What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Winterton
All of that hinges on one fact: whether the motor has been run since the AdBlue went in — more than anything else. Out in Thealby or here around Winterton, an unstarted motor must remain that way. Leave your motor and your ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's normally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Winterton. When the engine has been run, stop safely straight away, then turn it off. The job is bigger, but the first step is the same.
Match what happened to one of the ones below, wherever in Lincolnshire you happen to be.
At the petrol pump in Winterton: AdBlue in a diesel
You are 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 Winterton, then — Roxby Road Garage, JET, or anywhere else close by.
What it means: this is the ideal place to find out. The AdBlue is in your tank and nowhere else. Nothing has sucked it in.
Next: avoid the temptation to fire it up only to free up the pump. Ask the attendants to help you push the car into a parking bay, keep your receipt or the bottle, and call us from the forecourt. If it can't be shifted, it can be cleared at the pump: the equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt.
Winterton, at home: AdBlue in your diesel tank
Days had gone by with the dash light on. Only at the recycling bin, the empty container in hand, did you look back at the cap you'd opened at the driveway. Drives close to High Street see it as much as any other street.
The point: zero miles since makes this almost equal to spotting it at the petrol pump. On the floor of the tank is exactly where AdBlue stays, since it won't blend with diesel — and a night going by changes nothing of the difference.
Put your keys in the house tonight — otherwise a person may drive it away at breakfast — then phone us. In Roxby or right here around Winterton, the draining is done at your driveway. The pumps are quiet enough to use outside a house after dark.
Set off with AdBlue in a diesel in Winterton?
You filled up, set off, and a mile or two later the engine began to run roughly, smoke, lose power or light up the dashboard. Market Street, perhaps, or the way towards Kingston upon Hull — a run of under 15 miles.
What it means: your fuel system has sucked the AdBlue in. The high-pressure pump and each injector get it as well on a bigger run, once your filter and pipework have had it. Each mile and each restart takes it further.
Next: find a safe place, stop, then turn the engine off. Winterton lies under 10 miles from the A1077(M); there, come off at the next junction rather than pressing on to the services. No trial starts: clearing isn't something AdBlue does. About what distance had it gone? Say so when you call.
Hire, lease or company car with AdBlue in the wrong tank
You've had the vehicle hardly a week. Unknown to you, the AdBlue and diesel fillers are side by side here — not like your own car, which has none or keeps it elsewhere. Anywhere you happen to be across Lincolnshire, every driver can be caught.
What it means: the same as the situations above, depending on whether it's run, with one more step. Any work on the car often needs the owner's approval under rental or fleet terms.
Do this: hire firm or your fleet manager first, us second, because sorting it early saves time. Waiting for a reply at the car park outside Brough, or beside All Saints Church? Leave your car off meanwhile.
Not sure it was AdBlue in your diesel tank, Winterton?
Honestly, the best answer may be that you think it did. Which cap came off, you can't recall; meanwhile the bottle feels less than expected, and a whiff of ammonia lingers by the filler. Maybe on a friend's driveway in Winteringham, or rushing outside Winterton Church of England Infants' School on the school run.
Meaning? Spills outside the filler don't reach the motor at all. If it is inside your diesel tank, though, that changes. If there is AdBlue in your tank, firing up your car would suck it in, and it wouldn't tell you which either.
What to do: treat it as if it went in. Do not start it. Describe what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank checked is a happier result than an already-run one drained.
What every AdBlue drain in Winterton has in common
Each case gets the same start to the work. Forecourt, drive, George Hogg's car park or a street by Old School Hall — the van reaches your car, and three questions come next: which fluid, what quantity, and if it has run. Those answers settle this work, and you get our price by phone, before anybody heads out.
Then your tank is cleared and your system rinsed thoroughly, which counts more with AdBlue than with petrol: AdBlue crystallises and is corrosive to some of the metals in a fuel system, and so it does not rinse out on its own. The filter is cleaned, or replaced where it needs to be; clean diesel goes in; and the vehicle is tested. If the engine hasn't run, the majority of jobs take about half an hour once we are there.
We start the engine last. Our check that it runs correctly on new diesel comes before our technicians go. The entire job is done where the vehicle is, and when it's spotted quickly, lasting damage is very unusual. For your insurer: an engineer's report and the VAT invoice. For you: payment on the day, nothing in advance. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it is worth checking yours whilst we are on the way.
About Winterton and where it is
Winterton is a small town on the coast of Lincolnshire, situated near the Humber Estuary at an elevation of around 29 metres. Winterton lies approximately 12 miles from Kingston upon Hull and is surrounded by nearby villages such as Roxby and West Halton. Winterton has a population of around 4764 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Winterton is located about 150 miles north of London, making it a relatively remote coastal town in eastern England.
Winterton and Lincolnshire: AdBlue drains across the area
Over DN postcodes, the teams covering Winterton — a coastal town — work surrounding towns as well, Coleby and West Halton included. Your location comes clearest from a postcode that starts DN15 9.
Central Winterton or a layby towards Winterton Playing Fields: either way it is, the car never needs to shift at all for us. The van empties it where it stands. Guessing won't help near Winterton Library, on a county line or somewhere hard to pin down; ring and check.
Your scenario, summed up
Motor never started: ring, and leave it switched off. Started already? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel handles the rest whatever case, in Winterton and Lincolnshire, on 0333 366 0103.