Serendipity?

[nj swb]

Serendipity
noun
the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

On my way home today, my low fuel light came on. Nothing unusual about that, the gauge was indicating low, so I hit the switch to begin the fuel transfer from my aux tank.

Some time later, I realised the low fuel light was still on - it seemed the transfer pump wasn't working. So I pulled over to check - yep, it wasn't working. Something to look at when I get home.

At home, I started by sliding under the Paj on my garage creeper - I can just make it under the fuel tank. Found the pump - looked OK. Wiring looked OK, so I decided to trace it, partly to find out where it goes, partly to look for damage.

It disappeared out of sight above the tank, so I pushed myself along to try looking from a different angle - and something squeaked.

It didn't take me long to realise that whatever squeaked must've been loose - and I should probably try to figure out what was loose.

It was only my fuel tank. The factory one, not the aftermarket one.

One nut was tight.

Two were loose - to be fair, it was difficult to spot that they were loose, so I'll forgive the mechanic who conducted a pre-trip inspection last week.

I'm not sure what to say about the fourth nut, given that it wasn't there. Wherever it is, I hope it's not working too hard.

After a typical series of trials & tribulations (I'm currently barely on speaking terms with my right shoulder) I now have, once again, four tight nuts holding in my fuel tank. How long I'll have four I'm not sure, as one of the studs isn't quite what it once was. I'll have to keep an eye on that... At least I know the tank will hold for a while with only three.

So, once that issue was addressed, I thought it was time to tackle the faulty fuel pump - and it's working fine.

Why did it fail? NFI.

What if it hadn't failed? If I hadn't been climbing around under the Paj while the tank was empty, I may not have noticed the loose tank. If the tank had contained another 70 - 80 litres of diesel, it may not have moved as I pushed against it, and therefore squeaked. How many more kilometres would it have lasted before a real problem developed?

Serendipity. I guess that sometimes I just get lucky.

Now if only I could do that with a woman.

[twisted32]

That nut is probably looking for its mate from the swaybar end link....

[GHendo]

Gee, that would have been interesting – driving along and had your fuel tank drop off !! I’ve seen exhausts fall off cars but never fuel tanks. It would have been fun for whoever was following you too.

When things like this happen, you sometimes wonder if someone is looking after you at that moment – or just plain old good luck.

Cheers

Geoff

[NFT5]

I'm not sure what to say about the fourth nut, given that it wasn't there. Wherever it is, I hope it's not working too hard.

10mm? I'd be looking in my toolbox to see if the matching socket hasn't eloped with it.

Lucky.

[nj swb]

Update:

Next tank, the pump wouldn't run again. This time, I had an opportunity to trouble-shoot, and identify that the pump wasn't running - it had power, was getting warm, but wouldn't pump.

So I ordered a replacement from the tank manufacturer, which took a couple of days to arrive, and this afternoon I wrestled it into place.

All good now.

[ticky]

That nut is probably looking for its mate from the swaybar end link....

[starjunk]

A very entertaining read.