AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Owler Barrow: How It Happens and How to Prevent It
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave your engine and the ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103. Normally, when the engine hasn't run, it is emptied and fully rinsed where the vehicle sits in Owler Barrow. The remainder of this page covers why it occurs and how to ensure it doesn't — useful if you're reading before it has happened.
AdBlue in a diesel motor: two tanks, two fillers
No single liquid but two: that's what many newer diesels near Owler Barrow and Kirklees run, with diesel for the engine. AdBlue's own tank holds it, and from there it is sent to your exhaust, where a spray cleans the fumes.
Different tanks, separate fillers. Many of vehicles have a single flap for the two, whereas others put the AdBlue filler to the boot or under the bonnet. Topping up your diesel side at the pump happens all the time. The AdBlue side is filled far less commonly, normally from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. The slip lives in that gap.
How does AdBlue in your diesel tank occur in Owler Barrow?
It is hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
On a driveway off Owlerbarrow Road before work, or in the car park outside Victoria Hotel heading home: that is where the rushed top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low the car tells you, and once it's empty, limp mode kicks in.
Then, the hand goes for the cap it knew on the old motor — since a hire car, a new motor or a company car puts the fillers where your last one did not.
No part stops the pour once it has started, because a bottle with a spout goes into a diesel filler as easily as an AdBlue one. The bottle fits. Whether it happens in Bolholt or the middle of Owler Barrow, it's the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Be it a Owler Barrow forecourt or a drive out in Starling, spend a couple of seconds on these before anything goes in.
- Where it sits can mislead; the cap doesn't. AdBlue caps tend to be blue or bear the name "AdBlue" — diesel caps usually don't.
- The size. On plenty of vehicles the AdBlue filler neck is the smaller of the two.
- Open the flap and look for a label — plenty of vehicles show which goes in each filler right there.
- The handbook. If the filler is not by the diesel cap, it's in your boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- The person who drove the car last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park outside Bromley Cross, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
When the light goes on, anywhere around Greater Manchester, use this routine.
- Switch off after you park — flat ground, engine stopped, and not in a rush beside Sharples Drive on the verge.
- Silly as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew the cap does the trick — after you have found your filler and read the cap.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — and leave the vehicle on.
- Using the bottle's own spout, tip slowly — and stop when it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Before you start your car, shut the cap and look a second time that your diesel cap never came off.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Skip step five altogether.
AdBlue in the diesel tank already, around Owler Barrow?
Do not start the engine: that's where the short order of things begins. On many diesels the ignition alone runs the fuel pump, so don't switch it on. Topping up with diesel will not weaken it: instead, AdBlue sinks to the bottom of the tank, right where the fuel is taken from.
The attendants at Shell, EG On the Move or another forecourt will normally help to push your car away if asked. If you're on your own drive around Owler Barrow, leave the vehicle where it is.
If your engine has already run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. Owler Barrow sits under 3 miles from the M66; there, take the next junction. Tell us about how far it went: a run towards Salford, under 10 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Owler Barrow.
What takes place when we turn up in Owler Barrow
Our technicians come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Christ Church CofE Primary School, near Stables Country Club or on your own drive. Our engineers ask what went in, about how much, and whether it has run, because the answers decide the work and the price. Nobody heads out before you've heard the price over the phone.
Then the tank is drained and the system cleaned thoroughly. Unlike petrol, AdBlue leaves crystals and eats at some fuel-system metals, and none of it clears away by itself. Hence it matters more. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. We don't go until it has been fired up and is running correctly.
Unstarted vehicles mostly mean a half-hour visit from the moment we arrive. The equipment is fine on a busy filling station, and hushed enough for a driveway after dark. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Owler Barrow, for a moment
Owler Barrow is a suburban area in Greater Manchester, situated near the River Irwell and close to the cities of Salford and Manchester. Owler Barrow sits at an elevation of 124 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation in the area. Owler Barrow is located near several other suburban areas, including Bolholt, Walshaw, and Woolfold, and is around 8 miles from Salford city centre.
AdBlue drains in Owler Barrow and across Greater Manchester
Walshaw and Woolfold are among the towns near Owler Barrow, a residential suburb, that the same teams cover, throughout BL postcodes. Give a postcode beginning BL8 1, and our van gets there fastest.
The car remains where it is. The drain takes place on the spot, be it a drive, a road near Christ Church, Walshaw, or a lay-by on the way to Elton Vale. Awkward to explain, like the back of Elton Cricket Club? Close to a border? Asking beats guessing, and so ring.
For Owler Barrow drivers, the short version
Before you pour, read the cap. Petrol in Diesel empties it where it stands, anywhere in Greater Manchester, if AdBlue has gone in your diesel tank regardless — so leave the car off and call 0333 366 0103.