AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Stranton, and What to Do Next
Has the motor turned over since the AdBlue got in? That one question settles almost everything about what comes next. Over in Old Town or right in Stranton, an unstarted engine should remain that way. Keep nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and count on a proper flush after a drain, carried out just where your car sits around Stranton. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Durham it happened.
On a Stranton forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you just notice it while you are stood at the pump, bottle or the nozzle in your hand. Whether Tesco Extra, Morrisons or anywhere else around Stranton, the case is the same.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. Only that tank holds AdBlue; not one part beyond it has taken any in.
Freeing the pump is no reason to run it — so don't get back in. Three jobs: a shove into a bay with the staff helping, the receipt saved, and a call to us from where you stand. If it cannot be moved, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
At home around Stranton with AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging 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 a second time at the cap. Houses just off Waldon Street get hit as much as everywhere else.
Meaning? Provided your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it is second to the forecourt case. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue drops to the base of your tank and remains there, however long the night.
Next: prevent an early drive by keeping your keys indoors, then ring us. Your driveway is where it is drained, be it in Stranton or Bellevue. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a driveway.
Stranton: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Topped up, drove away, and soon the engine was turning roughly, smoking, down on power, or flashing up your dash. Maybe driving to Durham, under 25 miles away, or simply along Whitburn Street.
Meaning? The pump has taken the AdBlue in. Past your filter, along the pipework, and — the more the mileage — on into the injection pump and every injector. It travels further with each extra mile driven and every restart.
Do this: pull up somewhere safe, then switch your engine off. Leave at the first junction — not the services further along — if you're on the A1(M), under 15 miles from Stranton. Starting it again to check gets nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Phone, saying what distance the vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank: hire, lease and company cars
Seven days back, it was unknown to you. Unbeknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers are next to each other here — unlike your own car, which has none or stores it elsewhere. Across Durham, no one is immune.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it has run, with one more step. The owner often needs to approve the work, under plenty of hire and fleet agreements.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That's quicker settled before our technicians arrive than after. Waiting for an answer at the car park at Hartlepool, or near Stranton Community Centre? Keep your engine off meanwhile.
Stranton: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes the most honest answer there is. A slight ammonia-like smell lingers around your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. It might have been at a friend's drive in Foggy Furze, or in a rush by Stranton Primary School on the school run.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no harm to the motor. In the diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. Any AdBlue in the tank will be pulled in by starting the car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: assume it went in, then leave your motor off. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats draining one after it's been run — so phone then describe to us what you noticed.
Every AdBlue drain in Stranton shares these stages
Each situation has the same start to the job. Our engineers come to the vehicle, whether it is on a forecourt, a driveway, the car park outside The Causeway or a side street near All Saints, Stranton, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if the engine has been run. The price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those answers shape the work.
A thorough flush follows the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is crucial, since crystals form and certain metals are attacked, and none of that washes away unaided. Finally are the fuel filter, flushed or replaced if necessary; fresh diesel; and a test of the vehicle. If your motor hasn't run, most jobs take about half an hour once we're there.
Our technicians fire it up last. Our check that it runs properly on new diesel comes before our technicians leave. Our engineers do the entire job where the vehicle is, and long-term damage is very rare when it has been caught quickly. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of policies cover misfuelling, so check yours while the van travels.
About Stranton and where it is
Stranton is a coastal suburban area in County Durham, situated near the town of Hartlepool and approximately 16 miles from the city of Durham. Stranton has a relatively low elevation of around 11 metres above sea level, and its population is approximately 6312 people. Stranton is characterised by its predominance of terraced housing, which reflects the area's historical development as a residential suburb.
Stranton and Durham: AdBlue drains across the area
Stranton is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the places near it too, Hartlepool and Longhill among them, across the TS postcode area. Quickest of all: a TS25 1 postcode for your location.
Parked en route to Stranton Green, or bang in the heart of Stranton, your car stays where it is — there's no need to shift it at all. We drain the vehicle where it stands. Guessing won't help near Oasis Christian Fellowship, on a county line or anywhere awkward to pin down; phone and ask.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Leave the car that way and ring. Whatever case applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over from there on 0333 366 0103, across Durham and in Stranton — once you pull over, switch off and ring, if it's run.