What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Overstone
One fact counts most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is if your engine has been started since. Over in Goldings or right around Overstone, an unrun motor must stay that way. Leave the motor and the ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Overstone. Already run? Pull over once you safely can, then switch everything off. A larger job, yes, but the same opening step.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever in Northamptonshire it happened.
Overstone forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Just at this point, bottle yet in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Perhaps you're at the Shell, maybe at the Fuel kiosk, possibly somewhere else around Overstone.
The point: of every spot to find out, this is the best. Just that tank holds AdBlue; not one component past it has taken any in.
What to do: do not get back in and crank it to clear the petrol pump. Ask the staff to help you push the car into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
Overstone, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
The warning light had been on 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. Houses just off Sywell Road get caught out as often as anywhere else.
The upshot: no miles since leaves this almost as good to spotting it at the petrol pump. At the bottom of your tank is exactly where AdBlue waits, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing makes no difference.
Next: prevent an early move by keeping your keys indoors, then phone us. Our technicians drain the car on your driveway, whether that is around Overstone or out in Southfields. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a residential street.
Overstone: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Topped up, drove away, and before long your engine was running roughly, smoking, down on power, or flashing up the dash. Woodland Avenue, perhaps, or the way to Milton Keynes — a run of under 25 miles.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue up. Through your filter, along the lines, and — the further the distance — on into the high-pressure pump and every injector. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Your move: stop anywhere sensible, then turn the motor off. Overstone sits under 10 miles from the M1; on it, come off at the next junction instead of pushing on to the services. It won't have cleared, so there is no point starting it again to find out. Phone, saying how far your car was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It is a car you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, and so no one told you the AdBlue inlet was just beside your diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in Northamptonshire.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more stage. The owner frequently needs to sign off any work, under many rental and fleet contracts.
Next: phone the hire company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. If you're stuck in the car park outside Northampton, or by St Nicholas, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Overstone: unsure if it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". Which cap was taken off, you cannot say; but the bottle feels less than it ought to, and ammonia hangs by your filler. A hurried stop by the gates of Overstone Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Overstone Lodge: either fit.
What it means: a little spilled around your filler does no harm to the engine. Once it's inside your diesel tank, though, it does. Firing up the car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it will pull it in.
Do this: behave as though it did, and don't start your engine. 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.
Overstone: what every AdBlue drain has in common
The work begins identically, whichever the situation. Three things come once our technicians reach the car — at a filling station, a driveway, a road by Overstone Village Hall or the car park at Overstone Manor: the fluid, the amount, and whether it has run. Replies set the job; the price follows by phone whilst nobody has left yet.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it's essential, since deposits build up and certain metals corrode, and none of that washes out unaided. Fresh diesel is put in after your filter is flushed or changed, and the car is then tested. Where your engine has not been started, allow about half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Our technicians fire it up at the end. We confirm it runs smoothly on fresh diesel before we go. We do the whole job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very uncommon when it has been noticed quickly. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, no money upfront. Check your insurance while we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes included in many policies.
About Overstone itself
Overstone is a small village in Northamptonshire, situated inland at an elevation of 118 metres, with a mix of rural and residential areas. Overstone lies approximately 17 miles from Milton Keynes and 61 miles from London, making it a commuter-friendly location. Overstone has a population of around 505 people, predominantly living in detached houses, and is surrounded by nearby places such as Southfields and Sywell. Overstone is also close to the wooded area of Round Spinney.
AdBlue drains in Overstone, and across Northamptonshire too
Round Spinney and Sywell have the same teams as Overstone, a rural village, along with other places throughout NN postcodes. Fastest of all: a NN6 0 postcode to show your location.
Centre of Overstone or a layby towards Overstone Playing Field: either way it is, your car doesn't need to move an inch for us. Our van empties it in place. Guessing doesn't help near Overstone Park Cricket Club, close to a county line or somewhere awkward to describe; phone and ask.
Your situation, in one line
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and call. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Overstone and anywhere in Northamptonshire on 0333 366 0103.