AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Northlea: What Now?
All of it hinges on a single detail: if your engine has started since the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. Anywhere the car is — Seaton, Northlea — don't run an engine that has not been started yet. Phone 0333 366 0103 with your ignition and engine still off. In Northlea, that is typically emptied and flushed where it stands. Already run? Pull over once safe, then turn it off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Match your case to a situation from the list below, anywhere across Durham you happen to be.
On a Northlea forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only at this point, bottle yet in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the pump. Anywhere around Northlea, then — Esso, Jet, or anywhere else close by.
In short: there is no better spot to be to discover it. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has pulled it in.
Your move: keep out of the car, however much the pump wants freeing. A few things: a push into a space with the staff assisting, the bottle saved, and a call to us from where you stand. Stuck beside the pump? Our explosion-proof kit makes a live forecourt safe, so we can drain it in place.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Northlea drive?
On your dash, a reminder had been lit for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look once more at the cap. It takes place on drives just off Neasham Road as regularly as anywhere.
In short: if the vehicle has not moved since, it's almost as good as finding out at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Your move: the keys in the house, so nobody drives your vehicle off at breakfast. Then, phone. Our engineers drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that's in Northlea or out in Eastlea. Night-time empties outside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
On the road around Northlea with AdBlue in a diesel
A mile or two beyond topping up, the motor started misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, lights on your dash. Burnhall Drive, perhaps, or the route to Sunderland — a trip of under 5 miles.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it too on a longer run, after the fuel filter and lines have it. Every restart, like each mile, carries it on.
What to do: pull over where it is safe then switch off. Service stations farther along are too far: from the A1(M), under 10 miles out of Northlea, take the next junction. Starting it again to test achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Let us know the distance covered as you ring.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
Seven days ago, it was new to you. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers sit next to each other here — not like your own car, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Durham.
The upshot: exactly as above, split by whether it ran, only with an added step. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our technicians get there than after. If you're stuck in the car park at Seaham, or by Christ Church New Seaham, while you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Northlea
Now and then, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. A slight ammonia smell lingers around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. Maybe at a friend's driveway in Seaham, or rushing outside New Seaham Academy at the school run.
Put simply: a spill round the filler leaves the motor unharmed. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is another story. Starting your car won't tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in your tank it will suck it in.
Take it that it went in, and don't turn your key. Call us and explain what you saw; we would rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Northlea: what each AdBlue drain has in common
The job opens the same way, whatever the situation. Filling station, driveway, Westlea Sports and Family Bar's car park or a street by Seaham War Memorial — our van comes to your vehicle, and three answers follow: what liquid, which amount, and whether it has run. Those answers settle this work, and you hear the price on the phone, before anyone heads out.
Then that tank is emptied and the fuel system rinsed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, so it does not rinse out on its own. The 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 covers most jobs.
Starting it comes last. We make sure it runs smoothly on new diesel before we go. When it is caught early, the vehicle very rarely has permanent damage, and the entire job happens where it is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money upfront. Worth knowing: many insurers include misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your policy as you wait is worthwhile.
About Northlea, for a moment
Northlea is a suburban area located on the coast of County Durham, near the city of Sunderland. Northlea sits at an elevation of 54 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Northlea is situated close to other nearby places such as Eastlea, Deneside, and Westlea, and is approximately 236 miles north of London. Northlea has a population of around 3038 residents.
AdBlue drains round Northlea and across Durham
Deneside and Westlea have the same vans as Northlea, a residential suburb, plus further places throughout SR postcodes. Your location comes clearest from a postcode that starts SR7 0.
Central Northlea or a lay-by towards Seaham Town Park: wherever it sits, your vehicle doesn't need to shift at all for this drain. Our van drains it where it stands. Tricky to pin down? Close to Seaham Town Hall or a border? Asking beats assuming, so ring.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Leave the car that way then ring. Whatever line applies, Petrol in Diesel handles the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Durham and in Northlea — once you stop, switch off then phone, if it has run.