What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Perry
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the engine has run since it went in. Over in Tower Hill or right around Perry, an unstarted motor must remain that way. Leave the engine and the ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Perry. Already run? Pull over when you safely can, then turn everything off. It's a larger job, though step one does not change.
Below: the situations we meet, wherever around West Midlands. Choose the one that fits.
On a Perry forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, nozzle yet in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you took off was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. Possibly you are at the BP, perhaps at the another forecourt nearby, perhaps somewhere else around Perry.
What it means: this is the best spot to find out. Just the tank has AdBlue; no component beyond it has taken it in.
What to do: don't get back in and start the car to clear the pump. Phone us from the forecourt once your vehicle is in a space — the attendants will help roll it — and keep the receipt. Emptying it there at the petrol pump is fine when it cannot be moved, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in Perry
On the dash, a warning had been lit for days. Picked up a container, tipped it in at home, recycled the empty — and at that point checked the cap again, after the fact. Drives close to Aldridge Road see it as much as any other street.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. As it is unable to blend, AdBlue settles to the base in your tank and stays. One night standing changes nothing.
Put your keys in the house overnight — or a person might drive it off first thing — and call us. Perry Barr or Perry: whichever your drive is, that's where it gets drained. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road around Perry with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Perhaps it was on Cranleigh Place, possibly on the way out towards Birmingham, under 5 miles away.
Meaning? The fuel pump has taken the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it too on a longer trip, once your filter and pipework have it. More miles, more restarts: deeper it travels.
Next: pick a safe spot, pull in, then switch your engine off. Perry lies under a mile from the M6; there, pull off at the first junction instead of pressing on to the services. No trial starts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue will do. About how far did it gone? Tell us as you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
A week ago, the car was unknown to you. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel inlets sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has none or stores it elsewhere. It can happen to anyone, anywhere in West Midlands.
The point: exactly as above, divided by whether it ran, but with an added stage. The owner frequently needs to approve the work, under many hire and fleet contracts.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — settling it before our arrival is quicker. Keep the vehicle off while the answer arrives, whether you are parked at Perry Barr or close to Boar's Head.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Perry?
Honestly, the only answer might be that you think it did. Which cap came off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs less than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by your filler. Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Greenholm Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Witton.
Meaning? Drips around the filler never touch the engine at all. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Starting your car cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will pull it in.
Next: act as though it got in, then leave the motor off. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats emptying one once it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you noticed.
The common ground in every Perry AdBlue drain
Every case gets the same opening to the work. We come to the car, whether it's at a forecourt, a drive, the car park at Church Tavern or a side street near Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if the engine has run. On the phone, ahead of dispatch, you hear the quote, and those replies decide the job too.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals in fuel systems, so it does not wash out on its own; that's why a full flush, after the drain, counts much more here than with petrol. Next is the fuel filter — flushed, or swapped where necessary — followed by fresh diesel, and a test of the vehicle. If your engine has not run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
We start the engine at the end. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it's running correctly, and then we leave. If it is spotted soon, the car very rarely has lasting damage, and the whole job takes place where it is. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement is made on the day, and you get what your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Perry
Perry is a suburban area in the West Midlands, situated near the lakeside and approximately 105 metres above sea level. Perry lies close to Birmingham, being only 3.6 miles from the city centre, and is part of the larger West Midlands conurbation. Perry is characterised by its semi-detached housing and is near to other local areas such as Perry Barr and Perry Beeches. Perry has a population of around 3612 people.
AdBlue drains in Perry, and across West Midlands too
Perry is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, Perry Beeches and Upper Witton among them, across the B postcode area. Your location is clearest from a postcode beginning B44 8.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Perry Park or in a car park in the middle of Perry, it does not need to shift. Wherever it stands, that is where it gets drained. If you're somewhere hard to explain, close to Birmingham BMX Race Track or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than assuming.
The one-line version
If it has not run, phone and leave it off. Run already? Stop, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whichever it is, in Perry and West Midlands, on 0333 366 0103.