What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in St Catherines
Has the engine run since the AdBlue was put in? That one question decides nearly everything else from here. Wherever your vehicle stands — Boultham Moor, St Catherines — don't run an engine that hasn't run yet. Switch nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and expect a proper flush plus a drain, done right where your car stands around St Catherines. Stop the moment you safely can then switch off, if it has already run. It is a bigger job, though stage one doesn't change.
Further down: the cases our engineers see, anywhere in Lincolnshire. Choose the one that fits.
At the petrol pump in St Catherines: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you unscrewed was the wrong one — and you just spot it as you're standing at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in hand. Be it the nearest petrol station, Morrisons or somewhere else around St Catherines, the case is identical.
In short: there is no better place to be to spot it. Nothing has drawn it through, so the AdBlue sits only in the tank.
What to do: do not get back in and start it to clear the pump. Have the attendants to help pushing it into a bay, hold on to the receipt, then phone us from there. Stuck beside the pump? Explosion-proof kit keeps a live forecourt safe, and so we can drain the vehicle where it is.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home in St Catherines
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in hand, did you glance back at the cap you had used at the driveway. Homes just off Altham Terrace get caught out as often as everywhere else.
The upshot: no driving since leaves it nearly equal to finding it at the pump. AdBlue does not mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: prevent an early-morning drive by keeping the keys indoors, then phone us. Out in Boultham or here around St Catherines, the draining is done at your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around St Catherines?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard arrived a mile or two beyond the top-up. Possibly it was on A1434, perhaps on the way out towards Lincoln, under 3 miles away.
The upshot: your system has drawn AdBlue through already. Past your filter, along the pipework, and — the more the mileage — deeper into the injection pump and each injector. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
Stop safely — that's the first job — then turn everything off. Exit at the first junction — not the services further along — if you are on the M180, under 25 miles from St Catherines. No test starts: clearing itself is not something AdBlue does. Let us know the distance driven as you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
It's a motor you have had for a week. On your own car, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is right next to your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Across Lincolnshire, no one is safe from it.
Meaning? Whatever applies above counts too — run or unrun — plus one further step. Plenty of hire and fleet contracts need the owner's approval for repairs.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager first, us second, since sorting it early saves time. If you are stuck in the car park outside Lincoln Central, or by Southside, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around St Catherines?
At times, "I think so" is the most anyone can truthfully say. Lighter, that bottle; a trace of ammonia near your filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Look familiar? It might have been at a friend's drive in Canwick, or in a rush by The Lincoln St Peter at Gowts Church of England Primary School on the school run.
The upshot: your motor isn't harmed by a little AdBlue spilled on the outside. If it's inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. You cannot tell which by turning the key, and doing so will suck in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
Next: assume it got in, and leave your engine off. Inspecting a tank that proves clean beats draining one after it's been run — so phone and describe to us what you saw.
St Catherines: what each AdBlue drain has in common
Whatever the situation, one opening is used. Three things come once our technicians reach the car — at a forecourt, a drive, a road beside Queen's Park Community Hub Futures Café or the car park outside Golden Eagle: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has been started. Your price comes on the call, before a van leaves, and the replies shape the work.
A thorough flush follows this drain. With petrol it is standard; with AdBlue it is crucial, since deposits build up and some metals are attacked, and none of it rinses out unaided. Clean diesel goes in after the fuel filter has been flushed or changed, and the car is then tested. The majority of unrun cars are a half-hour job from the moment our technicians turn up.
Starting the car comes last. Our test that it runs correctly on fresh diesel comes before our technicians head off. Permanent damage is very uncommon when it is caught quickly, and the entire job is done where the vehicle is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, nothing in advance. Plenty of policies cover misfuelling, so check yours as we head over.
About St Catherines itself
St Catherines is a suburban area located on the riverside in Lincolnshire, with an elevation of around 9 metres. St Catherines sits close to the city of Lincoln, approximately 1.4 miles away, and is near other suburban areas such as Boultham and New Boultham. St Catherines has a population of around 6691 people and is characterised by predominantly terraced housing. St Catherines is situated in the East Midlands region, about 119.3 miles from London.
AdBlue drains about St Catherines and across Lincolnshire
Being a residential suburb, St Catherines shares its vans with the nearby towns — Bracebridge, New Boultham — right across LN postcodes. Quickest of all: a LN5 8 postcode for where you stand.
Central St Catherines or a lay-by towards Malandry Closes: wherever it is, the car never needs to move at all for us. Draining is done on the spot. Guessing won't help beside St Basil the Great with St Paisios of the Holy Mountain., close to a border or anywhere hard to pin down; phone and check.
The one-line version
Where it has not run, phone and leave it off. Started already? Pull over, turn off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whichever it is, in St Catherines and Lincolnshire, on 0333 366 0103.