AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in Well Hill: How It Happens and How to Prevent It
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? In that case put this page down for now, leave the ignition and motor off, then phone 0333 366 0103. Around Well Hill, finding it before the engine turns usually means a drain and a full flush where it stands. If you're reading before it has happened, the remainder of this page is about why it happens and how to make sure it doesn't.
Why does AdBlue in a diesel vehicle need its own filler?
Many modern diesels on the roads round Well Hill and Town End carry two liquids, not one. Diesel goes to your engine. AdBlue goes to your exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
There is a filler on every tank. Other vehicles keep the AdBlue filler in your boot or under the bonnet; plenty of others place the two side by side under one flap. Topping up your diesel side at the pump goes on all the time. The AdBlue side is filled far less commonly, normally from a bottle, and normally by a person who has to stop and think where it goes. Mistakes happen in the gap between them.
Well Hill: how AdBlue in the diesel tank happens
It's hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
On a driveway off Hartley Street before work, or in the car park outside Ackroyd Street Working Men's Club heading home: that is where the hurried top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue gets low the vehicle warns you, and once it is gone, limp mode kicks in.
The old car's filler is where your hand goes — yet a rental car, a new car or a company car keeps the fillers somewhere else. That's a second factor: a strange motor.
A spout-topped bottle meets no obstacle at a diesel filler no more than at an AdBlue one. And so the tip, once begun, keeps on. The same few seconds settle it, in the middle of Well Hill or out in Burn Knolls.
How to tell the AdBlue filler from the diesel one
Before you tip anything, whether on a drive in Topcliffe or a forecourt in Well Hill, check these. They take a couple of seconds.
- The cap. The AdBlue cap is regularly blue, or marked "AdBlue". The diesel cap normally is not. Read it instead of going by position.
- Look at the size: the smaller neck is, on many motors, the AdBlue one.
- Open the filler flap and check for a label — many motors show what belongs in which filler right there.
- The handbook. If your filler is not by the diesel cap, it's in your boot or under the bonnet, and the handbook says which.
- Collecting a hire or company car, perhaps at the car park outside Morley? Ask the person who drove it last before you set off, not when the light comes on.
Topping up AdBlue without it reaching your diesel tank
When the light goes on, anywhere in West Yorkshire, follow this routine.
- Park then switch off. Not on a slope, not with the engine running, and not in a rush on the side of Middleton Close.
- Locate the AdBlue filler, check the cap, and say the name "AdBlue" aloud while unscrewing it. It sounds silly. It works.
- The diesel cap stays on. Where the two share a flap, make sure it is shut before the bottle comes up.
- Pour slowly, using the bottle's own spout. Stop when it is full or when the bottle is empty.
- Before starting the car, shut the cap and look again that your diesel cap was never came off.
If at stage two or three you find you have already poured into the diesel side, stop there. Stage five stays off limits.
AdBlue in your diesel tank already, around Well Hill?
Then the order of things is short. Don't start the engine. Keep the ignition off as well, because on plenty of diesels switching it on alone starts the pump. AdBlue doesn't mix with diesel — it sinks to the bottom of your tank, where your fuel is sucked from — so don't top up with diesel to dilute it.
If you are on a forecourt, whether it's the Morrisons or the Shell, ask the staff to help roll the car away from the petrol pump. Your own driveway in Well Hill is where it should stay.
If your engine has already run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. The next junction is where to leave when you're on the M62, under a mile from Well Hill. Mileage matters — a quick hop across Well Hill makes a smaller job than heading under 5 miles towards Leeds — so tell us about how far it went.
Our arrival around Well Hill, and what takes place next
We come to the car wherever it has stopped, whether that's outside Seven Hills Primary School, close to Salvation Army or on your own drive. Our technicians ask what was put in, roughly how much, and whether it has run, since those replies determine the work and the price. Nobody heads out until you've had the price over the phone.
After that: draining, then a thorough flush of the whole system. Unlike petrol, AdBlue forms crystals and attacks certain fuel-system metals, and neither clears out by itself. That is why it matters more. Testing is at the end: before that, fresh diesel goes in, and your filter is flushed or replaced if necessary. Before leaving, our engineers fire it up and make sure that it is running properly.
If the engine has not run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there, using pumps that are safe on a busy forecourt and quiet enough to use outside a house after dark. The insurer will ask for an engineer's report and your VAT invoice, and both are yours at the end. Payment is on the day, with no money upfront. Many insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Well Hill itself
Well Hill is a suburban area situated on the riverside in West Yorkshire, with a mix of semi-detached housing and local amenities. Well Hill sits at an elevation of 124 metres, approximately 4.2 miles from the city centre of Leeds. Well Hill is close to nearby places such as Burn Knolls, Gillroyd, and Low Town End, and is part of the larger Leeds urban area. Well Hill has a population of around 7563 residents.
AdBlue drains about Well Hill, and West Yorkshire beyond
Throughout LS postcodes, the teams that cover Well Hill — a residential suburb — work the nearby places too, Low Town End and Gillroyd included. Fastest of all: give a LS27 8 postcode to our van.
Moving your car isn't necessary. Draining takes place on the spot, whether a drive, a road near St. Mary's in the Wood United Reformed Church, or a layby towards Lewisham Park. Guessing won't help behind Ernie Wise, on a border, or anywhere awkward to describe; phone and check.
In short, for Well Hill people
Before you tip, read the cap. Still AdBlue in your diesel tank? Petrol in Diesel can drain it where it is, wherever in West Yorkshire: switch it off and phone 0333 366 0103.