AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Lowton Common: How It Happens and How to Avoid It
Keep your motor and ignition off then call 0333 366 0103 now — the rest can wait if AdBlue is already in your diesel tank. In Lowton Common, catching it before the motor runs normally leaves draining and a thorough flush on the spot. Not happened yet? Below, the page covers the why it occurs and the how to prevent it for good.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Plenty of newer diesels around Lowton St Marys, like those in Lowton Common, run on two fluids; the motor gets only your diesel. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is sprayed into your exhaust gas and cleans it.
Different tanks, different fillers. Some cars keep the AdBlue filler in the boot or under the bonnet; plenty more place both side by side behind one flap. Topping up your diesel side at the petrol pump happens all the time. Much less often, the AdBlue side is topped up — normally from a bottle, by someone working out where it goes. It is in that gap that the slip happens.
How AdBlue in the diesel tank takes place in Lowton Common
Three things tend to come together, and carelessness is seldom one of them.
On a drive off Kane Court before work, or in the car park outside Church Inn heading home: that is where the hurried top-up happens. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low your car tells you, and if it's empty, limp mode kicks in.
The old car's cap is where your hand reaches — but a hire car, a new vehicle or a company car keeps the fillers elsewhere. That's a second thing: a strange motor.
Third, the spout goes in: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it slides in as readily, and once the tip starts, nothing stops it. It's seconds, be it in Wash End or bang in the heart of Lowton Common.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Whether a Lowton Common forecourt or a driveway out in Diggle Green, spend a couple of seconds over these before anything is poured in.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or marked "AdBlue". Your diesel cap usually is not. Read it rather than going by position.
- Many cars fit AdBlue the smaller neck of the two.
- The flap. Look inside the fuel flap for a label. Plenty of cars say there which fuel goes where.
- Can't find it next to the diesel filler? Then check beneath the bonnet or inside your boot — the owner's manual says which.
- Picking up a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park at Newton-Le-Willows? Ask the person who drove the vehicle last before leaving, not when the light goes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
Anywhere across Greater Manchester the light comes on, this is a routine for that day.
- Park and switch off. Not on a slope, not with the engine running, and not in a rush on the side of St Nicholas Road.
- Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap, once you find the AdBlue filler and read it. Daft, perhaps, but it works.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave it on.
- Tip slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Only then, start your car: close the cap, check once more, and make sure your diesel cap was never opened.
Stop there if you find, at step two or three, that you have already poured into the diesel side. Leave out stage five altogether.
Lowton Common: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
The short order of things, beginning with not starting your motor. The fuel pump runs on many diesels as soon as your ignition goes on — and so keep it off. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where the fuel is pulled from — so do not top up with diesel to thin it.
The staff at Esso, Morrisons or any forecourt will normally lend a hand pushing the vehicle clear when asked. Leave it where it is if you're on your own drive in Lowton Common.
When the motor has run already, stop somewhere safe and turn it off. The next junction is where to leave if you are on the M6, under 3 miles from Lowton Common. Tell us about how far it went: a run towards Salford, under 15 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Lowton Common.
What takes place when our technicians turn up in Lowton Common
Our engineers come to your car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School, close to Lowton Independent Methodist Church or on your own driveway. Our technicians ask what got in, about how much, and whether it has run, since those replies decide the work and our quote. You hear that quote by phone, before anybody sets off.
Emptying the tank comes next, then a thorough flush of the fuel system. AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not wash out on its own — which is why that matters more with AdBlue than with petrol. The filter cleaned or, if needed, swapped; clean diesel in; then a check of your car. Next our engineers fire it up and make sure it runs correctly before leaving.
If the engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there, using pumps that are fine on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house at night. Your insurer will ask for the engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and both are yours at the end. Payment is on the day, with no money upfront. It is worth checking your policy while we travel to you: misfuelling cover is included with many policies.
About Lowton Common, briefly
Lowton Common is a suburban area situated near the lakeside in Greater Manchester, with an elevation of 33 metres above sea level. Lowton Common lies approximately 10.6 miles from Salford and is characterized by predominantly detached housing. Lowton Common is part of a larger residential area that includes nearby places such as Wash End and Aspull Common.
Lowton Common and Greater Manchester: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout WA postcodes, the vans that cover Lowton Common — a residential suburb — work the nearby locations too, Lowton and Aspull Common included. Our van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting WA3 1.
Your car does not need to move. The drain takes place on the spot, be it a drive, a street by St Mary's, or a layby towards Hesketh Meadow. If you're near a border, or somewhere hard to explain like the back of Lowton Community Hub, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Lowton Common motorists: the short version
Always, the cap; then, the pour. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank regardless, leave it off and phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel clears it where it sits, anywhere across Greater Manchester.