What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Wallington
Everything turns on one fact: if the motor has been run after the AdBlue was added — more than anything else. Not run yet? Then keep the car like that, whether your car is — Wallington or Boarhunt. Leave the engine and the ignition off then ring 0333 366 0103; it is normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the car is around Wallington. Pull over the minute it is safe and turn off, if it has already run. It's a larger job, though stage one doesn't change.
Find the situation below that matches yours, wherever in Hampshire it happened.
At the pump in Wallington: AdBlue in a diesel
You are at the pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Maybe you're at the Sainsbury's, perhaps at the Esso, maybe somewhere else around Wallington.
What it means: this is the ideal location to find out. No pump has pulled it through, so the AdBlue sits just inside the tank.
Next: avoid the temptation to fire it up just to move away from the petrol pump. Get the attendants to help rolling it to a space, save the receipt, then ring us right there. Emptying it right at the pump is fine when it can't be moved, because the equipment is explosion-proof.
At home in Wallington with AdBlue in your diesel tank
For days the dash had been nagging you. A bottle bought at the shop, tipped in on the drive — and it was only at the bin that the cap got your eye. Right off Pinks Hill is no different from anywhere.
Put simply: if your car has not been driven since, it is nearly as good as finding out at the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel; it sinks to the bottom of the tank and waits there. Overnight does not change that.
Keep the keys in the house overnight — or someone might take it off first thing — then call us. We drain it on your drive, whether that is around Wallington or out in Downend. Even at night, our pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road in Wallington with AdBlue in a diesel
Lumpy running, smoke, falling power or a glowing dashboard started a mile or two beyond the fill. Maybe it was on Standard Way, possibly on the way out towards Portsmouth, under 10 miles away.
Meaning? Your pump has sucked the AdBlue up. The injection pump and each injector get it as well on a longer trip, after the fuel filter and lines have had it. It goes further with every extra mile covered and every restart.
Your move: pull up anywhere sensible, then turn the engine off. Wallington lies under a mile from the M27; on it, pull off at the first junction rather than pushing on to the services. Do not restart the car to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Tell us hear the mileage covered as you call.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have just driven the vehicle a week. On your own vehicle, AdBlue is absent or elsewhere. On this one, its cap is just by the diesel cap — news to you. Any driver, anywhere in Hampshire, might make it.
In short: an extra step on top of the situations above, which depend on whether it has run. The owner frequently has to sign off the work, under plenty of rental and fleet agreements.
Do this: rental firm or fleet manager first, us second, because sorting it early saves time. Waiting for a reply in the car park outside Fareham, or beside Fort Wallington? Leave your car off meanwhile.
Wallington: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". Which cap came off, you can't say; meanwhile the bottle weighs lighter than expected, and ammonia hangs by your filler. Maybe at a friend's drive in Fleetlands, or in a rush outside Harrison Primary School at the school run.
The point: the engine is not hurt by some AdBlue spilled around the filler. Once it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Turning on the car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in the tank it would pull it in.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not crank it. Phone and give the details: we would rather confirm a tank free of AdBlue than drain one once the motor has run.
Every AdBlue drain around Wallington shares these steps
No matter the case, a single opening is used. Filling station, drive, The Roundabout Hotel's car park or a street by Red Spider Climbing — our van comes to your car, and three answers follow: which liquid, which quantity, and if it has run. Those replies determine the work, and you get our quote on the phone, before anybody sets off.
Then that tank is drained and the fuel system rinsed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it doesn't rinse out on its own. Finally come the filter, cleaned or replaced as needed; clean diesel; and a check of your car. Where your motor hasn't run, allow about half an hour once we arrive, for most cases.
The final step is starting the car. Our test that it runs smoothly on clean diesel comes before we head off. Lasting damage is very uncommon if it's caught early, and the whole job is done where the car is. For your insurer: the engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing upfront. Dig out your insurance while we arrive: misfuelling cover comes included in plenty of policies.
About Wallington itself
Wallington is a suburban area in Hampshire, situated near the coast and approximately 5 miles north of Portsmouth. Wallington has a population of around 1580 people and is characterised by predominantly detached housing. Wallington sits at an elevation of 30 metres, close to nearby places such as Downend, Fareham, and North Fareham. Wallington is also within commuting distance to London, being around 63.5 miles away.
AdBlue drains around Wallington, and across Hampshire too
As a residential suburb, Wallington has the same vans as the nearby towns — North Fareham, Fareham — right across PO postcodes. Fastest of all: a PO16 8 postcode for your location.
Parked en route to Bath Park, or bang in the heart of Wallington, the car remains where it is — there's no need to shift it at all. Draining happens right there. If you are somewhere hard to explain, close to Wallington Village Hall or close to a border, ring and ask instead of guessing.
The one-line version
Where it has not started, phone then leave it off. Already run: stop, switch off then ring. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there in Wallington and anywhere around Hampshire on 0333 366 0103.