The Next Steps, in Order: Petrol in a Diesel Car in Loanhead
Whatever you do, never switch the engine on, even briefly, to move the car. Stop; leave it off. Petrol in a diesel that hasn't been run is typically a drain and a flush, done right where the vehicle stands, and what happens in the coming few minutes determines that more than anything else. What follows is the sequence from this point, anywhere around Loanhead you happen to be.
Petrol in a diesel? What to do in minute one
Go through the following in sequence, first.
- The keys out of your ignition. Turning your ignition on can be all it takes to prime the fuel system, while priming draws petrol out of your tank toward the components it damages. Keep the car off altogether.
- A bigger tank of the same mixture is all topping up gives you, since it takes out nothing. So no more diesel.
- Make your car easy to see first — hazard lights on — if there is traffic going past anywhere near you.
- By hand, not under the engine: that's how it comes off the petrol pump. Get the forecourt attendants to help you roll, whatever the mileage.
- Keep the receipt. It says which fuel went in plus about how much, which is the first thing we will ask.
On the M8, under 10 miles from Loanhead, the next junction is the location to come off; anywhere, the first safe location to stop. Don't press on to the services. Then go back to stage one.
Loanhead fuel drain: has the motor run yet, or not?
From this point on, everything comes down to a single answer.
If it has never been started:
- Only your tank has petrol in it so far.
- Where the vehicle stands is normally where the work is done: a drain, then a flush.
- Being here is the best case — which is the whole point of step one.
Motor run, however for a moment?
- Your lines and the filter already carry petrol pulled out of your tank.
- The high-pressure fuel pump and the injectors get it on a longer run.
- The further it went, the bigger the job — your lines, the filter, and sometimes more besides.
Why the line falls there: diesel protects the high-pressure fuel pump and the injectors as it passes through them, and petrol doesn't. A tank of petrol, left alone, hurts nothing. As soon as it's pumped, petrol begins wearing down whatever moves it.
What to have prepared when you call about petrol in a diesel from Loanhead
Whether the van goes round or finds you comes down to a little planning.
- Your location: a postcode starting EH20 9 serves best.
- The street or the car park. A road name is a help — Clerk Street, or wherever you have pulled up.
- Describe a car park by what it serves — the one outside The Food Warehouse, for instance — and it is far quicker to find.
- Say what the vehicle is — make, model — and check it's diesel.
- What got in. Petrol, or AdBlue. AdBlue is a separate job with its own page for Loanhead, and so say which.
- How much. Litres from the receipt, or how long the nozzle was in the filler.
- If it has run, how far and how heavily — and if it's run at all.
- Hire or company car? Some agreements want the owner's go-ahead for this work, and sorting it before we arrive is quicker than after.
Phone 0333 366 0103 once you have got that together — or, if the vehicle is at home, going nowhere, use .
While you wait for a fuel drain around Loanhead
During the wait, the damage comes from well-meant help — so these matter.
- Safety before the car. If it has stopped somewhere exposed, get yourself clear of the traffic and wait away from it. If it is safe where it sits, stay with it.
- Not to roll it a couple of yards, not to check it is all right, not for a passer-by's favour: no one starts it.
- Something from the boot, oil meant for two-strokes or injector cleaner: no additive lifts that petrol.
- No home-made emptying. Siphoning petrol into a can by the kerbside is risky, and it leaves your fuel that has already gone beyond the tank.
- Keep the ignition off — your windows and your radio included.
When our van arrives: the fuel drain, step by step
- First, three questions: which fuel went in, the volume, and has it run? Those answers shape the job, so the price follows them.
- Next your tank is cleared, and the polluted fuel is taken out.
- The fuel lines are flushed. If it ran, that petrol has shifted beyond the tank, and the lines are holding it.
- Cleaned, or changed if the vehicle has a serviceable one: the filter is dealt with next.
- Fresh diesel goes in, then the fuel system is primed.
- Starting the car. Once the fuel system is bled with clean diesel, our engineers fire it up and make sure it runs properly.
Our technicians stay until it is running on fresh diesel. The car returns to normal use straight away, and permanent damage is very rare if it has been spotted early.
After the fuel drain is done: driving around Loanhead once more
- Nothing unusual is needed after a start with clean diesel — normal driving will do.
- Give the first miles your attention. Smoke appearing, a warning light coming on, your idle going lumpy or the throttle hesitating: pull over then call us back.
- The work may come up later with a hire company, an insurer or a fleet manager. Keep your documents.
- Next time, go by the pump's label instead of the colour of its handle.
About Loanhead itself
Loanhead is a town situated on the River North Esk in Midlothian, with a mix of semi-detached housing and other residential types, and is located about 5.5 miles south of Edinburgh. Loanhead sits at an elevation of around 145 metres, near the Pentland Hills, and is close to neighbouring communities such as Polton and Straiton. Loanhead has a population of approximately 7593 people, and its riverside setting provides a distinctive character to the town. Loanhead is also relatively distant from London, at around 326 miles away.
Fuel drains across Loanhead and nearby
Petrol in diesel calls around Loanhead and in Polton, New Pentland or Straiton all go to the same vans, which cover most of Midlothian too. Assuming doesn't help close to a border or somewhere hard to explain; a quick ring and a query will.
Leave it off and ring: petrol in a diesel across Midlothian
Keys out, engine off, the till receipt in your pocket: that's stage one done. The rest is for Petrol in Diesel, wherever your car is — forecourt, kerbside or driveway.