Petrol in a Diesel Car in Broadbottom: What Happens Now
Whatever you do, never switch your motor on, even briefly, to move it. Stop; leave it off. The coming few minutes determine it far more than anything else: petrol in a diesel still unrun usually amounts to draining then purging, on the spot. Here is the sequence of things from now, wherever you're in Broadbottom.
Petrol in a diesel, motor off — the first minute
In this sequence, and before everything else:
- Ignition off, keys out. Switched on, your ignition can prime the system — and priming is what moves petrol out of the tank towards the components it harms.
- No diesel on top. More fuel in takes away none of that petrol — it just leaves you with extra of the same mixture.
- Visibility comes before the rest near moving traffic: switch the hazards on, and only then think about anything else.
- By hand, not on the engine: that's how it comes off the petrol pump. Ask the forecourt attendants to help you roll, however short the miles.
- Which fuel, and roughly how much? The receipt answers both, and that's where our questions start. Never bin it.
On the M67, under 3 miles from Broadbottom, the next exit is the location to leave it; anywhere, the first safe place to stop. Do not push on to the services. Then go back to stage one.
The fork in every Broadbottom fuel drain: has it run yet?
What happens next rests on one answer, and only one.
If your engine hasn't run at all:
- Nowhere but the tank: that's where that petrol still is.
- Where the vehicle stands is normally where this work is done: a drain, then a flush.
- This is the best place to be in, and the reason step one counts.
Run at all, even for a second:
- Some petrol has left that tank by now, passed through your filter, and got into the lines.
- On a bigger run it has got to the high-pressure pump as well as the fuel injectors.
- Mileage is what makes it a larger job: the lines flushed, a filter seen to, and at times further work.
Petrol doesn't lubricate. Diesel does, protecting the pump and injectors as it flows through, which is why the line falls where it does. A tank of petrol, left still, damages nothing. Pump that petrol, though, and it grinds down the very parts doing the moving.
Broadbottom, petrol in a diesel: have these prepared before you call
Whether the technician circles or finds you depends on a little preparation.
- Your whereabouts: a postcode starting SK14 6 works best.
- A road name helps: Mill Brow, say, or whatever street you've stopped in. A car park works too.
- Name a car park by what it serves — the one at Tesco Extra, for instance — and it is far easier to find.
- Tell us what your vehicle is — make, model — and check it is diesel.
- Petrol or AdBlue? Tell us which. They are separate jobs, and AdBlue has its own Broadbottom page.
- How long the nozzle was in, or the litres on your receipt — either tells us how much.
- Has it run? If so, say how far it got, and the way it was driven.
- Hire or company car? Some contracts need the owner's authorisation for this work, and sorting it before our engineers turn up is quicker than after.
Call 0333 366 0103 once you've got that together — or, if your car is at home, going nowhere, use .
Waiting for a fuel drain in Broadbottom: what to do
The wait is where well-intended help does the damage. Stick to these.
- Where the car has stopped decides where you wait. Somewhere exposed: away from it, away from the traffic. Sensible: with it. Either way, safety before your car.
- No one starts it. Not a passer-by being kind, not to check it is all right, not to roll it a few yards.
- Additives stay in the boot. Injector cleaner and two-stroke oil draw none of that petrol out a second time.
- No DIY clearing. Siphoning petrol into a can at the kerbside is dangerous, and it leaves the fuel that has by now gone beyond the tank.
- The ignition stays off. Even for your radio or your windows.
When the van gets there: your fuel drain, step by step
- Our price comes after three queries, not before them — what was put in, how much, and if it's run — since the answers set this job.
- Then that tank is emptied, and the contaminated fuel is taken out.
- Your lines are purged. If it ran, the petrol has shifted beyond that tank, and the lines are holding it.
- Then the filter: changed where there's a workable one, cleared where there is not.
- Your system is primed with clean diesel.
- Starting up. When your system is primed with clean diesel, our engineers start the engine and confirm it runs smoothly.
The vehicle has clean diesel running through it before we leave. The vehicle returns to normal driving straight away, and lasting damage is very uncommon if it has been noticed early.
Broadbottom, after your fuel drain: back on the road
- Drive normally. There's nothing unusual to do after it has been started on clean fuel.
- The first miles are the test. A warning lamp, exhaust smoke, a rough idle or a flat throttle is your signal to stop and call us a second time.
- An insurer, a fleet manager or a hire company may ask what was carried out, and so keep the documents.
- Read the label on the pump next time, not the colour of its handle.
About Broadbottom and where it is
Broadbottom is a small village in Greater Manchester, situated on the riverside at an elevation of 144 metres. Broadbottom lies approximately 10 miles east of Manchester and is surrounded by nearby places such as Bankwood Gate, Hodgefold, and Hillend. Broadbottom has a population of around 640 people and is characterised by predominantly terraced housing. Broadbottom is located in the North West region of England, about 155 miles north of London.
Fuel drains about Broadbottom and beyond
Bankwood Gate, Hodgefold and Hillend are covered by the same vans that take petrol in diesel jobs around Broadbottom — and so is most of Greater Manchester beyond. Guessing doesn't help near a boundary or somewhere hard to describe; a quick ring and a query will.
Petrol in a diesel anywhere across Greater Manchester? Off, then ring
Stage one is the whole of it: motor off, keys out, receipt in your pocket. From there Petrol in Diesel takes over, at the forecourt, by the kerbside or on your drive.