Don't Start It: AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Pot House
Engine off, ignition off: that is where you start if AdBlue has got into your diesel tank. Urea dissolved in water is all AdBlue is. It doesn't burn, it does not mix with diesel, and the harm it does begins when the fuel system draws it in. Caught before the engine has been run, AdBlue in a diesel tank is generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where your car is in Pot House. No step comes before calling 0333 366 0103.
What to do straight away, Pot House: AdBlue in the diesel tank
Do:
- Remove your keys, and that prevents anyone turning the electrics on.
- Hazards on, if moving traffic is at all close.
- Keep the receipt or the empty bottle, and so you can tell us what was put in and about how much.
- Tell us a postcode starting S36 1, or whatever street is closest, and our van reaches you straight — so call wherever you stand.
Things not to do:
- Moving your car just a few yards is no reason to fire up the motor.
- Plenty of diesels run their pump the instant the ignition comes on, and so keep it off.
- No more fuel on top. The AdBlue won't blend, and so it's pointless.
- Any driving at all is best avoided, even a short way along Linden Crescent.
- Emptying the tank on your own by the road isn't worth trying.
At a forecourt around Pot House, whether it is the JET or another one, ask the attendants to help you push the car clear of the petrol pump. Parked on your own drive? Then it remains exactly as it is.
What AdBlue does in a diesel tank
Not the engine but the exhaust is where AdBlue is meant to go. From a dedicated tank it goes directly to your exhaust, treating what the motor lets out. A fuel pump is not designed to cope with it, and AdBlue was never supposed to go through one.
Inside a diesel tank it behaves very differently from fuel. It does not mix in. It drops, since it's heavier than diesel, and settles low where the intake takes its supply from. Once the system runs, the AdBlue is top of the list to be pulled through. Before then it sits underneath your diesel, which is why a vehicle topped up in Horner House yesterday and not switched on remains the straightforward case, as long as nobody touches your key.
From there it does two kinds of harm. It eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, working on whatever it touches until it is cleared from the system. And when the water evaporates, the urea forms crystals that block filters and settle in narrow passages. Lines holding AdBlue spell harm by morning for a vehicle sitting around Pot House. Just in that tank, it stays stable. Diesel protects the high-pressure pump and every injector as it passes; water gives no lubrication, which is a separate kind of damage.
AdBlue in a diesel: why it is regularly worse than petrol
Top up a diesel with petrol by mistake at the Murco, and the problem is diluted fuel. Mixed through your diesel and sitting still, it's no threat at that stage; running your engine does the damage.
With AdBlue in a diesel, the fluid as such is simply the wrong one. Not burning, it cannot just be run through. It does not stay mixed, and so it can't be diluted. And crystals and corrosion don't wash out with the next tank of fuel. That is why the flush counts more with AdBlue than with petrol, and why starting your engine "to see" costs more here than nearly anywhere else, whether your car is in Garden Village or the middle of Pot House.
The good news is the same as with petrol. Clearing a tank is the simplest job on any fuel system, and without start-up, the AdBlue remains in there — wherever in South Yorkshire your car sits.
AdBlue in a diesel tank around Pot House: how it ends up there
After dark, two caps side by side — the AdBlue one and the diesel cap, now and then under a single flap — can appear the same. No one means it; many designs invite it. Mostly it's never the filling station: a driver buys a container heading home and pours it in outside the house.
It tends to take place in a few familiar ways. The refill is rushed outside St Ann's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy, after the dash lit up with a warning as the children were dropped off. A bottle is poured in at the end of the day on a drive just off Shay House Lane. Or someone unfamiliar with that flap refills the car in dim light, stopped in the car park outside The Red Grouse.
Rented cars, brand-new cars, fleet cars, or the spare vehicle in a family with both fuels: the least familiar cars see it the most. Keep it off: that is the first response to the same slip, anywhere in Pot House or the remainder of South Yorkshire you are.
Started your engine with AdBlue in the diesel tank around Pot House?
In that case, the AdBlue is no longer in that tank. Given any running time, it travels to the injection pump and each injector, after passing via your filter and lines.
Expect lumpy running, smoke, falling power, warnings on your dash, or a stall — coming back from Pot House Wood, perhaps, or part way across Pot House. Stop when it is safe. Turn off. Leave the vehicle off rather than testing it again. With each start, more of that is pulled through.
If you were on the M1, under 5 miles from Pot House, come off at the next exit and stop somewhere sensible rather than pressing on.
Each mile pushes the AdBlue further into the system. That's why a hop across Pot House to park beside Stocksbridge Christian Centre and a drive of under 10 miles towards Sheffield are very separate jobs. Roughly how far had it come? Tell us.
Once the motor has run, the flush includes more, and all of it is done where the vehicle has stopped. Lasting damage is very unusual if it is noticed early.
Pot House: how AdBlue is drained from a diesel
We come to the car, wherever it has stopped around Pot House: a side street near The Salvation Army - Stocksbridge, a drive, a lay-by or a forecourt. Which fluid got in, about how much, plus if your engine has turned over: our engineers ask first, because those decide the work.
Next, draining your tank on the spot removes the contaminated diesel along with the AdBlue together. The system is cleaned thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol, since what it leaves behind doesn't rinse out on its own. Your filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. About half an hour on site is typical for most jobs where your motor hasn't run. Low-noise enough for use outside a house at night, and fine on a working forecourt, the pumps are explosion-proof.
Finally, the fuel system is primed with fresh diesel. Starting it comes next, and then you drive off from where the vehicle is parked, outside Penistone or on a drive around Pot House. It is tested on new diesel to make sure it runs correctly before our technicians go. The entire job is done where your car is, so it never has to go to a workshop. Insurers ask for a VAT invoice and an engineer report, and you get both afterwards.
About Pot House and where it is
Pot House is a suburban area situated on the riverside in South Yorkshire, with a mix of semi-detached housing and a population of around 5151 residents. Pot House sits at an elevation of 219 metres, close to the city of Sheffield and near other local places such as Shay House and Stocksbridge. Pot House is located near the edge of the Sheffield urban area, but remains a distinct community within the wider region. Pot House benefits from its proximity to nearby East Whitwell and other local amenities.
AdBlue drains across South Yorkshire, Pot House included
Shay House, East Whitwell and Stocksbridge are among the places near Pot House that the same vans reach, along with much of South Yorkshire beyond, over the S postcode area. Guessing doesn't help by a border or anywhere tricky to describe; ring and ask.
Anywhere the car stands — a drive at home, a residential street, a parking area, a filling station — our technicians drain it on the spot, with no need to take it to us; which suits Pot House, a residential suburb, well.
Pot House: what AdBlue in a diesel tank costs to fix
No flat figure would be honest, since each job is different. Whether the engine has been running, and for how long, comes first in what shifts the price. How much AdBlue went in comes next, and then the location of the vehicle, because an open drive is simpler for our van to reach safely than a tight space behind Stocksbridge Library.
That's why each call from Pot House starts with the same three queries, asked before giving a figure, not after: what was put in, how much, and whether it's run. With them, a range narrows to a single firm figure.
Before anyone heads out, you hear our price on the phone. Then you pay on the day, by card or over the phone, with nothing upfront. Misfuelling cover comes with plenty of insurance policies, so it pays to look at yours before the van arrives.
Next to the vehicle in Pot House, right now?
Right now, the most helpful thing to do with your vehicle is to leave it. Motor off, keys out, ignition off. Phone 0333 366 0103 and tell us it is AdBlue, roughly how much, and whether it's run. Petrol in Diesel takes it from there, in Pot House or anywhere across South Yorkshire.