AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Moulton, and What to Do Next
One thing counts most once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the engine has been started afterwards. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the car is in Moulton itself or out in Bostock Green. Leave your motor and the ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Moulton. Stop the minute it is safe and turn off, if it has already run. It is a larger job, though step one does not change.
Compare what happened to one of the list below, anywhere across Cheshire you happen to be.
At the pump in Moulton: AdBlue in a diesel
You are 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. Possibly you are at the Shell, perhaps at the another forecourt nearby, possibly somewhere else in Moulton.
Meaning? Spotting it here is the best it gets. No pump has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue stays just inside your tank.
Next: resist the temptation to start it only to free up the pump. Ask the attendants to help you push the vehicle into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, then call us from the forecourt. Can't move the vehicle beside the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof kit makes a busy forecourt sensible, so it can be drained in place.
Moulton, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On your dash, a warning had shown all week. A bottle from the garage, emptied in on the drive — and it's just at the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Driveways near Whitlow Lane get it as much as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as the car hasn't been driven since, it's second to the forecourt case. At the floor of that tank sits where AdBlue stays, since it won't mix with diesel — and a night passing changes no difference.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Mere Heath or Moulton: whichever your drive sits, that is where it is drained. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
On the road in Moulton with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Beechfield, say, or the way to Chester — a trip of under 25 miles.
Meaning? The pump has taken the AdBlue in. Mileage sets how deep it gets: filter and pipework first, then the injection pump and each injector. Each restart, like each mile, carries it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it's safe and switch off. Exit by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M6, under 10 miles from Moulton. Starting it again to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Roughly what distance had it gone? Tell us as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've had this vehicle barely a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its inlet is just by your diesel cap — a surprise to you. Across Cheshire, no one is safe from it.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. Work on your vehicle frequently needs the owner's go-ahead under rental or company terms.
Next: ring the hire company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. If you are stuck in the car park outside Hartford, or by Moulton Village Hall, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Moulton: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Honestly, the only answer may be that you think so. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia about the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Moulton School in a rush, say, or a friend's driveway over in Wharton Green.
Meaning? Drips outside the filler don't reach the motor at all. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. You can't tell which by turning the key, and doing so would suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not fire it up. Describe what you noticed on the phone. A clear tank looked at counts as a happier result than a run one emptied.
What each AdBlue drain in Moulton has in common
The work opens the same way, whichever the case. Anywhere your car stands — The Traveller's Rest's car park, a street by St Stephen's Church, Moulton, a driveway, a forecourt — the van arrives and asks for the liquid, the quantity, and if the motor has been run. Those answers determine this work, and you get the price by phone, before anyone sets off.
Then your tank is emptied and the fuel system flushed 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 doesn't rinse out on its own. Then comes the filter — flushed, or swapped where needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of the car. Most unrun cars are a half-hour visit after the moment we get there.
Our technicians start the engine at the end. Before our engineers head off, it's checked to confirm it runs smoothly on new diesel. Long-term damage is very uncommon if it's noticed quickly, and the whole job is done where the car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Moulton itself
Moulton is a village in Cheshire, situated inland at an elevation of around 45 metres, approximately 15 miles south of Chester. Moulton lies near several smaller communities, including Mere Heath and Davenham, and is characterized by its predominantly semi-detached housing stock. Moulton is a relatively small village, with a population of around 2462 people, and is located about 155 miles northwest of London.
Moulton and Cheshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Throughout CW postcodes, the vans serving Moulton — a rural village — reach nearby places too, Meadowbank and Davenham among them. The whereabouts comes clearest from a postcode beginning CW9 8.
Parked en route to Weaver Parkway, or right in the centre of Moulton, your vehicle stays put — there is no need to shift it at all. Wherever it stands, that is where it gets drained. Guessing won't help near Davenham Cricket Club, close to a border or somewhere awkward to pin down; phone and ask.
In one line: your situation
Still unrun? Keep the vehicle off then phone. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Moulton and anywhere around Cheshire on 0333 366 0103.