What Happens Now: Petrol in a Diesel Car in Liff
Not for a second, and not to move it: the motor stays off. Stop there. Petrol in a diesel that has not been run is normally a drain plus a flush, done right where your vehicle sits, and what happens in the next few minutes determines that far more than anything else. Here is the order of things from now, anywhere you're around Liff.
Petrol in a diesel? What to do in minute one
Work through these in order, first.
- The keys out of the ignition. Switching the ignition on can be all it takes to prime your fuel system, while priming pulls petrol out of your tank toward the parts it harms. Keep the vehicle off altogether.
- No diesel on top. More fuel in takes away none of that petrol — it only leaves you with extra of the same mixture.
- Close to passing traffic? Then the hazard lights go on before anything else, and so the vehicle is simple to see.
- The staff will generally help you roll it away from the pump. Ask, and move it by hand — not under the engine, even for a few yards.
- The first question you will be asked is which fuel went in and roughly how much — and the receipt shows both. Hold on to it.
Still on the move when you realised? Come off the M90 at the next junction if that's where you are, under 15 miles from Liff, and stop somewhere safe and not pushing on to the services. Then start at stage one.
Has it run yet? The fork in every Liff fuel drain
What happens after this rests on one answer, and only one.
If your engine has not run at all:
- Just the tank has petrol in it for now.
- Where the vehicle stands is usually where the work happens: a drain, then a flush.
- This is the best case — which is the whole point of stage one.
If your engine has been run, even for a moment:
- Some petrol has left that tank by now, gone through the fuel filter, and reached the fuel lines.
- The high-pressure fuel pump and the injectors see it too on a longer run.
- The job expands with the mileage — lines rinsed, filter dealt with, occasionally more.
The reason the line falls there: diesel lubricates your high-pressure pump as well as the injectors as it passes through them, and petrol doesn't. A tank of petrol, left still, damages nothing. As soon as it's pumped, petrol begins wearing whatever moves it.
Before you call about petrol in a diesel around Liff: what we need
A technician that circles against a technician that finds you: a little preparation is the difference.
- DD2 5 plus the rest of the postcode is the best way to start telling us where you are.
- Wherever you have pulled up, the road's name helps — whether that is Woodside Road or somewhere else — and so does the name of a car park.
- Car parks are found most easily by what they serve: say the one outside Asda, and it is easy.
- The car. Make, model, and that it is a diesel.
- Which got in counts: AdBlue is a separate job from petrol, and Liff has a page for it. So say.
- How long the nozzle was in, or the litres from your receipt — either gives us how much.
- The distance it did, and how hard, if it has run at all.
- Settle who owns the vehicle before we arrive: some hire or company contracts want the owner to approve this work, and doing it quicker beforehand.
Next, 0333 366 0103. Not pressing, the vehicle left at home with nowhere to be? Then will do as well.
Waiting for a fuel drain in Liff: what to do
The wait is where kindly meant help does the harm. Stick to these.
- Your safety comes before the car. Somewhere unsafe? Get away from the traffic then wait away from it. Safe where it is? Stay with it.
- Nobody starts it. Not a passer-by being kind, not to check it is all right, not to roll the car a few yards.
- None of it takes that petrol back out — not two-stroke oil, not injector cleaner, not something from the boot. So no additives.
- A DIY drain leaves the fuel that has already gone beyond your tank, and siphoning petrol by the road is hazardous too.
- Even your radio or your windows are not worth turning your ignition on for.
Van arrived? The fuel drain, one stage at a time
- First, three questions: which fuel got in, the amount, and has it run? Those replies set this job, so the price follows them.
- Clearing it's how the blend gets taken from the tank.
- Flushing your lines comes next, because a car that ran has petrol past your tank, in your lines themselves.
- Your filter is dealt with. Cleared, or changed where the vehicle has a serviceable one.
- Fresh diesel in, and the fuel system primed.
- Our technicians fire it up only after clean diesel has gone in and bled the system, then confirm that it is running properly.
Until it runs on clean diesel, our technicians stay with it. Your car goes back to normal use straight away, and lasting damage is very unusual if it has been noticed quickly.
Once the fuel drain is done: driving in Liff a second time
- Nothing special is needed after a start with fresh diesel — ordinary driving will do.
- Give the first miles your attention. Smoke appearing, a warning light coming on, the idle going lumpy or your throttle stumbling: pull over and ring us back.
- Hold on to your paperwork. A hire company, a fleet manager or an insurer may ask what was carried out.
- The handle's colour isn't the guide to go by next time — the label on the pump is.
About Liff itself
Liff is a small coastal village in Angus, Scotland, situated near the city of Dundee and overlooking the Tay Estuary. Liff has a population of around 530 people and is characterised by detached housing. Liff sits at an elevation of 99 metres, close to nearby places such as Mains of Gray, Fowlis, and Muirhead. Liff is located approximately 364 miles from London, but its proximity to Dundee makes it a commuter-friendly location.
Fuel drains across Liff and nearby
Most of Angus has the same vans as Liff for petrol in diesel call-outs, Mains of Gray, Fowlis and Muirhead among them. Ring and ask rather than guessing if you're somewhere hard to explain or near a border.
Leave it off and ring: petrol in a diesel around Angus
Keys out, motor off, your receipt in your pocket: that's step one done. The rest is for Petrol in Diesel, wherever the vehicle is — forecourt, kerbside or drive.