What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Prestonpans
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if the engine has been run since it went in. Not run so far? Then leave the vehicle that way, wherever your car is — Prestonpans or The Heugh. Usually that means draining and properly cleaning it on the spot around Prestonpans — and so keep your key and motor off then call 0333 366 0103. If it has run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. A bigger job, yes, but the same first step.
Wherever around East Lothian it happened, one of the cases below matches yours.
On a Prestonpans forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Just at this point, bottle still in hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Anywhere in Prestonpans, then — Thames, JET, or somewhere else close by.
In short: there is no better spot exists to discover it. Just that tank has AdBlue; not one part beyond it has taken it in.
Do this: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the queue wants freeing. Ring us from the forecourt after the vehicle sits in a space — the staff will help push it — then save the bottle. If it cannot be shifted, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
Prestonpans, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On the dash, a reminder had been lit for days. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in at the drive — and it was just at the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Houses just off Ayres Wynd get hit as much as anywhere else.
Put simply: if your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is almost equal to finding out at the pump. On the bottom of the tank is exactly where AdBlue waits, because it won't mix with diesel — and a night going by makes nothing of the difference.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so no one moves the car in the morning. Then ring. Preston or Prestonpans: wherever your driveway sits, that is where it gets cleared. Our pumping kit runs quietly enough not to disturb the street at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel around Prestonpans?
Lumpy running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard started a short way after the top-up. It might have been driving for Edinburgh, under 10 miles away, or simply down Salt Preston Place.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through your fuel system. The injection pump and each injector get it too on a longer run, once your filter and lines have had it. More miles, more restarts: deeper it goes.
Next: pick a sensible place, stop, and turn your engine off. On the M8, under 15 miles from Prestonpans, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Restarting it to check achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear on its own. Roughly what distance did it gone? Say so as you phone.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company motors
You've had the vehicle barely a week. The AdBlue filler is right beside the diesel filler, which you did not know, because your own motor either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Anywhere you are in East Lothian, any motorist can be caught.
In short: one extra step on top of the situations above, and those turn on if it's run. Work on the vehicle often needs the owner's go-ahead under rental or company terms.
Your move: hire firm or fleet manager to begin with, us next, since sorting it beforehand saves time. Stuck near Spanish Civil War Memorial or outside the nearest station till someone answers, the car remains switched off throughout.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank in Prestonpans?
Honestly, the only answer may be that you think so. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia around your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. It might have been at a friend's drive in Dolphingstone, or rushing by the local primary school at the school run.
Meaning? Drips around the filler don't reach your engine at all. In the diesel tank, however, AdBlue harms it. Any AdBlue in the tank would be sucked in by turning on the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Your move: behave as though it did, and never start the engine. Call us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
Prestonpans: what every AdBlue drain has in common
Every situation has the same opening to the job. Our engineers come to the car, whether it's on a forecourt, a drive, the car park at The Railway Tavern or a side street near Prestonpans War Memorial, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and whether the motor has been run. Replies set the work; the price comes on the call whilst no one has left yet.
Then your tank is cleared and the fuel system cleaned thoroughly, which matters more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. Next comes your filter — flushed, or replaced when needed — followed by fresh diesel, and a test of the car. Never started? Then roughly half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
We fire it up last. Our check that it runs correctly on fresh diesel comes before we go. The whole job is done where the vehicle is, and if it's spotted quickly, long-term damage is very uncommon. Nothing is paid upfront, payment is made on the day, and you get what the insurer wants: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Check your insurance before we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes built into plenty of policies.
About Prestonpans and where it is
Prestonpans is a coastal town in East Lothian, situated on the Firth of Forth, with a population of around 10316 people. Prestonpans has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are predominant, and the town is close to Edinburgh, being only 7.9 miles away. Prestonpans is relatively flat, with an elevation of just 7 metres above sea level, and is near other communities such as Preston and Cuthill. Prestonpans benefits from its location near the city of Edinburgh, while also having its own distinct character.
AdBlue drains in Prestonpans, and across East Lothian too
Being a coastal town, Prestonpans shares its vans with the surrounding towns — Meadowmill Cottages, Cuthill — all the way across EH postcodes. A postcode starting EH32 9 is the quickest way to tell us where you are.
Centre of Prestonpans or a lay-by near Coronation Garden: either way it sits, the car doesn't need to move at all for us. Wherever it stands, that's where it is emptied. Tricky to pin down? By The Salvation Army - Prestonpans or a border? Asking is better than guessing, and so ring.
Your situation, in one line
Not run yet: keep it off then call. Run already? Stop, turn off, ring. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whichever it is, across Prestonpans and East Lothian, on 0333 366 0103.