AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in May Bank: What Now?
Has your engine turned over since the AdBlue was put in? That one point settles almost everything else from here. Wherever the vehicle is — Dimsdale, May Bank — never start a motor that hasn't run yet. Leave the motor and your ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in May Bank. Already started? Stop once safe, then turn it off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Match what happened to one of the list below, anywhere around Staffordshire you happen to be.
At the petrol pump around May Bank: AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, nozzle still in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, right at the pump. Anywhere in May Bank, then — Asda, Sainsbury's, or anywhere else nearby.
In short: no better spot to be to spot it. Only that tank holds AdBlue; no part past it has taken it in.
What to do: do not get back in and start it to clear the petrol pump. Three jobs: a shove into a space with the staff assisting, the receipt kept, and a call to us from the forecourt. Draining it there at the pump is possible if it can't be shifted, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a May Bank drive?
Several days had passed with the dash light on. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in at the driveway — and it's just at the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Houses just off Charles Street get caught out as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of your tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: prevent an early-morning move by putting the keys in the house, then ring us. Basford or May Bank: wherever your driveway sits, that's where it gets drained. Our equipment runs quietly enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around May Bank?
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. Possibly it was on Upper Marsh, possibly on the way out towards Stoke-on-Trent, under 3 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked into the system. It has been through the fuel filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure pump and the injectors. It goes deeper with each extra mile driven and each restart.
Next: pick a sensible spot, pull in, then turn your engine off. Service stations farther along are too far: on the M6, under 5 miles out of May Bank, take the next junction. No trial starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. Phone, and say how far the vehicle was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company vehicles
Seven days ago, it was unknown to you. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, so no one told you the AdBlue cap sits just next to your diesel. Across Staffordshire, no one is immune.
In short: one extra stage on top of the cases above, which turn on if it's run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Settling it before the van arrives is quicker, and so phone the hire company or your fleet manager, and then us. Hanging on for a reply in the car park outside Longport, or beside Marsh Hall Community Centre? Keep your engine off meanwhile.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, May Bank?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. A faint ammonia-like whiff lingers around your filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. It might have been at a friend's drive in Porthill, or rushing outside May Bank Infants' School on the school run.
Put simply: spillage near your filler leaves your motor unharmed. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in your tank would be sucked in by turning on your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: act as though it got in, then keep the engine off. Call us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
The common ground in each May Bank AdBlue drain
Every case gets the same opening to the work. Anywhere the car stands — The Cricketers Arms's car park, a road beside Saint Wulstan's, a driveway, a filling station — our van gets there and asks for the fluid, the quantity, and whether your engine has turned over. Your price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers shape the job.
Emptying the tank comes next, then a careful flush — more important with urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion won't clear on their own, however long it sits. Fresh diesel goes in once your filter is cleaned or replaced, and the car is finally tested. Where your motor hasn't run, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. With fresh diesel in, it runs while we check it is running properly, and then we head off. When it's spotted quickly, the vehicle very seldom has long-term damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours while the van travels.
About May Bank, briefly
May Bank is a suburban area located on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, situated near the River Trent. May Bank sits at an elevation of 173 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. May Bank is close to nearby places such as Basford, Wolstanton, and The Brampton, and is approximately 1.7 miles from Stoke-on-Trent city centre. May Bank has a population of around 6626 residents.
AdBlue drains about May Bank and across Staffordshire
Wolstanton and The Brampton have the identical vans as May Bank, a residential suburb, plus further places over ST postcodes. A postcode starting ST5 0 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of May Bank or a layby towards Wolstanton Marsh: wherever it is, your vehicle doesn't need to shift at all for the drain. Our engineers drain it where it stands. Guessing doesn't help near Wolstanton Community Centre, on a county line or anywhere hard to describe; phone and ask.
Your situation, summed up
Engine never started: phone, leaving it alone. Started already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever case, across May Bank and Staffordshire, on 0333 366 0103.