AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Wilford, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the motor has been run since it was put in. Not run so far? Then leave it that way, wherever your car is — Wilford or Old Lenton. Usually this is emptying and thoroughly rinsing it right there around Wilford — and so keep your key and motor off and call 0333 366 0103. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. It's a larger job, though stage one doesn't change.
Match your case to one of the list below, anywhere around Nottinghamshire you happen to be.
At the petrol pump around Wilford: AdBlue in a diesel
The cap you opened was the wrong one — and you only spot it as you're stood at the pump, bottle or nozzle in your hand. Perhaps you're at the BP, perhaps at the Asda, possibly somewhere else around Wilford.
The point: of all places to find out, this is the best. The AdBlue is inside that tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
What to do: don't get back in and crank it to clear the pump. Ask the attendants to help you push the vehicle into a parking bay, keep the receipt or the bottle, then phone us from the forecourt. If it cannot be moved, it can be emptied at the petrol pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a working forecourt.
Wilford, at home: AdBlue in the diesel tank
On the dash, a warning had shown all week. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you had used on the drive. Drives close to Wilford Lane see it as much as anywhere.
Meaning? As long as your car hasn't moved since, it is close to the pump case. Being reluctant to mix, AdBlue settles low inside the tank and waits. One night parked changes nothing.
Next: prevent any early move by putting your keys in the house, then phone us. In Meadows or here in Wilford, the draining happens at your drive. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house at night.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel around Wilford?
A mile or two beyond topping up, the motor started playing up: rough running, smoke, less power, warnings on your dash. Perhaps it was on Clifton Lane, possibly on the way out towards Nottingham, under 3 miles away.
What it means: the fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and every injector see it too on a longer trip, once your filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: find a safe place, stop, then switch your motor off. Leave at the next junction — not the services further along — if you're on the M1, under 10 miles from Wilford. Starting it again to check achieves nothing — AdBlue doesn't clear itself. Ring us and say how far you went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have had the vehicle barely a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers sit side by side here — not like your own car, which has no AdBlue or keeps it in another spot. Across Nottinghamshire, nobody is immune.
In short: an extra step on top of the cases above, and those turn on if it's run. Many hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on your car.
Sorting it before we turn up is faster, so ring the hire company or your fleet manager, then us. Stuck by South Nottingham Christadelphians or outside Nottingham till the firm answers, the car stays switched off throughout.
Wilford: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
Occasionally the fair answer is "I think so". Which cap came off, you cannot recall; but the bottle weighs lighter than expected, and ammonia lingers by the filler. A hurried stop by the gates of South Wilford Endowed CofE Primary School, or a visit to a friend in Clifton: both fit.
Meaning? Drips around the inlet don't touch the motor at all. Once it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. Turning on your car will not tell you which, and if there is AdBlue in that tank it would draw it in.
What to do: treat it as if it got in. Do not fire it up. Ring with what you saw: we'd sooner find a clean tank than empty one after your motor has run.
The common ground in each Wilford AdBlue drain
Whichever scenario you are in, this job starts the same way. Three things come when our technicians reach the car — on a filling station, a drive, a street by Nottingham Outlaws or the car park outside Riverside Farm: the fluid, the quantity, and whether it has run. The price is given on the call, before a van leaves, and those answers set the work.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it's essential, because crystals build up and some metals corrode, and none of it washes away unaided. Fresh diesel goes in after the fuel filter has been cleaned or replaced, and the car is finally tested. Where your engine hasn't been started, allow about half an hour once we arrive, in most cases.
Last, our engineers fire it up. We check it runs properly on new diesel before we go. Long-term damage is very unusual if it is noticed quickly, and the whole job is done where your car is. You pay on the day, with nothing upfront, and get a VAT invoice and an engineer report for your insurer. Plenty of policies cover misfuelling, so look at yours while the van travels.
About Wilford, for a moment
Wilford is a village situated on the banks of the River Trent in Nottinghamshire, with a mix of old and new housing including many detached homes. Wilford lies close to the city of Nottingham, being only 2.1 miles away, and is near other local places such as Meadows and West Bridgford. Wilford has a population of around 1696 people and is located at an elevation of 31 metres above sea level. Wilford is also within easy reach of major cities, with London being approximately 107.3 miles away.
AdBlue drains across Nottinghamshire, Wilford included
As a village, Wilford shares its vans with the nearby places — Dunkirk, West Bridgford — right across NG postcodes. Fastest of all: a NG11 7 postcode for your location.
No moving is required, be it stopped centrally in Wilford or on a layby heading to Wilford Green, and so leave it where it is. Where it sits, that's where it is drained. Guessing doesn't help near Dave Eastwood Sports Ground (Pelican Colts FC), close to a border or anywhere awkward to describe; ring and check.
Your scenario, summed up
Not run yet: keep it off and ring. Run by now: pull over, switch down, phone 0333 366 0103. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest, in Wilford or wherever across Nottinghamshire.