What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Tillicoultry
One fact counts most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and that is whether the engine has been started afterwards. Anywhere the car stands — Fishcross, Tillicoultry — never start a motor that has not run yet. Leave your motor and your ignition off then call 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is in Tillicoultry. When the engine has been run, pull in safely straight away, then turn it off. A larger job, then, but the same opening step.
Anywhere around Clackmannanshire it took place, one of the cases below matches yours.
At the pump around Tillicoultry: AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: stood by the pump, holding the nozzle, you spot the cap you took off was not the correct one. Whether Morrisons, Asda or somewhere else in Tillicoultry, the case is the same.
What it means: this is the ideal place to find out. Nothing has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue sits just in your tank.
What to do: do not get back in and start it to clear the pump. Have the attendants to lend a hand rolling it into a bay, save the receipt, then phone us from there. If it can't be shifted, it can be cleared at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
Tillicoultry, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had gone by with the dash light on. A bottle from the garage, tipped in on the driveway — and it's only by the recycling that the cap caught your eye. Right off Moss Road is no less likely from anywhere.
Put simply: if your vehicle hasn't been driven since, it's almost equal to spotting it at the forecourt. At the bottom of that tank is exactly where AdBlue waits, since it won't blend with diesel — and a night going by makes no difference.
Next: keys in the house, and so nobody takes the vehicle anywhere at breakfast. Then, phone. Out in Devonside or right here around Tillicoultry, the draining is done on your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
AdBlue in a diesel and already driving in Tillicoultry?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the motor began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Maybe driving for Stirling, under 10 miles away, or just along High Street.
Put simply: the AdBlue has been pulled through the system. Distance decides how far it gets: filter and pipework first, then the injection pump and every injector. It goes further with every extra mile covered and each restart.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so and switch off. Service stations further on can wait: on the M876, under 10 miles out of Tillicoultry, use the first junction. No test restarts: clearing is not something AdBlue does. About what distance did it go? Tell us when you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
It's a car you have had for a week. Your own vehicle either has no AdBlue or keeps it elsewhere, so nothing warned you the AdBlue inlet sits right beside your diesel. It can happen to anyone, anywhere across Clackmannanshire.
Put simply: one extra step on top of the cases above, which turn on if it has run. Many rental and company agreements need the owner's sign-off before repairs.
What to do: ring the hire firm or your fleet manager first, then us. That is quicker settled before our technicians turn up than after. If you're stranded in the car park at Alloa, or by Tillicoultry Congregational Church, while you wait for an answer, leave the car off.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Tillicoultry?
At times, "I think so" is the most you can truthfully say. A slight ammonia whiff hangs near your filler, the bottle feels too light, and which cap came off is a blur. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at the local primary school, or on a friend's drive in Sauchie.
The upshot: your engine is not hurt by a little AdBlue spilled around the outside. AdBlue inside your diesel tank does. Any AdBlue in that tank will be drawn in by starting your car, and the start wouldn't settle which it is in any case.
Next: act as though it went in, and leave the motor off. Ring us and explain what you saw; we'd rather check a tank that turns out clean than drain one that has already been run.
Every AdBlue drain in Tillicoultry shares these steps
The job begins the same way, whatever your case. We come to the car, whether it's at a forecourt, a drive, the car park at Volunteer Arms or a side street close to Tillicoultry Baptist Church, and ask three things: what got in, roughly how much, and if your motor has been run. The price comes on the call, ahead of anyone setting off, and those replies set the job.
AdBlue crystallises and eats at certain metals used in fuel systems, so it does not wash out unaided; that's why a full flush, after the drain, matters much more with AdBlue than with petrol. Then comes the fuel filter — cleaned, or replaced where needed — then fresh diesel, and a test of your car. Where your engine has not run, expect about half an hour on site, for most jobs.
The final step is starting the engine. With new diesel in, it runs while our engineers make sure it is running smoothly, and then we head off. Long-term damage is very uncommon if it's noticed early, 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. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it's worth checking yours whilst we're on the way.
About Tillicoultry itself
Tillicoultry is a town situated on the banks of the River Devon in Clackmannanshire, with a mix of semi-detached housing and other residential properties. Tillicoultry lies close to the Ochil Hills, near the towns of Devonside, Coalsnaughton, and Devon Village, and is approximately 7.9 miles from Stirling. Tillicoultry has a population of around 5773 people and is located at an elevation of 23 metres above sea level. Tillicoultry is also relatively distant from major cities like London, being around 353 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Tillicoultry and across Clackmannanshire
Being a riverside town, Tillicoultry has the same vans as the surrounding towns — Devon Village, Coalsnaughton — right through FK postcodes. Quickest of all: a FK13 6 postcode for where you stand.
Parked en route to Tillicoultry Community Garden, or right in the heart of Tillicoultry, the car stays put — there's no need to shift it at all. Wherever it stands, that's where it gets cleared. Guessing won't help beside Hillfoots Evangelical Church, on a county line or somewhere awkward to describe; phone and check.
The one-line version
Where it has not started, ring then leave it that way. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Tillicoultry and anywhere around Clackmannanshire on 0333 366 0103.