Westhead: How Does AdBlue End Up in a Diesel Tank, and How Do You Avoid It?
AdBlue already in the diesel tank? Then put this page down a moment, keep your ignition and motor off, then call 0333 366 0103. A drain plus a thorough flush, done just where the vehicle sits in Westhead, is normally what it needs when caught before the engine runs. The rest of this page explains why it happens and how to make sure it doesn't — handy if you're reading ahead of time.
AdBlue in a diesel motor, and its separate tank
Not one fluid but two: that's how many newer diesels near Westhead and Lathom carry, with diesel feeding your engine. Stored in a tank of its own, AdBlue is fed into your exhaust gas to clean it.
Separate tanks, separate fillers. On a lot of motors the two sit side by side under the same flap; on others the AdBlue filler is in the boot or under the bonnet. The diesel side is fuelled at the petrol pump all the time. Much less often, the AdBlue side is filled — normally from a bottle, by someone working out where it goes. Mistakes happen in the gap between the two.
How does AdBlue in your diesel tank take place around Westhead?
It's hardly ever carelessness. Three things tend to line up.
On a driveway off Wigan Road before work, or in the car park at The Plough Inn on the way home: that is where the hurried top-up takes place. Why the rush? As AdBlue runs low your car tells you, and if it's empty, limp mode follows.
Next, the hand goes for the cap it knew on the old car — since a rental car, a new motor or a company car places the fillers where your last one didn't.
Lastly, the spout goes in: diesel filler or AdBlue one, it goes in as readily, and once the pour starts, nothing stops it. Whether it occurs in Brighouse Green or the middle of Westhead, it's the same few seconds.
Which filler is for AdBlue, and which for diesel?
Look at these first, at a forecourt in Westhead or a driveway over in Stanley Gate. Seconds, that's all.
- Position misleads; the cap doesn't. AdBlue ones tend to be blue or bear the name "AdBlue" — diesel ones usually do not.
- Many motors give AdBlue the smaller filler of the two.
- The flap. Look inside your fuel flap for a label. Plenty of motors say there which fuel goes where.
- The handbook says which it is when the filler is not next to the diesel cap: your boot, or under the bonnet.
- The previous driver knows. Ask as you collect a rental or company car — at Ormskirk's car park, perhaps — rather than once the light comes on.
AdBlue top-ups that never reach your diesel tank
A routine for the day the light comes on, wherever in Lancashire that is.
- Park then switch off. Not on a slope, not with the engine running, and not in a rush on the side of Greenacre.
- Silly as it sounds, saying "AdBlue" out loud while you unscrew the cap works — once you have found your filler and read the cap.
- Leave the diesel cap on. If both sit under one flap, check the diesel cap is still closed before you lift the bottle.
- Using the bottle's own spout, tip slowly — and stop when it's full or the bottle is empty.
- Before you start the vehicle, close the cap and look again that your diesel cap was never opened off.
If at step two or three you find you have already poured into your diesel side, stop there. Step five is off limits.
Westhead: already put AdBlue in the diesel tank?
What follows is a short order of things, beginning with no starting your motor. The fuel pump runs on plenty of diesels the moment your ignition goes on — and so leave it off. Thinning it with more diesel fails, because AdBlue settles to the base rather than mixing — and that's where your fuel is pulled from.
Ask the attendants to help push the car clear of the petrol pump if you're at a forecourt — the BP, the Texaco or anywhere else. At home around Westhead? So the vehicle stays where it is.
Stop as soon as it is safe and switch off, if the motor has already run. Westhead lies under 3 miles from the M58; there, use the next exit. Mileage counts — a quick hop across Westhead is a smaller job than driving under 15 miles towards Liverpool — so say about how far it went.
When our technicians arrive around Westhead, what happens?
By Westhead Lathom St James' Church of England Primary School, close to St James Church or on your own driveway: wherever your car has stopped, our engineers come to it. Both the work and the price depend on three replies — what fluid, which quantity, and if it's run — so our engineers ask. Nobody heads out until you've had the price by phone.
The system is then rinsed thoroughly, once that tank is cleared. Not like petrol, AdBlue forms crystals and attacks certain fuel-system metals, and neither clears away by itself. Hence it matters more. Filter cleaned or, where it must be, replaced; clean diesel in; then a check of the vehicle. The engine is started next and checked to make sure it runs properly, all before we head off.
Unrun vehicles usually mean a half-hour visit after the moment we arrive. The kit is fine on a live filling station, and quiet enough for a driveway after dark. Your insurer usually wants the engineer's report and the VAT invoice, and both are yours once the job is done. Payment comes on the day, with no money upfront. Before we get there, have a look at your insurance documents; plenty carry cover for misfuelling.
About Westhead, for a moment
Westhead is a small village in Lancashire, situated on the riverside at a low elevation of around 50 metres. Westhead lies near several other local places, including Brighouse Green, Blaguegate, and Scarth Hill, and is approximately 12 miles from Liverpool. Westhead has a population of around 770 people, who mostly live in semi-detached houses. Westhead is located in the North West region of England, about 182 miles from London.
Westhead and Lancashire: AdBlue drains across the area
Blaguegate and Scarth Hill are among the places near Westhead, a village, that the same vans cover, over L postcodes. Quickest of all: quote a L40 6 postcode to our van.
The vehicle remains where it is. Draining happens on the spot, whether a driveway, a street by Owl Sculpture, or a layby towards School Field. Guessing won't help behind Woodpecker Sculpture, on a border, or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
The short version for Westhead motorists
Tip nothing till you have read the cap. AdBlue in your diesel tank regardless? Keep the vehicle switched off and ring 0333 366 0103; Petrol in Diesel drains it where it stands, across Lancashire.