What Happens Now: Petrol in a Diesel Car in Portessie
Pause, then keep your engine off — not on, and not for a second to move the car. Emptied then cleaned, right where it sits: that's usually all an unrun diesel with petrol in it takes. Whether it stays that simple rests on the minutes ahead more than on anything else. Wherever you are in Portessie, here is how things run from here.
Petrol in a diesel, engine off — the first minute
In this order, all before everything else:
- The keys out of your ignition. Switching your ignition on can be all it takes to prime the system, while priming pulls petrol out of your tank toward the parts it damages. Keep it off altogether.
- A bigger tank of the same mixture is all topping up gives you, since it removes nothing. So no extra diesel.
- Hazard lights on. If you're anywhere close to moving traffic, make the car simple to see before you do anything else.
- The attendants will generally help you push it clear of the petrol pump. Ask, and roll it by hand — not on the engine, even for a couple of yards.
- The first thing we will ask is which fuel went in and about how much — and your receipt shows both. Keep it.
If you were still driving when you noticed, stop somewhere sensible instead of pushing on for the services — on the M90, over 50 miles from Portessie, that means the next junction. Stage one follows.
Has it run yet? The fork in every Portessie fuel drain
Everything after this point depends on one answer.
If it has never been started:
- Only your tank has petrol in it so far.
- Normally it's drained and rinsed just where the car stands.
- This, here, is the best spot to be in, and the whole reason stage one matters.
If your engine has been run, even briefly:
- Petrol has been pulled from the tank, through the filter then into the lines.
- Run it further and that petrol gets to the fuel injectors, having passed through the pump first.
- Flushing your lines, the filter dealt with, occasionally more: the job grows as the mileage does.
The line falls there since diesel protects the high-pressure pump and the fuel injectors on its way through them — and petrol does not. Petrol sitting in a tank damages nothing. Move the petrol, though, and it grinds down the very parts that move it.
Portessie, petrol in a diesel: have these prepared before you call
A little planning is the difference between a technician that finds you and a technician that goes round.
- Where you have stopped. A postcode starting AB56 1 is the best start.
- A road name helps: Stuart Street, say, or whichever street you've stopped in. A car park does the trick too.
- Or the landmark. A car park is easier to find by what it serves, like the one outside Original Factory Shop.
- The car. Make, model, plus that it is a diesel.
- Petrol or AdBlue? Say which. They are separate jobs, and AdBlue has its own Portessie page.
- How much. Litres from the receipt, or how long the nozzle was in.
- Has it run? If so, tell us how far it went, and how it was driven.
- The owner may have to authorise this work under some hire and company agreements — which is why it is faster to settle whose motor it is before our engineers get there.
Call 0333 366 0103 then. Email works as well if it can wait, with the car parked at home, going nowhere.
Waiting for a fuel drain in Portessie: what to do
Hold to these: kindly meant help causes the harm during the wait.
- Safety before the vehicle. If it has stopped somewhere dangerous, get yourself clear of the traffic then wait away from it. If it is safe where it is, stay with it.
- No one starts it. Not a passer-by being kind, not to check it is all right, not to roll the vehicle a few yards.
- No additives. Two-stroke oil, injector cleaner, something from the boot — none of that gets the petrol back out.
- Siphoning petrol into a can at the kerbside is hazardous — and it still leaves whatever fuel has already gone beyond the tank. Do not drain the car yourself.
- Not for your radio, not for your windows: the ignition stays off.
Van arrived? Your fuel drain, one step at a time
- The quote comes after three queries, not before them — what went in, how much, and whether it has run — since those replies decide the job.
- Your tank is emptied. The polluted mix comes from the tank.
- Petrol that has moved beyond that tank travels in your lines if it ran, and your lines are purged to shift it.
- The fuel filter is dealt with. Cleared, or changed where the car has a usable one.
- Bleeding your system comes after clean diesel is in.
- The start-up. With new diesel in and your system bled, it's fired up and checked to confirm it runs properly.
The car has clean diesel running through it before our technicians head off. Long-term damage is very unusual when it has been spotted early, so your car can go right back to normal use.
Back on the road in Portessie after the fuel drain
- Nothing unusual is needed after a start with clean diesel — normal driving is all.
- Watch the first miles. A warning light, smoke, a rough idle or a flat spot under the throttle tells you to pull over and ring us back.
- An insurer, a fleet manager or a hire company may ask what was done, and so keep the documents.
- Next time, read the petrol pump. The label, not the colour of its handle.
About Portessie itself
Portessie is a small suburban area situated on the Moray coast, with a population of around 988 people. Portessie has a mix of housing types, but semi-detached homes are the most common, and the area is located near other local communities such as Ianstown and Gordonsburgh. Portessie sits at a relatively low elevation of 22 metres above sea level, looking out to the North Sea. Portessie is within commuting distance of Aberdeen, which is around 48 miles away.
Fuel drains across Portessie and nearby
The same vans that answer petrol in diesel call-outs in Portessie serve Ianstown, Gordonsburgh and Rathven, and most of Moray beyond them. Somewhere tricky to explain, or close to a boundary? Asking is better than assuming — ring.
Ring, and leave the car off — petrol in a diesel around Moray
Step one is the whole of it: motor off, keys out, receipt in your pocket. From there Petrol in Diesel carries on, on the forecourt, by the roadside or on your driveway.