What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Littleburn
Has your motor turned over since the AdBlue went in? That one question decides almost everything else from here. Over in Brandon or right around Littleburn, an unrun engine should remain unrun. Normally this means emptying and properly rinsing it on the spot around Littleburn — so keep the key and engine off then ring 0333 366 0103. When your motor has run, pull in safely straight away, then turn it off. It is a bigger job, though stage one doesn't change.
Further down: the situations our technicians meet, wherever around Durham. Pick yours.
On a Littleburn forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the bottle, you spot the cap you took off was not the right one. Maybe you're at the Jet, possibly at the Shell, maybe somewhere else around Littleburn.
What it means: this is the best location to find out. Only the tank holds AdBlue; no part beyond it has taken it in.
Next: avoid the urge to fire it up only to move away from the petrol pump. Ring us from the forecourt after the car is in a bay — the attendants will lend a hand to roll it — then save the receipt. Draining it there at the petrol pump is possible if it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
Littleburn, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd used on the drive. Houses just off Rosebay Road get hit as often as anywhere else.
Meaning? As long as your car hasn't been driven since, it's close to the forecourt case. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of the tank and stays there, however long the night.
Keep the keys indoors tonight — or someone may drive it off at breakfast — then phone us. Out in Meadowfield or here in Littleburn, the draining is done on your drive. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
Littleburn: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Filled up, drove away, and before long your motor was turning unevenly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Anywhere on Littleburn Road or on the road to Durham — under 3 miles away.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue in by now. Through your filter, along the lines, and — the further the distance — on into the high-pressure pump and each injector. It travels further with each extra mile driven and each restart.
Do this: pull up anywhere sensible, then switch your motor off. Service stations farther along are too far: from the A1(M), under 5 miles out of Littleburn, use the first junction. No test restarts: clearing isn't something AdBlue will do. Ring us and say how far you drove.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have had the vehicle barely a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is just by the diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Any driver, wherever across Durham, might do it.
Meaning? Whatever case above counts here — run or unrun — and one further step. Many hire and fleet agreements need the owner's approval for work.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before our arrival is faster. Leave the vehicle off as the reply arrives, whether you are waiting outside Durham or close to St Patrick's RC Church.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Littleburn?
"I think so" is often as honest as it gets. Too light, that bottle; a hint of ammonia round the filler; no clear memory of which cap. Sound familiar? Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Langley Moor, or on a friend's drive in Stonebridge.
What it means: a little spilled about the filler does no damage to your engine. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in the tank would be drawn in by starting the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
What to do: treat it as if it was put in. Don't start the car. Ring with what you saw: we would sooner confirm a clean tank than drain one after your engine has run.
Littleburn: what each AdBlue drain has in common
The work begins the same way, whichever your situation. Forecourt, driveway, The Station's car park or a street beside Durham Climbing Centre — the van comes to the car, and three answers follow: which fluid, which amount, and whether it has run. Your price is given on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those replies set the job.
Then your tank is emptied and your system flushed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. If your motor has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
The final step is starting the car. Before we go, it's tested to be sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. Our engineers do the whole job where the car is, and lasting damage is very uncommon if it has been caught soon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Dig out your insurance before we arrive: cover for misfuelling comes included in plenty of policies.
About Littleburn itself
Littleburn is a suburban area located on the riverside in County Durham, England, with an elevation of 76 metres. Littleburn sits approximately 2 miles from the city of Durham and is surrounded by nearby places such as Meadowfield, Langley Moor, and Browney. Littleburn has a population of around 1246 residents and predominantly features detached housing. Littleburn is situated in the North East region, about 232 miles north of London.
AdBlue drains around Littleburn and across Durham
Throughout DH postcodes, the vans covering Littleburn — a residential suburb — work surrounding towns as well, Langley Moor and Browney included. The whereabouts comes clearest from a postcode beginning DH7 8.
Parked heading to Durham City Golf Course, or bang in the centre of Littleburn, your vehicle remains put — there is no need to shift it at all. Where it stands, that's where it gets emptied. Awkward to pin down? By St John the Evangelist or a county line? Checking beats assuming, and so phone.
Your scenario, in one line
Where it hasn't started, phone then keep it that way. Started already? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whatever it is, in Littleburn and Durham, on 0333 366 0103.