What Happens Now: Petrol in a Diesel Car in North Merchiston
Whatever you do, don't switch your engine on, even for a moment, to shift the vehicle. Stop; leave the vehicle off. Has not been run? Then petrol in a diesel will usually be a straightforward drain-and-flush job wherever the car has stopped — and nothing settles that as much as the next few minutes do. Here is the sequence of things from here, anywhere you're in North Merchiston.
Minute one: petrol in a diesel, engine off
Go through these in order, first.
- Bleeding the system pulls petrol from your tank towards the components it harms, and switching the ignition on can be all it takes to do that. So the keys get taken out, and your ignition stays off completely.
- Don't top it up with diesel. Adding diesel removes nothing. You end up with a bigger tank of the same mix.
- Hazard lights on. If you are anywhere close to moving traffic, make the car easy to see before you do anything else.
- The attendants will usually help you roll it clear of the petrol pump. Ask, then roll it by hand — not under the motor, even for a couple of yards.
- Keep the till receipt. It says which fuel was put in plus roughly how much, which is the first thing we'll ask.
On the M8, under 5 miles from North Merchiston, the next junction is the place to leave it; elsewhere, the first safe spot to stop. Don't push on to the services. Then go back to stage one.
Every North Merchiston fuel drain starts here: has the motor run?
One answer is what everything after this point rests on.
If it has not once been started:
- The petrol is still in your tank and nowhere else.
- Where the vehicle sits is normally where this work is done: a drain, then a flush.
- This, here, is the best spot to be in, and the reason step one counts.
Run at all, however briefly:
- Petrol has been pulled out of that tank, through your filter and into the fuel lines.
- On a bigger run it has got to the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors.
- The further it went, the bigger the job — the lines, the filter, and sometimes more besides.
Petrol does not lubricate. Diesel does, oiling your high-pressure pump and injectors as it flows through, which is why the line sits where it does. In the tank, left alone, petrol does no harm. The parts that shift it are grinding the moment petrol is being pumped.
North Merchiston, petrol in a diesel: have these prepared before you call
A technician that circles against a technician that finds you: a little preparation is the difference.
- Your location: a postcode starting EH11 1 serves best.
- The road or the car park. A road name helps — Harrison Road, or wherever you have stopped.
- What a car park serves is the easiest way to find it, so mention the landmark — like the one outside Scotmid.
- The car. Make, model, and that it is a diesel.
- Petrol or AdBlue? Tell us which. They are separate jobs, and AdBlue has its own North Merchiston page.
- How much. Litres from the receipt, or how long the nozzle was in.
- 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 the work, and sorting it before our engineers arrive is faster than afterwards.
Then phone 0333 366 0103. If it can wait — the car is at home and going nowhere — does the trick too.
Whilst you wait for a fuel drain around North Merchiston
Help, however well meant, is what does the damage whilst you wait. So stick to these.
- Your safety comes before the car. Somewhere exposed? Get away from the traffic then wait away from it. Fine where it is? Wait with it.
- A helpful passer-by doesn't start it. Nor does anyone wanting to check it still does the trick, or moving it a couple of yards.
- Anything from the boot, oil meant for two-strokes or injector cleaner: no additive lifts that petrol.
- Draining it yourself is out: a can of siphoned petrol on a verge is a danger, and your fuel beyond the tank remains put all the same.
- Not for the radio, not for your windows: the ignition stays off.
When our 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 has run — since those answers set the job.
- Out of that tank comes the polluted mix: your tank is cleared.
- If it ran, the lines are holding petrol that has moved beyond that tank — so they are cleaned.
- Then the filter: replaced where there's a serviceable one, cleared where there's not.
- Fresh diesel goes in, and your system is primed.
- The start. With fresh diesel in and your system primed, it is started and checked to make sure it runs correctly.
Only once it is running on clean diesel do our technicians leave. Permanent damage is very unusual if it has been caught early, so the vehicle can go right back to normal use.
Back on the road in North Merchiston after your fuel drain
- Drive normally. There is nothing special to do once it's been started on fresh fuel.
- Pull over and call us back if anything seems wrong early on — a light on your dash, smoke from the exhaust, an idle that is lumpy, or a throttle with a dead spot.
- Hold on to your paperwork. A hire company, a fleet manager or an insurer may ask what was carried out.
- Next time, go by the pump's label rather than the colour of its handle.
About North Merchiston
North Merchiston is a suburban area in the City of Edinburgh, situated near the coast and approximately 1.9 miles from Edinburgh city centre. North Merchiston has a relatively low elevation of 73 metres and is characterised by predominantly flat-type housing. North Merchiston is close to nearby places such as Merchiston, Dalry, and Gorgie, and is part of the larger Edinburgh urban area.
Fuel drains around North Merchiston and beyond
Most of City of Edinburgh gets the same vans as North Merchiston for petrol in diesel call-outs, Merchiston, Dalry and Gorgie included. Somewhere tricky to explain, or close to a border? Asking is better than guessing — ring.
Petrol in a diesel anywhere around City of Edinburgh? Off, then ring
Motor off. Keys out. Receipt in your pocket. That's the whole of stage one, and Petrol in Diesel carries on from there — at the kerbside, at the forecourt or on your drive.