What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Linford
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether your motor has been run since it went in. Not run yet? Then keep the car like that, wherever the vehicle sits — Linford or Mucking. Leave your motor and your ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Linford. Already run? Stop when you safely can, then switch everything off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Anywhere across Essex it took place, one of the cases below matches yours.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Linford forecourt
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just notice it while you're standing at the petrol pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Perhaps you're at the BP, perhaps at the Esso, perhaps somewhere else in Linford.
What it means: this is the ideal spot to find out. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Freeing the pump is no reason to start it — so do not get back in. Ask the staff to help you roll the vehicle into a parking space, keep the receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the pump is fine if it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Linford with AdBlue in the diesel tank
On your dash, a reminder had been lit all week. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in hand, did you look back at the cap you had opened on the drive. Driveways close to Princess Margaret Road get it as much as anywhere.
The point: zero driving since makes it almost equal to finding it at the pump. Being reluctant to mix, AdBlue settles low inside the tank and waits. One night standing alters nothing.
Next: the keys in the house, and so nobody drives the vehicle anywhere first thing. After that, phone. East Tilbury or Linford: whichever your driveway is, that's where it is drained. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel in Linford?
A mile or two beyond filling up, the engine started misbehaving: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Muckingford Road, perhaps, or the route to Southend-on-Sea — a run of under 15 miles.
The upshot: the system has drawn AdBlue through already. Past the fuel filter, along the pipework, and — the further the distance — on into the high-pressure pump and each injector. More driving, more starts: deeper it goes.
What to do: pull over where it is safe and switch off. Leave by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M25, under 10 miles from Linford. No test restarts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Ring us and say how far you went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week ago, it was unknown to you. The AdBlue filler is right alongside the diesel one, which you didn't know, since your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Essex.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by if it ran, only with an added stage. Plenty of rental and fleet agreements require the owner's approval for repairs.
Your move: rental firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us next, because sorting it beforehand saves time. Stuck near St Francis, Linford or outside East Tilbury until someone replies, your vehicle stays turned off throughout.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Linford
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can truthfully say. A slight ammonia smell hangs around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. The gates of East Tilbury Primary School in a hurry, say, or someone's drive out in Southfields.
What it means: a little spilled about your filler does no damage to your motor. 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 your tank.
Your move: act as though it got in, and never start your engine. Ring us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
What every AdBlue drain around Linford has in common
The work opens identically, whatever the case. Forecourt, driveway, George & Dragon's car park or a road by Linford Methodist Church — the van reaches your car, and three questions follow: which liquid, which quantity, and if it ran. Those answers determine this work, and you hear the quote on the phone, before anyone sets off.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it's crucial, because crystals form and certain metals corrode, and neither washes out unaided. Next is the fuel filter — flushed, or replaced when necessary — then clean diesel, and a test of the car. If your engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Lastly, our technicians fire it up. With new diesel in, it runs while our technicians confirm it's running correctly, and then we head off. If it's caught soon, the car very rarely has lasting damage, and the entire job happens where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Linford, for a moment
Linford is a small village in Essex, situated on the coastal Thames estuary at a low elevation of around 6 metres. Linford lies within commuting distance of London, approximately 23 miles to the west, and is close to the larger town of Southend-on-Sea. Linford has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are predominant in the village. Linford is near other local places such as East Tilbury, Low Street, and West Tilbury.
AdBlue drains across Essex, Linford included
Being a coastal village, Linford shares its vans with the surrounding towns — West Tilbury, Low Street — all the way across SS postcodes. Giving us your SS17 0 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Central Linford or a lay-by near Linford Recreation Park: wherever it is, the car never needs to move at all for us. Where it stands, that's where it gets drained. Tricky to explain? Close to Linford Village Hall or a county line? Checking is better than assuming, so phone.
The one-line version
Where it has not run, ring then keep it off. Already run: stop, switch off then call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Linford and anywhere across Essex on 0333 366 0103.