might have been driving for Wrexham, under 15 miles away, or simply along Farm Lane.
What it means: the system has sucked the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it as well on a longer run, once your filter and pipework have it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Do this: stop anywhere sensible, then switch your engine off. Service stations further on can wait: from the M54, under 25 miles out of Lee, take the next junction. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. About how far did it gone? Tell us when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have just driven this vehicle a week. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or somewhere else. On this one, its cap is right by the diesel cap — a surprise to you. Wherever you happen to be in Shropshire, any motorist can be caught.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by if it ran, but with an added stage. Plenty of rental and company contracts require the owner's sign-off for work.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. Keep it off while the reply comes, whether you're parked at Gobowen or near Poor Clare Monestry.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Lee?
"I think so" is often the most honest answer there is. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; no clear memory of the cap. Look familiar? A hurried top-up by the gates of Ellesmere Primary School, or a call to a friend in Ellesmere: either fits.
In short: a spill round your filler does your engine unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another matter. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Do this: behave as though it did, and never start your motor. Phone with what you saw: we'd sooner confirm a clean tank than drain one after the motor has run.
Every AdBlue drain around Lee shares these steps
The job begins the same way, whatever your situation. Our technicians come to your car, whether it's on a forecourt, a drive, the car park outside the pub in the village or a side street close to St Michael's Church, and ask three things: what was put in, about how much, and whether your engine has been run. On the phone, before anything else, you are told our quote, and those replies shape the work too.
AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, so it won't rinse out unaided; that's why the flush, after the drain, matters far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. If the motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The final step is firing it up. Our check that it runs smoothly on clean diesel comes before our technicians go. If it is caught early, the vehicle very rarely has permanent damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing upfront. Dig out your insurance while we arrive: cover for misfuelling comes built into many policies.
About Lee itself
Lee is a small hamlet in Shropshire, situated inland at an elevation of around 100 metres. Lee lies near the Welsh border, approximately 12 miles from Wrexham and close to other local settlements such as Wood Lane and Tetchill. Lee is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its rural setting. Lee is also relatively distant from major urban centres, with London being around 151 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Lee, and across Shropshire too
Lee is a rural hamlet, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, Tetchill and Spunhill among them, across the SY postcode area. Your location is clearest from a postcode beginning SY12 9.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to The Rookery or in a car park in the middle of Lee, it does not need to shift. Where it stands, that is where it gets emptied. Guessing won't help beside Ellesmere Market Hall, on a county line or anywhere hard to pin down; ring and check.
Your situation, in one line
Unstarted? Keep the car that way and ring. Already run: stop, switch off and ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around Lee and anywhere around Shropshire on 0333 366 0103.