What Happens Now: Petrol in a Diesel Car in Longshaw
Stop. Engine off. Keep it like that — no second on, no moving it anywhere. Drained then cleaned, just where it sits: that is usually all an unrun diesel with petrol in it takes. Whether it stays that straightforward rests on the minutes to come more than on anything else. Anywhere you are in Longshaw, this is the order things run from here.
Petrol in a diesel? What to do in minute one
Go through the following in order, before you do anything else.
- The keys out of the ignition. Turning the ignition on can be enough to prime the fuel system, while priming draws petrol out of your tank towards the parts it harms. Keep it off altogether.
- A fuller tank of the same mix is all adding diesel leaves you, since it removes nothing. So no more diesel.
- Get the vehicle easy to see before anything else — hazard lights on — if there's traffic going past anywhere close to you.
- However short the way, starting it to shift it is the mistake. At a forecourt, roll it clear of the pump by hand instead, then ask the staff to help.
- The first thing we will ask is which fuel you put in and about how much — and the till receipt says both. Hold on to it.
Realised on the move? Get off at the next junction if you're on the M6, under a mile from Longshaw, and stop somewhere safe — not at the services farther on. Step one comes after that.
The fork in each Longshaw fuel drain: has it run yet?
Everything after this stage rests on one answer.
Motor not run at all?
- No place but your tank: that's where the petrol still is.
- Where the vehicle sits is normally where this work is done: a drain, then a flush.
- No place is better, and it is why the first step counts so much.
If the engine has run, even for a moment:
- From the tank, past the fuel filter, into the lines: that is how far that petrol has travelled.
- The high-pressure pump and the injectors get it on a longer run.
- The further it went, the bigger the job — your lines, the filter, and now and then more besides.
Why the line falls there: diesel protects the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors as it flows through them, and petrol does not. Petrol sitting in a tank damages nothing. Move the petrol, though, and it wears the very parts doing the moving.
What to have prepared when you call about petrol in a diesel from Longshaw
Prepare a little, and the technician finds you rather than circling.
- The best place to start is a postcode — one beginning WN5 7 — for where you are.
- A road name is a help: Upholland Road, say, or whatever street you have stopped in. A car park does the trick too.
- Car parks are found most easily by what they serve: say the one at Co-op Food, and it's easy.
- The make and model of your car, and the fact it's a diesel.
- What went in. Petrol, or AdBlue. AdBlue is a different job with its own page for Longshaw, and so say which.
- About how much — in litres from the receipt, or by how long the nozzle stayed in.
- Whether it's run. Then if it has, how far plus how hard.
- The owner may have to approve this work under some hire or company agreements — which is why it is faster to settle whose vehicle it is before we get there.
Call 0333 366 0103 once you have got that ready — or, if your car is at home, going nowhere, use .
Longshaw fuel drain on its way? Whilst you wait
Hold to these: well-meant help causes the damage during the wait.
- Your safety comes before the vehicle. Somewhere exposed? Get away from the traffic and wait away from it. Fine where it sits? Stay with it.
- A kind passer-by does not fire it up. Nor does anyone checking it still does the trick, or moving it a couple of yards.
- Anything from the boot, oil made for two-strokes or injector cleaner: no additive lifts the petrol.
- No DIY clearing. Siphoning petrol into a can by the kerbside is risky, and it leaves the fuel that has by now gone beyond the tank.
- Leave your ignition off — your windows and the radio included.
Van arrived? The fuel drain, one stage at a time
- Three queries. What went in, how much, and if it has run. Those replies decide this job, which is why the price comes after them and not before.
- Out of that tank comes the tainted blend: your tank is drained.
- Your lines are cleaned. If it ran, the petrol has moved beyond that tank, and the fuel lines are holding it.
- Then the filter: swapped where there is a serviceable one, cleared where there's not.
- Priming comes after fresh diesel is in.
- Starting up. When the fuel system is primed with new diesel, we fire it up and make sure it runs correctly.
The car has new diesel running through it before our technicians head off. The car goes back to normal driving at once, and long-term damage is very rare if it has been noticed quickly.
Longshaw, after your fuel drain: back on the road
- After it's been started on fresh fuel, there's nothing unusual to do: drive normally.
- Pull over and ring us back if anything looks wrong early on — a light on your dash, smoke from the exhaust, an idle that is lumpy, or a throttle with a dead spot.
- An insurer, a fleet manager or a hire firm may ask what was done, and so keep your paperwork.
- Next time, check the petrol pump. The label, not the colour of the handle.
About Longshaw and where it is
Longshaw is a small village in Greater Manchester, situated inland at an elevation of 128 metres. Longshaw lies approximately 13 miles from Liverpool and 176 miles from London, surrounded by nearby places such as Brownlow and Higher End. Longshaw has a population of around 1674 people, predominantly living in semi-detached housing. Longshaw is characterized by its residential community and rural setting.
Longshaw and nearby: fuel drains across the area
Brownlow, Higher End and Far Moor are served by the same vans that answer petrol in diesel calls around Longshaw — and so is most of Greater Manchester beyond. If you are near a border or somewhere hard to describe, ring and ask instead of assuming.
Leave it off and ring: petrol in a diesel around Greater Manchester
Stage one is all of it: engine off, keys out, receipt in your pocket. From there Petrol in Diesel takes over, at the forecourt, at the kerbside or on your driveway.