Sandilands: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: if your motor has run since it was put in. Anywhere the car stands — Hannah, Sandilands — never run a motor that hasn't been started yet. Leave your engine and your ignition off then phone 0333 366 0103; it is usually a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Sandilands. Where your engine has run, pull in safely first, then turn it off. It is a bigger job, though step one does not change.
Wherever around Lincolnshire it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
Sandilands forecourt: AdBlue in a diesel at the pump
Just now, nozzle still in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. Possibly you are at the J.D Birch, possibly at the Huttoft Service Station, perhaps somewhere else in Sandilands.
Meaning? Finding out on the forecourt is the best it gets. Still in the tank, and nothing drawn through: that's where the AdBlue is.
Do this: stay out of the driver's seat, even if the pump wants freeing. Ask the staff to help you roll your car into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, and ring us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Sandilands drive?
Several days had gone by with the warning light on. A bottle from the garage, tipped in at the drive — and it was just at the bin that the cap caught your eye. Homes just off Sandhurst Road are caught out as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. As it is reluctant to mix, AdBlue drops low inside the tank and stays. A night standing changes nothing.
Next: prevent any early move by keeping the keys in the house, then phone us. Your driveway is where it is emptied, whether in Sandilands or Sutton on Sea. Our pumping kit runs quiet enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
Sandilands: drove off with AdBlue in a diesel?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Somewhere along Roman Bank or else heading towards Lincoln — under 50 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and every injector get it as well on a bigger trip, after your filter and pipework have had it. More driving, more restarts: further it goes.
Your move: pull up anywhere safe, then switch your motor off. On the M180, under 50 miles from Sandilands, that means the next junction, not the services further on. It won't have cleared, and so there's no sense restarting to find out. Phone us and say how far you travelled.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have only had the vehicle a week. On your own car, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is just next to your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Throughout Lincolnshire, nobody is immune.
What it means: the same as the scenarios above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. Plenty of rental and company contracts need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before we get there than after. Hanging on for a reply at the car park outside Skegness, or beside Saint Clement's Church? Leave the engine off throughout.
Sandilands: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia round the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. The gates of Sutton-on-Sea Community Primary School in a rush, say, or someone's driveway out in Thorpe.
Meaning? Spills around the inlet don't touch your engine at all. If it's inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. Any AdBlue in that tank will be sucked in by starting the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Assume it got in, and don't start your engine. Inspecting a tank that proves clean beats draining one after it has been run — so phone then describe to us what you saw.
The common ground in each Sandilands AdBlue drain
The work begins identically, whatever your case. Filling station, drive, Bacchus Hotel's car park or a road beside boat — the van reaches your vehicle, and three questions come next: what fluid, which quantity, and whether it has run. The price is given over the phone, ahead of anyone setting off, and the replies set the job.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it is essential, because crystals form and some metals corrode, and none of it rinses away unaided. Last are the filter, cleaned or replaced if necessary; clean diesel; and a check of your vehicle. Where the motor has not been started, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
Starting it comes last. Before we go, it's tested to confirm it runs smoothly on clean diesel. When it is spotted soon, the vehicle very seldom has long-term damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. Paying is that day, never in advance. For the insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours as we head over.
About Sandilands and where it is
Sandilands is a small coastal village in Lincolnshire, situated near Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe, with a population of around 740 people. Sandilands has a low elevation of approximately 2 metres above sea level, and its detached housing stock reflects its relatively rural character. Sandilands is located near the Miami Beach Estate and is within commuting distance of Lincoln, which is about 35 miles away. Sandilands is also about 125 miles north of London.
AdBlue drains round Sandilands and across Lincolnshire
Throughout LN postcodes, the vans covering Sandilands — a coastal village — reach nearby towns as well, Miami Beach Estate and Trusthorpe among them. The location is clearest from a postcode that starts LN12 2.
Central Sandilands or a layby towards Bacchus Beer Garden: either way it sits, the car doesn't need to move an inch for us. Draining is done on the spot. Awkward to explain? Close to Sutton on Sea Methodist Church or a county line? Asking is better than assuming, so phone.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Whichever line applies, Petrol in Diesel handles from there on 0333 366 0103, across Lincolnshire and in Sandilands — once you stop, turn off and ring, if it has run.