Leven: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
Has the motor run since the AdBlue got in? This one question decides almost everything else from here. Wherever the vehicle is — Innerleven, Leven — never run an engine that hasn't run yet. Usually this means draining and thoroughly rinsing it right there in Leven — so leave your ignition and engine off and phone 0333 366 0103. Already started? Stop once you safely can, then switch it off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever across Fife it happened.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Leven forecourt
You are at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Somewhere around Leven, then — Sainsbury's, Shell, or anywhere else close by.
The upshot: of all places to notice, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to run it — and so do not get back in. Have the staff to help rolling it to a bay, hold on to the bottle, then ring us right there. Draining it right at the pump is fine if it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Leven, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had been lit for days. Picked up a container, tipped it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap again, too late. Driveways near School Lane see it as much as anywhere.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Next: prevent an early-morning drive by putting your keys in the house, then phone us. Our technicians drain it on your driveway, whether that's around Leven or out in Leven Links. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
On the road in Leven with AdBlue in a diesel
Filled up, drove away, and soon the motor was turning unevenly, smoking, losing power, or lighting up your dash. Possibly it was on Waggon Road, perhaps on the way out towards Dundee, under 25 miles away.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled into the fuel system. Mileage decides how far it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the high-pressure pump and each injector. More miles, more restarts: deeper it travels.
Pull in somewhere safe — that is the next job — then switch everything off. Services farther on are too far: from the M90, under 25 miles out of Leven, take the next junction. It will not have cleared, so there is no sense restarting to check. Roughly how far did it gone? Say so when you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It's a motor you have had for a week. Your own motor either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap sits right beside the diesel. Wherever you happen to be across Fife, any driver can be caught.
In short: an extra stage on top of the situations above, which turn on whether it has run. The owner frequently has to approve any work, under many rental and company contracts.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our technicians get there than after. Leave the vehicle off while the answer arrives, even if you're parked outside the nearest station or near Leven Library.
Leven: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Honestly, the only answer might be that you think so. Which cap came off, you cannot say; meanwhile the bottle feels less than it ought to, and ammonia hangs by your filler. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Broom.
The point: the motor isn't hurt by some AdBlue spilled around the filler. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in that tank will be pulled in by firing up the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it got in, then keep your engine off. Phone and give what you saw: we would rather find a clean tank than drain one after your engine has been run.
Leven: what each AdBlue drain has in common
No matter the case, a single opening is used. Forecourt, driveway, The Crown Inn's car park or a street by Denbeath Boxing Club — our van reaches your vehicle, and three questions come next: what fluid, what quantity, and whether it ran. Replies set the work; the quote follows on the call whilst nobody has left yet.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at some metals in fuel systems, and so it won't wash out unaided; that is why the flush, after the drain, counts far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Finally are the filter, cleaned or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a check of the vehicle. Not started? In that case about half an hour on site is most jobs.
Starting the car comes at the end. We check it runs correctly on fresh diesel before we leave. The whole job is done where the vehicle is, and if it is noticed early, permanent damage is very rare. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money in advance. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Leven and where it is
Leven is a coastal town in Fife, situated on the north shore of the Firth of Forth at a low elevation of around 12 metres. Leven has a mix of housing types, but is predominantly composed of flats, and is close to nearby places such as Leven Links and Scoonie. Leven is located near several beaches, including Sillerhole, and is within commuting distance of Dundee, which is 18 miles away. Leven is also relatively distant from major English cities, with London being around 344 miles to the south.
Leven and Fife: AdBlue drains across the area
Sillerhole and Scoonie get the same vans as Leven, a coastal town, along with further places over KY postcodes. Fastest of all: a KY8 4 postcode for where you stand.
Central Leven or a layby near Leven Festival Gardens: either way it is, your vehicle doesn't need to move an inch for us. The drain happens on the spot. If you are somewhere hard to describe, close to Church Hall or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than guessing.
Your scenario, summed up
Motor never started: phone, leaving it switched off. Run by now: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, in Leven or anywhere in Fife.