What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Shortlees
One thing counts above all once AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is if your engine has been started since. Wherever the vehicle is — Earlston, Shortlees — don't run a motor that hasn't been started yet. Phone 0333 366 0103 with your key and engine still off. In Shortlees, that is typically emptied and cleaned where it stands. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. The job is bigger, but the first stage is the same.
Match your case to a situation from the list below, wherever in East Ayrshire you happen to be.
On a Shortlees forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: stood by the petrol pump, holding the nozzle, you spot the filler you opened was not the correct one. It might be the the nearest petrol station, or the Campbell's Fuel Oils, or a different forecourt around Shortlees.
In short: no better place exists to spot it. Only your tank has AdBlue; no part beyond it has drawn it in.
What to do: don't get back in and fire it up to clear the petrol pump. Ring us from the forecourt once the car sits in a bay — the staff will lend a hand to push it — then keep the bottle. Stuck by the petrol pump? Explosion-proof kit keeps a live forecourt sensible, so it can be drained in place.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around Shortlees
For days the dashboard had been warning you. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the drive, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. It takes place on driveways just off Earlston Avenue as often as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as your vehicle has not been driven since, it's second to the forecourt case. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: prevent an early drive by putting the keys indoors, then ring us. Caprington or Shortlees: wherever your driveway sits, that is where it is drained. Our equipment runs quiet enough not to disturb the neighbours at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Shortlees?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later your motor began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe driving to Glasgow, under 25 miles away, or simply along Caprington Avenue.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled through the system. Mileage decides how deep it gets: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. More miles, more starts: further it travels.
Next: find a safe place, stop, then switch your engine off. On the M77, under 5 miles from Shortlees, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call, saying how far the car was driven.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have only had this car for days. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers sit side by side here — not like your own car, which has none or stores it elsewhere. Throughout East Ayrshire, no one is immune.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more stage. The owner often has to approve any work, under plenty of hire and fleet agreements.
Do this: hire firm or your fleet manager to begin with, us next, because settling it beforehand cuts time. If you're stuck in the car park at Kilmarnock, or by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, while you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
AdBlue in the diesel tank? Not sure, around Shortlees
"I think so" is often the most honest as it gets. A slight ammonia whiff lingers near the filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. Maybe at a friend's drive in Grange, or in a rush by the local primary school at the school run.
What it means: a little spilled round your filler does no damage to the engine. If it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. You cannot tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Do this: act as if it did, and never start the engine. Call us and describe what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out free of AdBlue than drain one that has already been run.
What every AdBlue drain around Shortlees has in common
The work opens the same way, whatever the situation. Our technicians come to the vehicle, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at Riccarton Inn or a side street near Bellfield Community Library, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and whether your motor has run. Those replies decide the work, and you get the quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
Then your tank is emptied and the system rinsed 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. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. The majority of unstarted vehicles are a half-hour visit after the moment our technicians arrive.
Firing it up comes last. We make sure it runs smoothly on new diesel before we go. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and if it's noticed quickly, lasting damage is very uncommon. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Shortlees, for a moment
Shortlees is a suburban area in East Ayrshire, situated inland at an elevation of 36 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Shortlees lies approximately 21.7 miles southwest of Glasgow and is surrounded by nearby places such as Caprington, Bellfield, and Riccarton. Shortlees has a population of around 5267 residents, making it a relatively small but established community. Shortlees is located some distance from major cities in England, with London being around 333.9 miles to the southeast.
AdBlue drains around Shortlees, and across East Ayrshire too
Bellfield and Riccarton have the identical teams as Shortlees, a residential suburb, along with further towns throughout KA postcodes. Giving us your KA1 4 postcode pins you quickest of all.
Parked heading to Caprington Golf Club, or bang in the centre of Shortlees, your vehicle remains put — there's no need to move it anywhere. Our van empties it in place. Tricky to explain? Close to The Well or a county line? Asking beats assuming, so phone.
Your situation, in one line
Motor not started: phone, leaving it switched off. Run already: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, in Shortlees or anywhere across East Ayrshire.