AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Wadcroft, and What to Do Next
One fact matters most when AdBlue is in a diesel tank, and it is whether the motor has been started since. Over in Warkton or here around Wadcroft, an unrun engine should remain unrun. Usually that is emptying and thoroughly purging it on the spot in Wadcroft — so keep the ignition and engine off and call 0333 366 0103. Stop the moment you safely can and turn off, if it has already run. The job is bigger, yet the first stage is the same.
Compare what happened to a situation from the ones below, wherever around Northamptonshire you are.
At the petrol pump around Wadcroft: AdBlue in a diesel
Just now, nozzle yet in hand, it dawns on you that the cap you opened was the wrong one, right at the petrol pump. Possibly you are at the Texaco, maybe at the Morrisons, perhaps somewhere else around Wadcroft.
The point: of every spot to find out, the forecourt is the best. Still inside that tank, with nothing pulled onwards: that is where the AdBlue is.
Do this: stay out of the car, even if the pump wants freeing. Phone us from the forecourt after your vehicle is in a space — the staff will lend a hand to push it — then keep the bottle. Emptying it right at the pump is fine if it cannot be shifted, since the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Wadcroft with AdBlue in the diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. Only at the recycling bin, the empty bottle in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened at the driveway. Homes just off Bellfoundry Lane get caught out as often as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue keep separate: the AdBlue settles to the floor of the tank and remains there, no matter how long the night.
Your move: the keys indoors, and so no one takes your car anywhere at breakfast. Then, ring. Kettering or Wadcroft: wherever your driveway is, that is where it is emptied. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Wadcroft?
Topped up, drove away, and before long the engine was turning unevenly, smoking, losing power, or flashing up the dash. Anywhere on Wadcroft or else heading to Leicester — under 25 miles away.
In short: the AdBlue has been sucked into your fuel system. It's been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors. It travels further with each extra mile driven and every restart.
What to do: pull over where it is safe to do so then switch off. Wadcroft lies under 25 miles from the M1; on it, come off at the first junction instead of pushing on to the services. No test restarts: clearing is not something AdBlue will do. About what distance did it go? Tell us as you phone.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've just driven this vehicle a week. Unknown to you, the two inlets sit side by side here — unlike your own car, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. Anywhere you happen to be across Northamptonshire, every driver can slip up.
In short: one extra step on top of the situations above, which depend on whether it's run. The owner often has to sign off any work, under plenty of rental and company contracts.
Next: ring the rental company or the fleet manager first, and then us — settling it before we arrive is faster. If you are stranded in the car park at Kettering, or by Toller Meeting Room, while you wait for an answer, leave the vehicle off.
Unsure about AdBlue in the diesel tank around Wadcroft?
"I think so" is often as honest answer there is. The bottle is lighter than it should be, there is a faint smell of ammonia round the filler, and you can't remember which cap you took off. Maybe it happened in a hurry at the school gates at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, or on a friend's drive in Barton Seagrave.
Put simply: spillage near your filler does your motor no harm. A diesel tank with AdBlue inside is a different story. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will suck in any AdBlue that is in your tank.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not fire it up. Inspecting a tank that turns out free of AdBlue beats emptying one once it has been run — so phone and describe to us what you noticed.
What each AdBlue drain in Wadcroft has in common
Whichever situation you are in, the job starts the same way. Three things come when we reach your car — at a forecourt, a drive, a street by Irregular Art Hub or the car park outside The Peacock: the fluid, the amount, and whether the motor has run. Replies set the work; the price comes by phone while nobody has left yet.
AdBlue forms crystals and eats at some metals used in fuel systems, so it won't wash out on its own; that is why a full flush, after this drain, matters far more here than with petrol. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Not started? Then roughly half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
The final step is firing it up. Our technicians check it runs correctly on new diesel before we leave. The whole job is done where your car is, and when it's noticed soon, permanent damage is very rare. Nothing is taken upfront, settlement happens on the day, and you receive what the insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Check your insurance while we arrive: cover for misfuelling is built into many policies.
About Wadcroft
Wadcroft is a suburban area situated on the riverside in Northamptonshire, with a mix of terraced housing and other residential properties. Wadcroft sits at an elevation of around 90 metres, close to the towns of Kettering and the villages of Thorpe Malsor and Weekley. Wadcroft is located near the city of Leicester, which is approximately 23.5 miles away, and is also within commuting distance of London, around 66.7 miles to the south. Wadcroft has a population of around 7850 people, making it a moderately sized suburban community.
AdBlue drains across Northamptonshire, Wadcroft included
Wadcroft is a residential suburb, and the same vans that cover it work the places around it too, Thorpe Malsor and Weekley among them, across the NN postcode area. Giving us a NN16 8 postcode finds you fastest of all.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to Meadow Road Park or in a car park in the middle of Wadcroft, it doesn't need to move. Draining is done right there. Phone and ask rather than guess when you're close to The Yards, on a border, or somewhere awkward to pin down.
In one line: your scenario
Still unrun? Leave it that way then phone. Started by now? Stop, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the remainder whichever it is, across Wadcroft and Northamptonshire, on 0333 366 0103.