What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Shawbirch
All of it turns on one fact: whether the motor has been run after the AdBlue went in — far more than anything else. Anywhere your vehicle is — Eyton upon the Weald Moors, Shawbirch — don't start an engine that has not run yet. Leave the motor and the ignition off and ring 0333 366 0103; it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Shawbirch. Already run? Stop once you safely can, then switch everything off. The job is bigger, yet the first step is the same.
Below: the cases our engineers meet, anywhere across Shropshire. Choose yours.
Shawbirch 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. Anywhere around Shawbirch, then — Shell, Springhill, or anywhere else nearby.
The upshot: of all places to find out, this is the best. Still in the tank, and no fuel drawn onwards: that's where the AdBlue sits.
Clearing the petrol pump is no excuse to run it — and so don't get back in. Three jobs: a shove into a bay with the attendants helping, the receipt kept, and a call to us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be emptied at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
Shawbirch, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in your hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened on the drive. Houses just off Crowdale Road are hit as often as anywhere else.
In short: if the vehicle hasn't moved since, it is almost as good as finding out at the pump. Being reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops to the base inside the tank and waits. One night parked alters nothing.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the car in the morning. Then ring. We drain it on your driveway, whether that is around Shawbirch or out in Dothill. Night-time empties outside a house are fine: the pumps are quiet.
Shawbirch: drove off 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 Cote Road, perhaps on the way out towards Wolverhampton, under 25 miles away.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue through already. The high-pressure pump and each injector see it as well on a longer run, after the filter and pipework have had it. More driving, more starts: further it travels.
Your move: pull up anywhere safe, then switch the engine off. On the M54, under 3 miles from Shawbirch, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Do not restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Ring us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have only driven the car for days. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, the inlet is right by the diesel inlet — news to you. Anywhere you happen to be across Shropshire, any motorist could be caught.
Meaning? Whatever case above counts too — run or unrun — plus one extra stage. The owner frequently needs to sign off the work, under many rental and fleet agreements.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our technicians turn up than after. Leave it off as the answer comes, even if you are parked outside Wellington (Shropshire) or close to Admaston House.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Shawbirch
Sometimes the honest answer is "I think so". Which cap came off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs lighter than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at St Peter's Bratton Church of England Academy, or on a friend's drive in Long Lane.
The upshot: the engine is not hurt by some AdBlue spilled around the outside. The diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different matter. Starting the vehicle cannot tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it will draw it in.
Next: act as though it went in, and keep the engine off. Tell us what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank checked counts as a better result than a run one drained.
Every AdBlue drain in Shawbirch shares these stages
The work opens the same way, whichever your case. We come to the vehicle, whether it's at a forecourt, a drive, the car park at The Woolpack or a side street close to St Catherine, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and whether your motor has been run. On the phone, before dispatch, you are told our price, and those answers shape the job too.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it is essential, since crystals form and some metals corrode, and none of that washes away unaided. Your filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Where your engine hasn't run, expect roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most cases.
Firing it up comes last. With clean diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it is running properly, and then we go. The entire job is done where the car is, and when it is caught early, long-term damage is very uncommon. Paying comes on the day, never in advance. For your insurer, there is a VAT invoice plus a report from the engineer. Check your insurance while we're en route: misfuelling cover comes included in many policies.
About Shawbirch
Shawbirch is a suburban area situated on the shores of a lake in Shropshire, with a mix of housing types but predominantly detached homes. Shawbirch sits at an elevation of 72 metres, near the villages of Dothill and Bratton, and is located approximately 19 miles from Wolverhampton. Shawbirch has a population of around 4224 residents and is part of the wider West Midlands region. Shawbirch is also relatively close to the village of Admaston, with its rural landscape and scenic views.
Shawbirch and Shropshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Shawbirch is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the towns near it too, Bratton and Admaston among them, across the TF postcode area. Telling us a TF5 0 postcode pins you quickest of all.
No moving is required, be it parked in the centre of Shawbirch or on a layby heading to Shawbirch Little Park, and so keep it where it is. The drain is done right there. Guessing doesn't help beside Apley Castle, on a border or somewhere awkward to describe; phone and check.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep it off and call. Run already: pull over, power down, ring 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, within Shawbirch or anywhere in Shropshire.