AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Lime Terrace: What Now?
All of it hinges on one fact: if the motor has been run after the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. Out in Oak Street or here in Lime Terrace, an unstarted motor should remain unrun. Usually that is emptying and properly purging it right there around Lime Terrace — and so leave the key and engine off then ring 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Anywhere in Durham it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Lime Terrace 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. Be it JET, Asda or anywhere else around Lime Terrace, the situation is identical.
In short: there is no better place exists to discover it. Nothing has pulled it in, and so the AdBlue sits just in the tank.
Next: avoid the temptation to fire it up just to free up the pump. Three things: a shove into a bay with the attendants assisting, the receipt kept, and a call to us from the forecourt. Draining it right at the pump is possible if it cannot be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home around Lime Terrace with AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. A bottle from the garage, emptied in on the drive — and it was only by the recycling that the cap got a second look. Homes just off Oxford Street get hit as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. At the bottom of your tank is where AdBlue waits, since it won't mix with diesel — and a night passing changes nothing of the difference.
Next: prevent any early-morning drive by putting your keys in the house, then phone us. We drain it on your driveway, whether that's around Lime Terrace or out in Regent Street. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Lime Terrace?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Anywhere along Wilson Street or on the road towards Durham — under 10 miles away.
The upshot: your system has pulled AdBlue in already. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it too on a bigger run, after the fuel filter and pipework have had it. More miles, more starts: further it travels.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. On the A1(M), under 10 miles from Lime Terrace, that means the next exit, not the services further on. It will not have cleared, so there's no point starting it again to find out. Call, saying how far your vehicle was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
Seven days ago, it was new to you. Your own car either does without AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, and so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was just beside the diesel. Anywhere you happen to be across Durham, every driver can slip up.
Put simply: an extra stage on top of the cases above, which depend on if it's run. Plenty of hire and fleet contracts need the owner's sign-off before work.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before our arrival is faster. Stuck by St Mark's Church or at Bishop Auckland until the firm replies, the vehicle remains turned off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank in Lime Terrace?
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". A faint ammonia-like whiff lingers around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Prince Bishops Community Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Elm Terrace.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no harm to your engine. In your diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Assume it got in, and never turn the key. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What each AdBlue drain in Lime Terrace has in common
Each case has the same start to the work. Three things are asked when our technicians reach the car — on a filling station, a drive, a street beside The Valley Methodist Church or the car park at The Red Alligator: the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has run. Over the phone, ahead of anything else, you are told the price, and those answers shape the work too.
Emptying the tank comes next, followed by a careful flush — more important after urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not clear by themselves, however long it sits. Finally come the fuel filter, flushed or renewed as needed; fresh diesel; and a check of the vehicle. If the motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Last, our technicians start the car. Before we leave, it's checked to be sure it runs smoothly on fresh diesel. We do the entire job where the vehicle is, and lasting damage is very uncommon when it has been caught quickly. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing in advance. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Lime Terrace and where it is
Lime Terrace is a locality in County Durham, situated inland at an elevation of 99 metres, approximately 9.6 miles from the city of Durham. Lime Terrace is characterized by its predominance of terraced housing, which reflects the typical architectural style of the region. Lime Terrace is located near other localities such as Regent Street, Beech Terrace, and Gray Street, and is about 225.8 miles from London.
Lime Terrace and Durham: AdBlue drains across the area
Over DL postcodes, the teams covering Lime Terrace — a small village — reach nearby places too, Beech Terrace and Gray Street among them. Telling us a DL14 8 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Centre of Lime Terrace or a layby near Shildon Millennium Green: wherever it is, the vehicle never needs to shift an inch for us. Where it sits, that's where it gets emptied. Tricky to pin down? Close to Eldon Community Centre or a border? Asking beats guessing, and so ring.
Your situation, in one line
Unstarted? Keep the vehicle off then ring. Whichever line applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Durham and within Lime Terrace — after you pull over, switch off then ring, if it has run.