What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Thetford
Everything hinges on a single fact: whether the motor has been run after the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Not started so far? Then keep it that way, whether your vehicle sits — Thetford or Barnham. Normally that is emptying and properly rinsing it right there in Thetford — so leave your ignition and engine off then phone 0333 366 0103. Already started? Pull over when you safely can, then switch everything off. It's a bigger job, yet stage one doesn't change.
Below: the cases our technicians meet, anywhere across Norfolk. Pick yours.
At the petrol pump around Thetford: AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: standing by the petrol pump, holding the nozzle, you realise the cap you took off wasn't the right one. Anywhere around Thetford, then — BP, Esso, or anywhere else close by.
In short: no better spot exists to spot it. The AdBlue is in that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: avoid the temptation to start it only to move away from the petrol pump. Ask the staff to help you roll the car into a parking space, keep the till receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. The equipment is explosion-proof and fine on a live forecourt, so a car that cannot be pushed clear gets cleared where it is at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank at home around Thetford
For days the dashboard had been warning you. Picked up a bottle, poured it in at home, binned the empty — and at that point looked at the cap again, too late. It occurs on drives just off Well Street as commonly as anywhere.
Put simply: if your car has not been driven since, it is almost as good as finding out at the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep apart: the AdBlue drops to the floor of that tank and stays put, however long the night.
Keep your keys in the house overnight — otherwise a person may take it off first thing — then phone us. Out in Newtown or right here around Thetford, the draining is done at your drive. The pumping kit runs quiet enough that it won't wake the neighbours at night.
On the road in Thetford with AdBlue in a diesel
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run unevenly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe heading to Ely, under 25 miles away, or simply down King Street.
Meaning? The pump has taken the AdBlue up. It has been through your filter and the fuel lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and your injectors. It travels deeper with each mile driven and each restart.
Next: pick a sensible place, pull in, then switch your engine off. On the M11, under 50 miles from Thetford, that means the next junction, not the services further on. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Tell us hear the distance covered as you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
A week ago, the car was new to you. Your own motor either does without AdBlue or puts it somewhere different, so nothing warned you the AdBlue cap was just next to the diesel. Wherever you happen to be across Norfolk, any motorist can slip up.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, which depend on if it's run. Any work on your car frequently requires the owner's approval under hire or fleet terms.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager to begin with, us second, because sorting it early saves time. If you're stranded in the car park outside the nearest station, or by Thetford War Memorial, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Thetford: unsure whether it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
"I think so" is sometimes as honest as it gets. A slight ammonia whiff lingers around the filler, the bottle feels too light, and the cap you took off is a blur. Perhaps it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Norwich Road Academy, or on a friend's drive in Euston.
In short: a spill round your filler leaves your motor unharmed. AdBlue inside the diesel tank does. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in that tank.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Don't start the vehicle. 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.
What every AdBlue drain around Thetford has in common
No matter the situation, one opening applies. Filling station, driveway, The Red Lion's car park or a street by The Market Place — the van reaches your vehicle, and three questions come next: which liquid, what amount, and whether it has run. Replies shape the job; the quote follows by phone whilst no one has left yet.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at certain metals in fuel systems, and so it won't rinse out on its own; that's why a full flush, after the drain, matters much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Clean diesel goes in after the filter has been cleaned or changed, and your car is then tested. Never started? Then about half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
The last step is starting it. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our engineers confirm it's running smoothly, and then we go. If it's noticed quickly, the vehicle very rarely has long-term damage, and the entire job happens where it is. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment that day, no money in advance. Many policies include misfuelling, and so check yours as we head over.
About Thetford, for a moment
Thetford is a town in Norfolk, situated on the banks of the River Thet, with a low elevation of around 18 metres. Thetford lies near the Norfolk-Suffolk border, approximately 72.9 miles from London, and is close to nearby places such as Newtown and Redcastle Furze. Thetford has a population of around 20,828 people, predominantly living in terraced housing. Thetford is also near the city of Ely, which is about 20.6 miles away.
AdBlue drains in Thetford, and across Norfolk too
Thetford is a riverside town, and the same vans that cover it work the towns near it too, Redcastle Furze and Croxton among them, across the IP postcode area. Your whereabouts comes clearest from a postcode beginning IP24 2.
Centre of Thetford or a layby towards Boudicca Pocket Park: wherever it sits, the car doesn't need to shift at all for this drain. Wherever it stands, that is where it is cleared. If you're somewhere hard to explain, near Thetford Market or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
Not run yet: keep the vehicle off and call. Whatever line fits, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Norfolk and in Thetford — once you stop, turn off then phone, if it's run.