AdBlue in a Diesel Tank in West Porton: How It Occurs and How to Prevent It
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? Then put this page down a moment, keep your ignition and motor off, and call 0333 366 0103. Usually, when the motor hasn't turned, it is drained and fully purged where your car is around West Porton. The remainder of this page explains why it happens and how to make sure it doesn't — handy if you are reading ahead of time.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Many modern diesels in Bowling, like those in West Porton, carry on two liquids; the engine gets just the diesel. AdBlue goes to the exhaust, where it is sprayed into the gas to clean it, and it lives in a tank of its own.
There's a filler for every tank. On a lot of cars the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in your boot or under the bonnet. Diesel goes in at each filling station visit, week in, week out. Far less frequently, the AdBlue side is filled — normally from a bottle, by someone thinking about where it goes. Mistakes happen in the gap between them.
How AdBlue in your diesel tank takes place in West Porton
Carelessness rarely explains it. What does is three things coming up at once.
The warning comes first. As AdBlue runs low the vehicle tells you, and if it runs out altogether, the vehicle goes into limp mode. So the top-up is done in a hurry: on a driveway off Stuart Road before work, or in the car park at the pub in the village on the way home.
New-to-you cars are next, too. Hire cars, new motors and company motors put their fillers differently, and habit goes for the cap it used on the old one.
A spout-topped bottle meets no resistance at a diesel filler no more than at an AdBlue one. So the tip, after started, carries on. The same few seconds settle it, in the middle of West Porton or out in Bishopton.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Be it a West Porton forecourt or a driveway over in Bargarran, take a few seconds on these before any is poured in.
- Check the cap instead of going by where it sits: AdBlue ones are commonly blue or marked "AdBlue", and diesel ones normally are not.
- Look at the size: the smaller filler neck is, on plenty of cars, the AdBlue one.
- A label inside your fuel flap frequently shows which fuel goes where, on plenty of cars. Check for it.
- Can't see it next to the diesel inlet? In that case check beneath the bonnet or in the boot — the handbook says where.
- The person who drove the vehicle last. On a hire or company car collected from somewhere like the car park at Bishopton, ask before you leave, not when the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever across Renfrewshire that is.
- Pull in somewhere level, engine off, with time to spare — not rushing on the side of Gordon Avenue.
- Find the AdBlue filler and read the cap. Say "AdBlue" out loud as you unscrew it. It sounds silly and it does the trick.
- If both sit under one flap, check your diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle — then leave the vehicle on.
- Stop once your tank is topped up or the bottle is empty; before that, tip gently using its own spout.
- Only after that, start the vehicle: close the cap, check a second time, and make sure the diesel cap was never opened.
Discover at the second or third stage that the bottle went in the wrong tank? That is where you stop. Do not go on to stage five.
West Porton: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
The short order of things, starting with not starting your motor. Do not switch the ignition on; on plenty of diesels that alone runs the fuel pump. Don't top up with diesel to dilute it: AdBlue does not mix with diesel, it sinks to the bottom of that tank, where your fuel is drawn from.
The attendants at Esso, BP or another forecourt will normally lend a hand to push the car clear when you ask. Leave it where it is if you are on your own driveway around West Porton.
If the motor has already run, stop as soon as it is safe and switch off. On the M8, under a mile from West Porton, that means the next exit. Roughly how far did it go? Crossing West Porton is less work than a trip of under 15 miles towards Glasgow, so say.
When we get there around West Porton, what happens?
Our van comes to your car wherever it stopped — your own driveway, beside Our Lady of Lourdes, or by the local primary school. Those replies decide this work and our price, and so our technicians ask what got in, about how much, and if it's run. You hear that price by phone, before anyone sets off.
Draining that tank comes next, then a full flush of the fuel system. Unlike petrol, AdBlue forms crystals and attacks some fuel-system metals, and neither clears out by itself. That is why it counts more. Once your filter has been flushed — or replaced, if required — fresh diesel goes in, and then the car is tested. Your engine is started next and checked to be sure it runs smoothly, all before our engineers leave.
Most jobs are done in roughly half an hour after our engineers get there, as long as your engine has not run — and the pumps our engineers use are safe on a live forecourt yet quiet at night outside a house. Nothing in advance; you settle up that day. Afterwards, a VAT invoice and the report from the engineer go to you for your insurer. Before we get there, have a look at your insurance documents; many include cover for misfuelling.
About West Porton and where it is
West Porton is a coastal locality in Renfrewshire, situated near the towns of Bishopton and Erskine, and approximately 11 miles west of Glasgow. West Porton lies at an elevation of 33 metres, with semi-detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation in the area. West Porton is part of the wider Glasgow urban fringe, with the city's amenities and services within easy reach. West Porton's population is around 1932 people, according to recent estimates.
AdBlue drains across Renfrewshire, West Porton included
As a coastal area, West Porton has the same vans as nearby areas — Rossland, Linburn — all the way across PA postcodes and the wider area beyond. Fastest of all: quote a PA7 5 postcode to our van.
Your car stays where it is. A driveway, a lay-by on the way to Wester Rossland Woods, a side street close to Bishopton Library: we drain it where it stands. Ring and ask instead of assuming if you are close to a border, or somewhere hard to explain, like the back of Bishopton Community Centre.
For West Porton motorists, the short version
Before you pour, read the cap. AdBlue in the diesel tank after all? Keep the car off and ring 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it on the spot, across Renfrewshire.