AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Llanfoist: What Now?
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has run since it got in. Over in Pen-y-Pound or right in Llanfoist, an unrun engine must remain unrun. Usually this is draining and thoroughly cleaning it on the spot around Llanfoist — and so keep the ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Already run? Pull over once you safely can, then turn everything off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Anywhere around Monmouthshire it took place, one of the situations below matches yours.
On a Llanfoist forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, nozzle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. It could be the Shell, or the BP, or another station in Llanfoist.
Meaning? Finding out here is the best it can be. Only the tank holds AdBlue; no part past it has taken it in.
Do this: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the pump wants freeing. Three jobs: a push into a bay with the staff assisting, the bottle saved, and a ring to us from the forecourt. Emptying it right at the pump is possible when it cannot be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Llanfoist drive?
The warning light had been on for days. A bottle from the shop, emptied in at the driveway — and it was just at the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Driveways close to The Cutting see it as much as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided the car hasn't been driven since, it's second to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of that tank and stays put, however long it waits.
Keep the keys indoors overnight — otherwise someone might drive it away first thing — then call us. Our engineers drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that is in Llanfoist or out in Grofield. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Llanfoist: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe heading to Newport, under 25 miles away, or just along B4246.
The point: your system has drawn AdBlue through already. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it too on a bigger trip, once the fuel filter and lines have had it. More miles, more starts: deeper it travels.
What to do: pull over where it's safe then switch off. Exit at the first junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M4, under 15 miles from Llanfoist. Starting it again to test achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Phone, saying how far the vehicle was driven.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You have had the car hardly a week. Your own motor either has no AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so no one warned you the AdBlue cap was right next to your diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Monmouthshire.
In short: an extra stage on top of the cases above, which depend on if it's run. Many rental and company agreements need the owner's sign-off for repairs.
Your move: rental firm or fleet manager first, us next, since sorting it beforehand cuts time. Keep the car off as the reply comes, whether you are parked at Abergavenny or close to St Faith.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Llanfoist?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. Too light, the bottle; a hint of ammonia near your filler; a hazy recollection of the cap. Look familiar? Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Llanwenarth.
In short: spillage round your filler leaves your engine unharmed. In the diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. Starting the car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would draw it in.
Next: act as though it went in, and keep the motor off. 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 around Llanfoist has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Three questions are asked when our technicians reach your car — on a filling station, a drive, a road beside Llanfoist Village Hall or the car park at Brewers Fayre: the fluid, the quantity, and whether the motor has been started. Those replies settle the work, and you get our quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out unaided; that's why a full flush, after the drain, matters far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. If the engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Firing it up comes at the end. Our check that it runs correctly on new diesel comes before our technicians head off. Permanent damage is very unusual when it is spotted soon, and the whole job is done where the car is. Paying comes on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Llanfoist itself
Llanfoist is a small village situated on the banks of the River Usk in Monmouthshire, with a mix of semi-detached housing and other residential properties. Llanfoist sits at an elevation of 61 metres, close to the nearby towns of Abergavenny and Grofield. Llanfoist is located near the city of Newport, which is approximately 15.7 miles away, and is part of a wider network of communities in the region. Llanfoist has a population of around 697 people, according to recent estimates.
AdBlue drains across Monmouthshire, Llanfoist included
Abergavenny and Cantref have the same teams as Llanfoist, a village, along with further towns throughout NP postcodes. Quickest of all: a NP7 9 postcode to show your location.
Centre of Llanfoist or a lay-by towards Castle Meadows: either way it is, the car never needs to move an inch for us. The van drains it in place. Ring and ask rather than guess if you are close to Abergavenny Community Centre, on a border, or anywhere awkward to explain.
Your situation, summed up
Engine not started: phone, and leave it alone. Whichever case fits, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Monmouthshire and in Llanfoist — once you pull over, turn off and ring, if it has run.