AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Lumley Thicks, and What to Do Next
Has your engine run since the AdBlue went in? That single point settles nearly everything about what comes next. Out in Great Lumley or here around Lumley Thicks, an unrun engine must stay that way. Leave the motor and the ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is around Lumley Thicks. Where the engine has been run, stop somewhere safe straight away, then turn the vehicle off. Stage one stays unchanged, even though the job grows.
Anywhere in Durham it happened, one of the situations below matches yours.
On a Lumley Thicks forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
You're at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Anywhere around Lumley Thicks, then — JET, Gulf, or somewhere else close by.
The upshot: of all places to find out, this is the best. No pump has drawn it through, and so the AdBlue sits only in the tank.
Your move: stay out of the driver's seat, however much the queue wants freeing. Ring us from the forecourt once your car is in a bay — the staff will help push it — and save the bottle. Our equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed away gets drained right at the pump.
Lumley Thicks, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. Picked up a container, poured it in outside the house, binned the empty — and only then looked at the cap again, too late. Drives near Lumley New Road see it as much as anywhere.
Put simply: if your car has not moved since, it is nearly as good as finding out at the pump. As it is reluctant to blend, AdBlue settles low inside the tank and waits. One night standing alters none of that.
Next: stop an early-morning move by keeping your keys in the house, then ring us. Woodstone Village or Lumley Thicks: wherever your drive sits, that's where it gets emptied. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
Lumley Thicks: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
A mile or two beyond topping up, the engine began misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on the dash. It might have been driving for Durham, under 10 miles away, or simply along A1(M).
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the system. The injection pump and every injector get it too on a bigger run, after your filter and lines have had it. More driving, more starts: deeper it travels.
Stop somewhere safe — that's the next job — then switch it off. Service stations farther on can wait: from the A1(M), under a mile out of Lumley Thicks, take the next junction. Don't restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Tell us know the distance covered as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
It is a vehicle you have had for a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets are next to each other here — unlike your own vehicle, which has none or keeps it in another spot. It can happen to anyone, anywhere around Durham.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Work on your vehicle often needs the owner's go-ahead under rental or fleet terms.
What to do: call the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our technicians turn up than after. Waiting for a reply in the car park at Chester-Le-Street, or beside Fencehouses War Memorial? Keep your car off throughout.
Lumley Thicks: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Now and then, "I think so" is all you can honestly say. What cap was taken off, you cannot recall; but the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and ammonia lingers by the filler. The gates of Woodlea Primary School in a rush, say, or a friend's drive out in Fence Houses.
Meaning? Spills around the inlet never touch the motor at all. If it's inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so would suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
Take it that it was put in, and never turn the key. Ring us and describe 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 in Lumley Thicks has in common
The job begins identically, whichever the case. Anywhere your car is — Dun Cow's car park, a street by St Barnabas Church, a drive, a filling station — the van gets there and asks about the liquid, the quantity, plus whether the motor has turned over. Those replies settle the work, and you get the quote on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Then your tank is emptied and the system purged 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 does not rinse out on its own. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the car is tested. Not started? In that case about half an hour on site is most jobs.
The final step is firing it up. With clean diesel in, it runs while we confirm it's running correctly, and then we head off. Our engineers do the whole job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very rare when it has been noticed soon. Payment comes that day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Lumley Thicks and where it is
Lumley Thicks is a locality situated on the riverside in County Durham, with an elevation of around 60 metres. Lumley Thicks lies near the city of Durham, approximately 5.4 miles away, and is close to other nearby places such as Woodstone Village and Castle Dene. Lumley Thicks has a population of around 731 people and predominantly features detached housing. Lumley Thicks is located in the North East region of England, about 238 miles from London.
Lumley Thicks and Durham: AdBlue drains across the area
Over DH postcodes, the vans serving Lumley Thicks — a small village — reach surrounding places too, Castle Dene and Bournmoor included. Telling us your DH4 6 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to South Belt or in a car park in the middle of Lumley Thicks, it does not need to shift. We drain the vehicle where it is. If you're somewhere hard to explain, near Lumley Evangelical Church or close to a border, ring and ask rather than assuming.
In one line: your scenario
Unstarted? Leave the car off then phone. Started by now? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whatever it is, in Lumley Thicks and Durham, on 0333 366 0103.