What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Parkhill
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank depends on one thing more than any other: whether the motor has been run since it got in. Anywhere the car is — High Carnegie, Parkhill — don't start an engine that has not been started yet. Usually this is draining and thoroughly flushing it on the spot in Parkhill — and so keep your ignition and engine off then ring 0333 366 0103. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. It is a bigger job, yet stage one does not change.
Wherever in Inverclyde it took place, one of the cases below matches yours.
Parkhill forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
You're 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. It could be the Tesco, or the Murco, or another forecourt in Parkhill.
The upshot: of every spot to notice, the forecourt is the best. Still in your tank, with nothing drawn through: that is where the AdBlue sits.
Freeing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — and so don't get back in. Ring us from the forecourt once your car sits in a space — the attendants will help roll it — and keep the bottle. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a busy forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed away is cleared right at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a Parkhill drive?
On the dash, a warning had shown 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 again at the cap. Just off Glasgow Road is not less likely from any other place.
Put simply: if your car hasn't moved since, it's nearly as good as finding out at the forecourt. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: prevent any early-morning move by putting your keys in the house, then phone us. Our engineers drain the vehicle on your driveway, whether that's around Parkhill or out in Park Farm. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Parkhill?
Filled up, pulled away, and before long the engine was running roughly, blowing smoke, down on power, or lighting up the dash. Greenock Road, perhaps, or the route towards Glasgow — a trip of under 25 miles.
What it means: the system has drawn the AdBlue in. It has been through your filter and the lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the injectors. More driving, more restarts: deeper it travels.
Next: find a safe spot, stop, then turn your motor off. Parkhill sits under 5 miles from the M8; on it, pull off at the first junction rather than pressing on for the services. Restarting it to test achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Call, saying what distance your vehicle was driven.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have had this car barely a week. Your own vehicle either does without AdBlue or keeps it somewhere different, and so nothing told you the AdBlue inlet was right beside the diesel. Across Inverclyde, no one is immune.
The point: exactly as above, divided by whether it ran, but with an added step. Plenty of hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before we turn up than after. Stranded near St Martin's Parish Church or at Woodhall till someone answers, your vehicle stays turned off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Parkhill?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. A slight ammonia smell lingers around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is hard to recall. A rushed top-up by the gates of the local primary school, or a visit to a friend in Kelburn: either fits.
The point: the engine isn't harmed by a little AdBlue spilled around the filler. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, that changes. If there is AdBlue in your tank, firing up the vehicle would pull it in, and it would not tell you which either.
Next: assume it went in, then leave the motor off. Ring with what you saw: we'd rather find a clean tank than empty one once your motor has run.
What every AdBlue drain around Parkhill has in common
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Wherever your car stands — the pub in the village's car park, a road by Wishing Tree, a drive, a filling station — our van arrives and asks about the liquid, the amount, plus whether the motor has been run. The price is given over the phone, before a van leaves, and the replies set the job.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals in fuel systems, so it does not wash out unaided; that is why a full flush, after the drain, matters far more with AdBlue than with petrol. Clean diesel is put in once the filter is cleaned or replaced, and the car is finally tested. Never started? Then about half an hour on site covers most jobs.
Lastly, our technicians start it. With clean diesel in, it runs while our technicians make sure it is running properly, and then we leave. The entire job is done where the car is, and if it's caught soon, permanent damage is very uncommon. Payment is on the day, never upfront. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. It is worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, and so a quick look at your documents while we travel is worthwhile.
About Parkhill itself
Parkhill is a coastal suburban area in Inverclyde, situated near the cities of Glasgow and Greenock. Parkhill sits at a low elevation of around 15 metres, with views out to the Firth of Clyde. Parkhill is characterized by its semi-detached housing stock and is located near other local areas such as Park Farm and Woodhall.
Parkhill and Inverclyde: AdBlue drains across the area
Woodhall and Broadfield have the identical teams as Parkhill, a residential suburb, along with other places over PA postcodes. Fastest of all: a PA14 6 postcode to show your location.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Kelburn Park or in a car park in the middle of Parkhill, it doesn't need to shift. We drain it where it sits. If you are somewhere hard to explain, near Port Glasgow Community Stadium or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Your situation, summed up
If it hasn't run, phone then keep it off. Whatever case fits, Petrol in Diesel handles from there on 0333 366 0103, across Inverclyde and in Parkhill — after you stop, switch off and ring, if it's run.