AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Stretford: What Now?
All of it turns on a single fact: whether your motor has been run after the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Wherever the vehicle stands — Sale, Stretford — never start an engine that hasn't been started yet. Keep nothing on, phone 0333 366 0103, and count on a thorough flush plus a drain, done just where the vehicle sits in Stretford. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Greater Manchester it happened.
At the petrol pump around Stretford: AdBlue in a diesel
Only now, nozzle still in hand, you realise that the cap you took off was the wrong one, there at the petrol pump. Somewhere in Stretford, then — Esso, Shell, or somewhere else close by.
What it means: this is the ideal place to find out. Nothing has drawn it through, and so the AdBlue stays just in the tank.
What to do: don't get back in and fire it up to clear the pump. Get the attendants to help pushing it to a space, save the bottle, then ring us right there. Stuck beside the pump? Our explosion-proof kit makes a live forecourt sensible, and so we can drain the vehicle where it is.
Stretford, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dash had been warning you. A bottle bought at the garage, tipped in at the driveway — and it was only by the recycling that the cap got a second look. Right off Kingsway is not less likely from any other place.
The upshot: zero miles since makes it nearly as good to spotting it at the petrol pump. As it is reluctant to blend, AdBlue drops to the base inside your tank and waits. One night parked changes nothing.
Your move: the keys indoors, and so no one drives your car anywhere first thing. Then, phone. Your drive is where it is emptied, be it in Stretford or Gorse Hill. Even at night, our pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving around Stretford?
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 heading for Salford, under 3 miles away, or just along Edge Lane.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been sucked into the fuel system. Mileage sets how deep it goes: filter and pipework to begin with, then the injection pump and every injector. Each restart, like each mile, pushes it deeper.
Pull in somewhere safe — that's the first job — then turn everything off. Exit by the first junction — not the services beyond — if you are on the M60, under a mile from Stretford. No trial starts: clearing itself isn't something AdBlue will do. About how far did it go? Say so as you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You have had this car hardly a week. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel filler, which you did not know, because your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Any driver, wherever across Greater Manchester, could do the same.
Put simply: one extra stage on top of the situations above, and those turn on if it's run. Many hire and company agreements want the owner to approve work on the car.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is faster settled before our engineers get there than after. Stuck near Stretford Public Hall or outside Trafford Park till the firm replies, the car remains turned off the whole time.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Stretford?
Honestly, the only answer might be that you think it did. Which cap came off, you cannot say; but the bottle feels lighter than expected, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by the filler. It might have been on a friend's driveway in Wharfside, or in a rush by Victoria Park Infant School on the school run.
The point: your engine is not hurt by some AdBlue spilled on the outside. The diesel tank with AdBlue in it is a different matter. If there is AdBlue in the tank, starting the vehicle will suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not start it. Ring and give the details: we would rather find a tank free of AdBlue than drain one after the motor has been run.
What every AdBlue drain in Stretford has in common
Whichever scenario you are in, the job starts the same way. Wherever the car is — The Robin Hood (closed)'s car park, a street beside St Matthew's Church, a driveway, a filling station — our van arrives and asks about the liquid, the quantity, and whether your motor has turned over. Those replies settle the work, and you get our price on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Emptying your tank comes next, followed by a careful flush — more important after urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion won't go on their own, no matter how long it sits. Next comes the filter — flushed, or swapped where necessary — followed by fresh diesel, and a test of your vehicle. Not started? Then about half an hour on site is most jobs.
We fire it up last. With clean diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it is running smoothly, and then we head off. Lasting damage is very unusual if it is noticed quickly, and the whole job is done where your car is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money in advance. It is worth remembering: lots of insurers offer misfuelling cover, so a quick look at your documents while you wait pays.
About Stretford itself
Stretford is a town in Greater Manchester, situated on the River Mersey at an elevation of around 29 metres. Stretford lies close to the neighbouring city of Salford, with which it shares a long-standing connection. Stretford has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are particularly prevalent in the area. Stretford is also near several other local places, including Gorse Hill and Firswood.
AdBlue drains across Greater Manchester, Stretford included
As a riverside town, Stretford has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Trafford Park, Firswood — right across M postcodes. Fastest of all: a M32 0 postcode to show where you stand.
No towing is needed, whether parked centrally in Stretford or in a layby heading to Victoria Park, and so leave it put. Wherever it stands, that's where it gets emptied. Phone and check rather than guess when you're close to St Ann's, on a border, or somewhere awkward to explain.
Your scenario, in one line
Motor never started: phone, and leave it alone. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Stretford and anywhere around Greater Manchester on 0333 366 0103.