AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Loup, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the engine has run since it went in. Out in Derrycrin or right in Loup, an unstarted engine should stay unrun. Phone 0333 366 0103 with your key and motor both off. In Loup, such a case is generally emptied and cleaned on the spot. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. It is a larger job, yet step one doesn't change.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in County Londonderry it happened.
On a Loup forecourt with 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. Somewhere in Loup, then — the nearest petrol station, another forecourt nearby, or anywhere else nearby.
Meaning? Spotting it here is the best it gets. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
What to do: don't get back in and start it to clear the pump. Have the attendants to lend a hand rolling it into a bay, save the receipt, then phone us from there. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, so a vehicle that can't be pushed clear gets cleared right at the pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Loup drive?
The warning light had been on for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you had opened on the driveway. Right off Wallace Cottages is not less likely from any other place.
The point: zero miles since leaves it nearly as good to finding it at the petrol pump. Being unable to mix, AdBlue settles low inside the tank and stays. One night parked changes nothing.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Ballyronan or Loup: wherever your driveway is, that's where it gets drained. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Loup?
A mile or two beyond filling up, the engine started playing up: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on your dash. B842, say, or the route towards Armagh — a run of under 25 miles.
Meaning? Your pump has taken the AdBlue up. Through the fuel filter, through the lines, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the injection pump and each injector. More miles, more starts: deeper it goes.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. Service stations farther along are too far: on the M77, over 50 miles out of Loup, take the first junction. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. About how far had it go? Say so as you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
Seven days back, the car was new to you. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is right next to your diesel cap — a surprise to you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in County Londonderry.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Many hire and company agreements need the owner's approval for work.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our engineers get there than after. Waiting for a reply in the car park at the nearest station, or beside the centre? Leave your engine off throughout.
AdBlue in your diesel tank? Not sure, around Loup
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can honestly say. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. A hurried top-up by the gates of the local primary school, or a visit to a friend in Coagh: either fits.
Meaning? Spills around the inlet never touch your engine at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so would draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Do this: act as if it got in, and never start the engine. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clear tank checked counts as a better outcome than an already-run one emptied.
The common ground in every Loup AdBlue drain
The work begins identically, whatever the situation. Wherever the car stands — the pub in the village's car park, a street by a street just off the centre, a drive, a forecourt — the van gets there and we ask for the liquid, the amount, plus whether your engine has turned over. Those replies decide the work, and you get our price by phone, before anyone sets off.
Draining the tank comes first, then a full flush — more vital after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion will not go by themselves, however long you wait. Clean diesel is put in once the fuel filter has been flushed or replaced, and your car is finally tested. If your engine hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Lastly, we start the car. Our test that it runs smoothly on fresh diesel comes before we head off. Lasting damage is very uncommon if it is caught quickly, and the entire job is done where the vehicle is. Paying is on the day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Worth knowing: many insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a check of your documents while you wait is worthwhile.
About Loup, for a moment
Loup is a small locality in County Londonderry, situated inland at an elevation of 74 metres. Loup lies near the towns of Ballyronan, Moneymore, and Magherafelt, and is approximately 24 miles from the city of Armagh. Loup is characterised by its predominantly detached housing stock, reflecting its rural setting. Loup is a relatively small community, with a population of around 637 people.
Loup and County Londonderry: AdBlue drains across the area
Loup is a small village, and the same teams that cover it work the towns around it too, Moneymore and Magherafelt among them, across the BT postcode area. Giving us your BT45 7 postcode pins you fastest of all.
Centre of Loup or a lay-by towards the green space at the edge of the village: either way it is, your vehicle doesn't need to move at all for the drain. Our technicians drain it where it sits. Guessing won't help beside the far end of the built-up part, on a border or somewhere hard to describe; ring and check.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Keep the car off and phone. Run already? Stop, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whichever it is, across Loup and County Londonderry, on 0333 366 0103.