AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Thurso, and What to Do Next
One thing counts above all when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the engine has been started afterwards. Wherever the car stands — Springpark, Thurso — don't run an engine that has not run yet. Usually this means emptying and thoroughly purging it right there in Thurso — so leave the ignition and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. Pull over the moment you safely can then turn off, if it has already run. Stage one stays unchanged, even if the job grows.
Further down: the situations we meet, wherever in Highland. Pick yours.
On a Thurso forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Imagine it: standing by the pump, gripping the bottle, you spot the cap you opened wasn't the right one. It could be the Gulf, or the Gleaner, or another forecourt in Thurso.
Put simply: there is no better spot to be to discover it. The AdBlue is in the tank and nowhere else. Nothing has drawn it in.
Next: resist the urge to start it only to move away from the pump. Ring us from the forecourt once your car is in a space — the attendants will lend a hand to roll it — and keep the receipt. Stuck beside the petrol pump? Our explosion-proof equipment makes a busy forecourt safe, so we can drain it in place.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Thurso
The warning light had been on for days. Bought a bottle, poured it in outside the house, binned the empty — and at that point checked the cap a second time, after the fact. It occurs on driveways just off Olrig Street as regularly as anywhere.
Put simply: if the car has not been driven since, it's almost equal to finding out at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of that tank and waits there. Overnight doesn't change that.
Next: keys in the house, so no one takes the vehicle anywhere first thing. After that, phone. We drain it on your driveway, whether that is around Thurso or out in Millbank. Night-time empties outside a house are fine: the pumps are low-noise.
On the road around Thurso with AdBlue in a diesel
Filled up, pulled away, and soon your motor was turning unevenly, smoking, down on power, or lighting up your dash. Maybe it was on Beach Road, maybe on the way out towards Inverness, over 50 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been pulled into the system. Through your filter, along the lines, and — the further the distance — on into the injection pump and each injector. More miles, more starts: further it goes.
Pull in somewhere safe — that is the next job — then turn it off. On the M90, over 50 miles from Thurso, that means the next exit, not the services further on. Starting it again to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears itself. About how far had it go? Say so when you call.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
It's a car you have had for a week. The AdBlue filler sits right alongside the diesel one, which you didn't know, because your own car either has no AdBlue or keeps it somewhere else. Throughout Highland, nobody is safe from it.
Put simply: one extra step on top of the situations above, which turn on if it has run. Any work on the car often needs the owner's approval under rental or company terms.
Next: ring the hire company or the fleet manager first, and then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. Leave it off while the reply comes, even if you are waiting at the nearest station or close to St Andrew's Church.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Thurso?
Honestly, the only answer might be that you think it did. A slight ammonia whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle seems too light, and which cap came off is a blur. It might have been at a friend's driveway in Thurso East, or in a rush outside the local primary school on the school run.
Put simply: a spill round your filler leaves your engine unharmed. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in your tank will be sucked in by firing up the vehicle, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Do this: act as though it did, and don't start your engine. Ring with what you saw: we'd sooner find a tank free of AdBlue than empty one once your motor has run.
Each AdBlue drain in Thurso shares these stages
Whatever the situation, one start applies. Wherever the car stands — Commercial Bar's car park, a road beside Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, a driveway, a forecourt — our van gets there and asks for the fluid, the quantity, plus whether the motor has been run. Those answers decide this work, and you hear the quote by phone, before anybody heads out.
Emptying your tank comes next, followed by a careful flush — more vital after urea than after petrol, since crystals and corrosion will not go by themselves, no matter how long it sits. Next is the fuel filter — flushed, or replaced where necessary — followed by clean diesel, and a test of the vehicle. Where your motor hasn't been started, allow roughly half an hour once we arrive, in most jobs.
Finally, our engineers start it. Our engineers confirm it runs correctly on clean diesel before we go. The entire job is done where your car is, and when it's noticed early, long-term damage is very rare. Nothing is taken upfront, payment is made on the day, and you get what your insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Many policies include misfuelling, and so look at yours as we head over.
About Thurso
Thurso is a coastal town in the Highland county of Scotland, situated at an elevation of 11 metres. Thurso sits on the north coast, looking out to the Pentland Firth and the Orkney Islands. Thurso is a significant residential centre, with a population of around 6522 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Thurso is located near other smaller communities, including Millbank, Mountpleasant, and Pennyland.
AdBlue drains across Highland, Thurso included
Mountpleasant and Pennyland get the same teams as Thurso, a coastal town, along with further towns over KW postcodes. Telling us your KW14 7 postcode pins you fastest of all.
Central Thurso or a lay-by towards Olrig Street Playing Fields: wherever it sits, your vehicle never needs to shift an inch for the drain. Draining is done on the spot. Assuming doesn't help beside Sir George Sinclair Memorial Fountain, close to a county line or anywhere awkward to describe; phone and ask.
Your situation, in one line
If it has not run, phone then leave it that way. Whatever case applies, Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest on 0333 366 0103, across Highland and in Thurso — once you pull over, turn off then phone, if it's run.