AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Loans, and What to Do Next
One thing counts above all once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the motor has run afterwards. Wherever the car is — Barassie, Loans — never run an engine that has not been started yet. Normally that means draining and properly flushing it on the spot around Loans — so leave the ignition and engine off then call 0333 366 0103. Where your motor has been run, stop somewhere safe first, then turn the car off. A larger job, yes, but the same first move.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in South Ayrshire it happened.
At the pump in Loans: AdBlue in a diesel
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. It might be the Esso, or perhaps the Morrisons, or another forecourt in Loans.
The upshot: of all places to find out, the forecourt is the best. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Next: resist the urge to start it only to free up the pump. Three things: a shove into a space with the staff helping, the bottle kept, and a call to us from where you stand. Draining it there at the pump is possible if it can't be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Loans drive?
For days the dash had been nagging you. Bought a container, poured it in outside the house, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap again, after the fact. It takes place on drives just off Main Street as frequently as anywhere.
Meaning? Provided the vehicle has not moved since, it is close to the pump case. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue settles to the floor of your tank and remains there, no matter how long it waits.
Next: the keys in the house, and so nobody takes your vehicle anywhere first thing. Then, phone. Your drive is where it gets emptied, be it in Loans or Collennan. The equipment works quiet enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
On the road in Loans with AdBlue in a diesel
Filled up, drove away, and soon the engine was running unevenly, smoking, losing power, or flashing up your dash. Maybe driving to Glasgow, under 50 miles away, or simply down Fullarton Place.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. Through the filter, along the lines, and — the further the mileage — deeper into the high-pressure pump and every injector. It goes further with every mile driven and every restart.
Stop safely — that is the next step — then switch everything off. Service stations further along are too far: from the M77, under 10 miles out of Loans, use the next junction. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Phone, saying what distance your car went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It's a vehicle you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel filler, which you didn't know, because your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, anywhere in South Ayrshire, might do it.
The upshot: just as above, split by if it ran, but with one added step. The owner often has to approve the work, under many hire and company contracts.
Sorting it before we arrives is faster, so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Stranded by War Memorial or at Troon till the firm answers, the vehicle stays switched off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Loans?
"I think so" is often the most honest as it gets. A faint ammonia-like whiff hangs around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. A rushed stop by the gates of the local primary school, or a visit to a friend in Frognal: either fit.
The upshot: your motor is not hurt by some AdBlue splashed on the outside. Once it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. If there is AdBlue in that tank, starting your car will suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not fire it up. Phone and give the details: we'd rather confirm a tank free of AdBlue than empty one after your motor has run.
The common ground in each Loans AdBlue drain
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Three questions are asked when our technicians arrive — at a forecourt, a drive, a street by Loans Village Hall or the car park outside the pub in the village: the liquid, the amount, and if it has been started. On the phone, before dispatch, you are told the quote, and those answers decide the job too.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it's crucial, because crystals build up and certain metals corrode, and neither rinses away unaided. Last are your filter, cleaned or renewed if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of your car. Not started? Then about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
We start the car last. Before our technicians go, it's tested to be sure it runs properly on fresh diesel. Our technicians do the whole job where the vehicle is, and permanent damage is very unusual when it has been caught soon. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents while we travel pays.
About Loans
Loans is a small coastal village in South Ayrshire, situated near the towns of Troon and Prestwick, with a mix of rural and seaside environments. Loans sits at an elevation of 27 metres, looking out to the Firth of Clyde, and is characterized by its predominantly detached housing stock. Loans is part of a network of small villages and hamlets, including Collennan and Muirhead, in the rural landscape of South Ayrshire.
AdBlue drains around Loans and across South Ayrshire
Being a coastal village, Loans has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Laigh Hillhouse, Muirhead — right across KA postcodes. Quickest of all: a KA10 7 postcode for where you stand.
No towing is required, whether parked centrally in Loans or in a layby en route to Marr College Playing Fields, and so leave it where it is. The drain is done right there. Phone and check instead of guessing when you're close to Harpercroft Hillfort, on a boundary, or somewhere tricky to pin down.
Your scenario, in one line
Not run yet: keep it off then ring. Whatever case applies, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, across South Ayrshire and in Loans — after you pull over, switch off then ring, if it has run.