What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in St Monance
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether your engine has run since it was put in. Not run so far? Then keep it that way, whether the vehicle sits — St Monance or Newton of Balcormo. Switch nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, and count on a thorough flush plus a drain, carried out right where the car stands around St Monance. Stop the moment it is safe and turn off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever around Fife it happened.
At the pump in St Monance: AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: standing by the petrol pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the cap you took off was not the correct one. Maybe you are at the Gulf, perhaps at the BP, maybe somewhere else in St Monance.
The upshot: of all places to find out, the forecourt is the best. No pump has drawn it in, and so the AdBlue stays just inside that tank.
Do this: keep out of the driver's seat, even if the queue needs freeing. Get the attendants to lend a hand rolling it to a bay, save the receipt, then phone us from there. Can't move the car beside the pump? Our explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt sensible, so it can be drained where it is.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home around St Monance
For days the dashboard had been nagging you. Only by the recycling, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you had opened at the driveway. It takes place on drives just off Hope Place as regularly as anywhere.
The point: no miles since makes this nearly as good to spotting it at the pump. On the floor of your tank is where AdBlue waits, because it will not mix with diesel — and a night passing makes nothing of the difference.
What to do: leave the keys inside the house so nobody moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Our engineers drain the car on your driveway, whether that is around St Monance or out in Abercrombie. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road in St Monance with AdBlue in a diesel
A short way beyond topping up, your engine started playing up: rough running, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. George Terrace, perhaps, or the way to Dundee — a run of under 25 miles.
What it means: the fuel system has pulled the AdBlue in. The injection pump and every injector see it too on a longer run, once the filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so then switch off. Service stations further along can wait: on the M90, under 25 miles out of St Monance, take the first junction. Restarting it to test gets nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. Roughly what distance had it go? Say so when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
You have just had the car a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers sit next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere. Any driver, wherever in Fife, could make the same.
The upshot: exactly as above, divided by if it ran, but with an added step. Work on the vehicle often requires the owner's approval under hire or fleet terms.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's faster settled before our engineers arrive than after. Hanging on for an answer in the car park outside Leven, or near St Monans Church Hall? Leave the car off throughout.
St Monance: unsure whether it was AdBlue in your diesel tank?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there's a faint smell of ammonia around your filler, and you cannot remember which cap you took off. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Arncroach.
The upshot: your motor is not hurt by some AdBlue spilled around the outside. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. If there is AdBlue in the tank, turning on your car would pull it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
Do this: act as though it did, and don't start your motor. Checking a tank that proves free of AdBlue beats draining one after it has been run — so ring and describe to us what you noticed.
St Monance: what every AdBlue drain has in common
The job begins identically, whichever your situation. Our engineers come to the car, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park at Garden Bar or a side street close to St Monans 1875 Memorial Garden, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and whether the motor has been run. Replies shape the job; the price comes by phone whilst no one has left yet.
AdBlue forms crystals and is corrosive to some metals used in fuel systems, so it does not wash out on its own; that's why a full flush, after the drain, counts much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Next comes the fuel filter — flushed, or swapped when needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of your car. If the engine hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
Firing it up comes last. Before our technicians go, it's tested to make sure it runs smoothly on clean diesel. The whole job is done where the car is, and when it's spotted soon, lasting damage is very rare. Payment is on the day, never upfront. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About St Monance and where it is
St Monance is a small coastal village in Fife, situated on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, with nearby places including Abercrombie, Balbuthie, and Pittenweem. St Monance has a population of around 1186 people, living in predominantly semi-detached housing, and is located approximately 19 miles from Dundee. St Monance sits at a low elevation of 18 metres above sea level, looking out to the sea. St Monance is part of the wider Fife coastal community, with its residents enjoying the scenic views and coastal walks.
AdBlue drains about St Monance and across Fife
St Monance is a coastal village, and the same teams that cover it work the towns around it too, Balbuthie and Pittenweem among them, across the KY postcode area. Quickest of all: a KY10 2 postcode to show your location.
Whether the car is on a lay-by on the way to Chapel Wood or in a car park in the middle of St Monance, it doesn't need to shift. Our engineers drain the car where it stands. Awkward to pin down? Close to St Monans Town Hall or a border? Checking beats guessing, so ring.
The one-line version
Engine not started: phone, leaving it alone. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, throughout Fife and within St Monance — once you stop, turn off and phone, if it has run.