Smallburn: AdBlue in the Diesel Tank? Find Your Situation
One thing counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether your engine has been started afterwards. Over in Dalblair or here around Smallburn, an unrun engine must remain unrun. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, then expect a thorough flush plus a drain, carried out right where the vehicle sits in Smallburn. Already run? Stop once you safely can, then switch everything off. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Wherever in East Ayrshire it took place, one of the situations below matches yours.
On a Smallburn forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Just at this point, nozzle yet in your hand, you realise that the cap you opened was the wrong one, there at the pump. It might be the the nearest petrol station, or perhaps the another forecourt nearby, or a different station around Smallburn.
The point: of all places to notice, this is the best. Only your tank has AdBlue; no component past it has taken it in.
Do this: keep out of the car, however much the queue wants freeing. Have the attendants to lend a hand rolling it into a bay, hold on to the bottle, then phone us from there. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, so a vehicle that can't be pushed away is emptied right at the pump.
Smallburn, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
On your dash, a warning had shown for days. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened at the drive. Right off Henderson Drive is not different from anywhere.
Put simply: if the car has not been driven since, it is nearly equal to spotting it at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue drops to the base of the tank and stays put, however long the night.
Your move: keys indoors, and so no one takes your car anywhere at breakfast. Then, phone. Your drive is where it is drained, whether around Smallburn or Kames. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Smallburn?
Filled up, pulled away, and soon your motor was running unevenly, blowing smoke, losing power, or lighting up your dash. Somewhere along Muirkirk Road or on the road towards Glasgow — under 25 miles away.
The upshot: the system has pulled AdBlue through by now. It's been through the fuel filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and your injectors. It travels deeper with every mile covered and each restart.
Next: pick a sensible spot, stop, then switch the engine off. On the M74, under 15 miles from Smallburn, that means the next exit, not the services further on. No trial restarts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. About what distance had it go? Tell us when you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've had the car barely a week. Your own vehicle either does without AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, and so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap sits right beside the diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across East Ayrshire.
Meaning? Whatever case above applies too — run or unrun — and one further stage. Plenty of rental and company agreements require the owner's approval before repairs.
Settling it before we turn up is faster, and so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, then us. Stranded by Muirkirk Miners Memorial or at New Cumnock till the firm replies, the vehicle stays turned off throughout.
Smallburn: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest as it gets. A faint ammonia smell lingers around the filler, the bottle seems too light, and the cap you took off is hard to recall. Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Cronberry.
In short: a spill round your filler leaves the engine no harm. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is another matter. If there is AdBlue in the tank, turning on the car will suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Your move: behave as if it did, and don't start your motor. Ring 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.
Every AdBlue drain around Smallburn shares these steps
Whichever scenario you are in, the job starts the same way. Anywhere your vehicle is — Coach House Inn's car park, a road by Replica of Tibbies Brig, a drive, a filling station — the van arrives and we ask for the liquid, the amount, plus whether your motor has been run. Replies set the job; the quote comes on the call whilst nobody has set off yet.
Draining the tank comes next, followed by a full flush — more vital after urea than with petrol, because crystals and corrosion won't clear on their own, however long you wait. The fuel filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. Where your engine hasn't been started, allow about half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
Firing it up comes last. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our technicians make sure it is running smoothly, and then we head off. The entire job is done where your car is, and if it is noticed soon, lasting damage is very unusual. Nothing is taken upfront, payment happens on the day, and you receive what your insurer asks for: an engineer report plus a VAT invoice. Many policies cover misfuelling, and so check yours while the van travels.
About Smallburn, for a moment
Smallburn is a suburban area situated on the riverside in East Ayrshire, with a mix of semi-detached housing and a population of around 790 residents. Smallburn sits at an elevation of 211 metres, near the communities of Kames, Muirkirk, and Glenbuck. Smallburn is located approximately 24.8 miles from Glasgow, making it a commuter base for the city. Smallburn's riverside setting provides a distinctive character to the area.
Smallburn and East Ayrshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Over KA postcodes, the vans serving Smallburn — a residential suburb — reach surrounding towns as well, Muirkirk and Glenbuck included. Telling us a KA18 3 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Central Smallburn or a layby towards Muirkirk Golf Club: wherever it is, your car doesn't need to move an inch for us. The drain happens right there. Awkward to explain? By Muirkirk Covenanters Memorial or a border? Checking beats assuming, and so phone.
The one-line version
Still unrun? Leave the vehicle that way then ring. Whichever line applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout East Ayrshire and within Smallburn — after you pull over, switch off then phone, if it's run.