AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Parkhead: Why It Happens and How to Avoid It
If AdBlue is already in your diesel tank, stop reading for a moment: leave the engine and the ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103. Around Parkhead, catching it before your engine runs normally means draining and a full flush on the spot. Nothing happened yet? Further down, the rest of the page explains the why it occurs and the ways to prevent it altogether.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel vehicle need its own filler?
Plenty of modern diesels on the roads about Parkhead and Wester Hailes carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to your motor. Kept in a tank of its own, AdBlue is sprayed into your exhaust stream and cleans it.
Every tank comes with a filler of its own. Many of motors have a single flap for the two, whereas others move the AdBlue filler to the boot or under the bonnet. Filling your diesel side at the petrol pump happens constantly. Much less regularly, the AdBlue side is topped up — mostly from a bottle, by a person thinking about where it goes. It's in the gap that the slip lives.
AdBlue in your diesel tank around Parkhead: how it takes place
It's hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
To start with, the warning. Low AdBlue brings a message from the vehicle, and running dry means limp mode — hence a rushed top-up, maybe before work off Murrayburn Road, perhaps outside Silver Wing on the way home that evening.
New-to-you cars come next, too. Hire cars, new cars and company cars place their fillers differently, and the hand goes for the cap used on the old one.
Lastly, the spout fits: a diesel filler or AdBlue one, it slides in just as easily, and once the pour begins, nothing stops it. Whether it occurs in Longstone or the middle of Parkhead, it's the same few seconds.
Telling the AdBlue filler from the diesel filler
A couple of seconds is all the checks take — so run through them before you pour anything, on a drive in Saughton or a forecourt in Parkhead.
- Blue and marking: an AdBlue cap is frequently blue, or says "AdBlue", where a diesel cap usually doesn't. Go by the cap, not where it sits.
- Plenty of vehicles fit AdBlue the smaller neck of the two.
- Open the filler flap and look for a label — many cars show which goes in which filler right there.
- Can't see it next to the diesel filler? In that case check below the bonnet or inside the boot — the handbook will say where.
- The previous driver knows. Ask when you pick up a rental or company car — from Kingsknowe's car park, perhaps — not once the warning comes on.
Keeping AdBlue out of the diesel tank when you top up
Anywhere around City of Edinburgh the light comes on, this is a routine for the day.
- Not in a rush on the side of Parkhead Loan, not on a slope, not with the motor running: park then switch off first.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- Leave your diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Finish when your tank fills or the bottle runs dry; before that, tip slowly through the built-in spout.
- Shut the cap, then check once more — making sure the diesel cap stayed closed throughout. After that, start the car.
Discover during the second or third step that the bottle went into the wrong tank? That is where you stop. Stage five is off limits.
Already put AdBlue in your diesel tank in Parkhead?
Short list, then. First: the engine remains off. Do not switch your ignition on; on many diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. Diluting it with extra diesel won't work, since AdBlue settles to the base instead of mixing — and that is where your fuel is drawn from.
At a forecourt — BP, Sainsbury's or another — the staff will usually help push the car clear, if you ask. Your own drive in Parkhead is the place it should stay.
Stop as soon as it is safe and switch off, if the motor has already run. The next junction is the place to come off if you are on the M8, under 3 miles from Parkhead. Tell us roughly how far it went: a run towards Edinburgh, under 5 miles away, is a bigger job than a short hop across Parkhead.
Parkhead: what occurs when we turn up
We come to the vehicle wherever it has stopped, whether that is outside the local primary school, close to youthagency or on your own driveway. Both the work and the quote depend on three replies — what fluid, which amount, and if it's run — so our engineers ask. No one sets off before you've had our quote by phone.
The fuel system is then flushed thoroughly, once your tank is drained. Much more than with petrol, it counts here: crystals build up, certain metals corrode, and none of it clears out on its own, however long it sits. After the fuel filter is flushed — or replaced, where needed — fresh diesel is added, and finally the vehicle is tested. We don't leave until it has been fired up and is running smoothly.
If the engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there, using pumps that are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house after dark. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Parkhead, for a moment
Parkhead is a suburban area in the City of Edinburgh, situated near the Water of Leith and overlooking the surrounding countryside. Parkhead sits at an elevation of 63 metres, with the city centre of Edinburgh approximately 3.8 miles away. Parkhead is characterized by its predominantly flat-type housing, which accommodates a population of around 7601 residents. Parkhead is close to nearby places such as Longstone, Kingsknowe, and Broomhouse.
AdBlue drains around Parkhead, and City of Edinburgh beyond
As a residential suburb, Parkhead has the same vans as nearby areas — Kingsknowe, Broomhouse — all the way through EH postcodes and the wider area beyond. The van gets to you fastest with a postcode starting EH11 4.
Your car does not need to shift. Draining takes place on the spot, be it a drive, a street by Slateford Longstone Parish Church, or a layby towards Hailes Quarry Park. Awkward to pin down, like the back of Broomhouse Mosque? By a county line? Asking is better than guessing, so phone.
Parkhead drivers: the short version
Before you tip, read the cap. If AdBlue has gone in the diesel tank regardless, leave the vehicle off then phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel drains it where it waits, anywhere around City of Edinburgh.