Hi Gang,

Boy... when it rains it pours. I had one of my Metzeler Z6 tires suffer an internal failure (the post is in the ride well forum) a couple of days ago and then today I smelled fuel as I was riding and I noticed streaks of dried fuel on the plastic on the left side of the fairing. When I arrived home today, I notices a few drips coming from the lower leading edge of the left side fairing. Suspecting that if I'm having a fuel leak then someone else has had it, I ran a quick search of this forum and came up with a handful of threads highlighting fuel leaks from the fuel pump around the high pressure output fitting. Suspecting this might be the problem I removed the left hand side plastic and sure enough, the plastic around the fuel pump output fitting is cracked and leaking.

There are two ways to fix this problem; replace the fuel pump or fix the crack. When I called my local BMW dealer and asked about prices... the OVER $500 cost for the pump and gaskets secured my decision... I'm going to try and fix the problem. One thing that disappointed me is that my BMW dealer (where I purchased my 2005 R1200RT) wouldn't even give me a 10% discount on the parts. The parts guy was well aware of the cracking problem, he said he sold two fuel pumps last week for the exact same issue. When I told him that I was going to go ahead and try to repair the problem, he said that JB Weld turns to mush around fuel (something I know to be false since I checked JB Weld's site and their product is impervious to fuel). So much for my friendly neighborhood BMW Motorcycle shop

After removing the left hand side plastic and the output fitting, I sanded all of the plastic in the area I was repairing, cleaned it thoroughly with alcohol, mixed the JB Weld and started the repair. The pictures of the repair and prep work are below.

I'm not yet sure if the repair will hold since I need to let the JB Weld cure. Others on this board who have done this repair reported that it fixed the leak. I'm keeping my finger's crossed. If it leaks after this... then it's off to the web to order the part from someplace that is willing to discount the darn thing.

I must admit to being a bit disappointed. This is the first systemic problem I've had with my BMW and I was hoping to avoid all of the problems that crop up on this board; fuel strip, final drive, fuel pump... oh well... I guess one out of three isn't bad since some folks suffer from all three problems.

Anyway... here's the pictures. I'll let everyone know tomorrow if this repair works.

Joe

No doubt that you used enough! My fingers are crossed for you.

Ya. I wanted to make sure that I covered as much of the leaking area as possible. If the cracks propagate, I don't want a new leak cropping up because I didn't cover enough area. I'm keeping my fingers crossed too... I really don't want to throw away $500+ dollars on a new pump. I'll fire it up first thing in the morning and then post up the results.

Success. Not a hint of a leak. Now I need to put it back together and then I'm going to contact BMW and see about putting this issue on their radar.

I would let it "cure" another 24 hours before running it since its exposed to fuel. JB is good stuff but continues to harden for a few days. Can't hurt.

For those of you who are interested in making sure this problem does not impact you, you can replace the composite (plastic) quick disconnect fitting with a metal fitting (the part number is available on this forum... search on "fuel leak". Note: This will stop the problem from occurring but is unlikely to stop a leak that has already started.

The problem with BMW's design is that the composite quick disconnect expands during pressure cycling and imparts a radial load to the pump housing quick disconnect reinforcement flange. Over time, the pressure cycling causes the high pressure quick disconnect to impart sufficient radial load to the quick disconnect reinforcement flange to crack it.

I am sending BMW of North America a certified letter asking for the following relief. Note, I have filed a case with the U.S. DOT NHTSA and copied them on the letter to BMW of North America. Here is the relief I'm asking BMW of North America for:


1. That BMW of North America issue an immediate voluntary recall of all R1200RT fuel pump assemblies with designs similar to that found in 2005 BMW R1200RT, VIN (insert my VIN).

2. That BMW of North America then repair or replace defective fuel pump assemblies at no expense to the owner.

3. That BMW of North America contact all owners who purchased replacement fuel pumps for the impacted series of vehicles and issue full refunds to those owners who indicate that the fuel pump was replaced due to a leaking high pressure quick disconnect reinforcement flange.

4. That BMW of North America redesign their fuel pump assemblies to eliminate pressure cycling radial stress fractures in the high pressure quick disconnect reinforcement flange.

It is my sincere hope that BMW of North America does the right thing. I am concerned that when mine failed my left leg was covered in fuel and my fairing area was a virtual combustion chamber with the heat of the exhaust and the fuel. All it would take is a spark to cause the air fuel vapor in the fairing to explode in flames. In addition, breathing fuel fumes cannot be good for riders.

Hopefully BMW can read between the lines regarding my next step if they fail to grant me the relief I seek.

If you reply to this thread... keep in mind that BMW of North America will likely be reading it in the future and act accordingly.

Joe

Agreed. I tested it this morning but won't be riding it until Tuesday at the earliest. This is a temporary fix for me until I can convince BMW of North America that this is a serious issue they need to fix.

For those who are interested, the NHTSA case number for this issue is JBN1-18051

Case is filed and certified letters to both BMW and the NHTSA have been sent.

Having my left leg covered in fuel spray while riding has given me sufficient motivation to pursue this issue to remedy. We can only hope that BMW of North America will do the right thing and fix this issue. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Joe

The temporary complaint has been given a complaint identification number (ODI Number). The ODI number for this complaint is 10428629

In approximately two days, the complaint will have a dedicated webpage which I will post in this thread.

Joe

Well this looks like yet another thing to keep an eye on.

Thanks for the info Joe. Hope all goes well.