AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in West Thurrock, and What to Do Next
Has the engine turned over since the AdBlue got in? That one question decides nearly everything about what comes next. Not started yet? Then keep the vehicle like that, wherever the vehicle sits — West Thurrock or Crossways. Keep nothing on, ring 0333 366 0103, and count on a thorough flush plus a drain, carried out just where your car sits in West Thurrock. Pull over the moment it is safe then switch off, if it has already run. A larger job, yes, but the identical opening step.
Find the scenario below that matches yours, wherever around Essex it happened.
AdBlue in a diesel on a West Thurrock forecourt
You're at the petrol pump, the nozzle or the bottle still in your hand, and you have just noticed the cap you opened was the wrong one. Somewhere in West Thurrock, then — Texaco, Costco, or anywhere else nearby.
What it means: this is the best spot to find out. No pump has pulled it through, so the AdBlue stays just inside the tank.
Freeing the pump is no excuse to start it — and so don't get back in. Get the staff to help rolling it to a space, save the receipt, then phone us from there. If it cannot be shifted, it can be drained at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
AdBlue in your diesel tank on a West Thurrock drive?
The warning light had been on for days. Only by the recycling, the empty bottle in hand, did you glance back at the cap you'd opened at the drive. Just off Motherwell Way is no different from anywhere.
What it means: if you haven't driven since, this is almost as good as the forecourt. On the bottom of the tank sits exactly where AdBlue waits, because it won't mix with diesel — and a night passing makes no difference.
Next: the keys indoors, and so nobody takes your vehicle anywhere first thing. After that, phone. Our technicians drain the car on your driveway, whether that's around West Thurrock or out in South Stifford. Even at night, the pumps are quiet enough for a residential street.
West Thurrock: set off with AdBlue in a diesel?
Topped up, pulled away, and before long your engine was turning roughly, blowing smoke, losing power, or lighting up your dash. Anywhere along First Avenue or else on the road towards London — under 25 miles away.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. It has been through the filter and your lines and, the further you went, into your high-pressure pump and your injectors. More driving, more starts: deeper it goes.
Stop somewhere safe — that is the next step — then switch it off. Service stations farther on can wait: from the M25, under 3 miles out of West Thurrock, take the first junction. Do not restart it to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Ring us and say how far you went.
A hire or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank?
You've had the vehicle hardly a week. On your own car, AdBlue is missing or elsewhere. On this one, the cap is just next to your diesel inlet — a surprise to you. Across Essex, nobody is immune.
The point: exactly as above, divided by whether it ran, but with one added stage. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the vehicle.
Next: phone the rental company or the fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is faster. Stuck by Essex Kick-boxing Centre or outside Purfleet till someone replies, the car stays turned off the whole time.
Unsure about AdBlue in your diesel tank around West Thurrock?
Now and then, "I think so" is the most you can truthfully say. Lighter, that bottle; a trace of ammonia round the filler; a hazy recollection of which cap. Look familiar? The gates of West Thurrock Academy in a hurry, say, or someone's drive over in Dartford.
Put simply: spillage near the filler leaves the engine no harm. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in the tank will be sucked in by starting the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Take it that it went in, and don't turn your key. Describe what you saw on the phone. A clean tank checked is a better outcome than a run one drained.
Every AdBlue drain in West Thurrock shares these stages
Whichever situation you are in, this job starts the same way. Wherever the vehicle is — The Ship's car park, a street beside Cowdray Hall, a driveway, a forecourt — the van gets there and we ask for the liquid, the quantity, and whether your engine has been run. Answers shape the job; the quote comes on the call while no one has left yet.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it is routine; with AdBlue it is essential, since crystals form and certain metals are attacked, and neither rinses out unaided. Finally come the filter, flushed or replaced as needed; fresh diesel; and a test of your car. Never started? In that case roughly half an hour once we are there is most jobs.
Firing it up comes at the end. With fresh diesel in, it runs while our technicians check it is running smoothly, and then we head off. The whole job is done where the car is, and if it is caught quickly, lasting damage is very rare. Nothing is paid upfront, payment happens on the day, and you get what your insurer asks for: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, so it is worth checking yours while we're on the way.
About West Thurrock and where it is
West Thurrock is a locality in Essex, situated inland near the River Thames and approximately 17.5 miles from central London. West Thurrock has a relatively low elevation of around 5 metres, and its population of around 1820 people live in predominantly semi-detached housing. West Thurrock is close to other nearby places such as South Stifford, Purfleet, and Swanscombe, and is within commuting distance of London.
AdBlue drains across Essex, West Thurrock included
Throughout RM postcodes, the vans covering West Thurrock — a small village — reach surrounding places too, Purfleet and Swanscombe among them. Your whereabouts comes quickest from a postcode that starts RM20 3.
Whether the vehicle is on a lay-by on the way to West Thurrock Memorial Gardens or in a car park in the middle of West Thurrock, it does not need to move. Wherever it stands, that is where it is emptied. If you are somewhere hard to describe, close to TK Maxx or close to a boundary, ring and ask instead of guessing.
Your situation, in one line
Not run yet: keep it off and call. Already run: stop, switch off then call. Either way, Petrol in Diesel takes it from there around West Thurrock and anywhere across Essex on 0333 366 0103.