1200GS Fuel Pump Flange Crack

2008 R1200GS, 23000 miles. Phoenix AZ

I smelled a slight whiff of gas for a while, always as I removed the cover before riding home from work. Since I put the cover on in the morning after I get to work I figured it was just residual fuel vapors wafting out of the muffler or airbox and being trapped under the cover. Never smelled it any other time until today.

Today on the ride home there was a faint smell of gas. Like you, whenever I smell something unusual on he road I look around and always find a decrepit old vehicle to assign blame, then happily continue on my way. Not this time. No clunkers in sight.

After dinner I pulled the side tank cover and peered in with a flashlight and discovered that the threaded flange securing one of the fuel lines to the top of the pump is cracked. Excuse the poor lighting in the photo, but one can see several cracks around the circumference of the flange ring. roughly 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 o'clock. There are others visible from the opposite direction so it seems like there is one every 60 degrees or so.

Is this a common problem? I searched Gspot and found a couple of similar complaints.

MaxBMW shows the pump flange to be a $308 piece of plastic.

Best thing is my warranty expired about 3 weeks ago. I'm going to be on my best behavior during my visit to the dealer tomorrow in hopes that I'll be shown some mercy.

Worst case I'll buy the flange. Anyone else had to replace it and can share some tips?

Thanks,

Dave

I had a similar issue on my 2005, but it came after I replaced the plastic quick disconnect with brass; probably a bit too ham-dfiated on my part. I ended up fixing it with the loctite epoxy that's discussed as being fuel resistant in the loctite thread in the garage section. Had to order it, about $18 or so. Been fine for a few years now.

If you decide to take it apart to replace it, there's a tool for the threaded cover that cost about a $100 or so.

Good luck either way.

Roy

Thanks. Is this the stuff you used?

How did you apply it?

Did you remove the fitting and coat the threads as described here?

"If the petcock threads into plastic threads in the tank which have stripped out, use a fuel resistant epoxy like the Fixmaster Fast Cure Mixing Cups (they come in a Pringles-type can, pn. 21425). So the male threads don't bond permenantly, spray on a thin coating of non-stick egg frying Pam type product to serve as the release agent, then with a small thin bristle disposable paint brush, work the Pam into the thread roots and everything else you don't want the epoxy to stick to. Then mix up one of the cups, dab some resin into the hole, work it around with a pipe cleaner, apply the rest to the male threads, and screw it in. Let it sit for about 3 to 4 minutes and give it a little 1/8" twist to break any sort of bond the Pam coating allowed to happen, do it again about 6 minutes into the process, then let it sit for a few hours, and you should be good to go."

Only three weeks out of warranty? They should cover it, though you may be screwed because of the non-factory brass flange. Depends on the dealer.

It IS a relatively common issue. Repair isn't hard, though the tool will definitely help. Some have managed without it, but it is much harder. If you can find an appropriately sized piece of pipe you can probably make a tool for it.

Jim

This is completely stock. No brass quick connect. Thank my crappy photo for the confusion.

Dealer is going to contact BMW tomorrow. Got my fingers-crossed they'll comp it. At least the parts.

The tech mentioned that the flange is no longer available - ya gotta buy the whole pump assy.

Looking at the 2010 GS fiche I see it uses the same pump P/N as the 08, and the flange is NOT listed as a separate part. He's probably right.

Thanks Jim

Sorry, I was confusing your post and the other one. If you have a good relationship with your dealer you should be OK.

Jim

Mine broke just like that, BMW said "never seen this before" Wouldn't cover it under warranty On mine, the lower quick connect fitting cracked spraying gas all over me and the bike (it was very exciting). These are tapered npt pipe threads and if overtightened will crack the fitting and the plate. Could be yours, like mine, is the lower female quick connect cracked. The plate had some hairline cracks, but wasn't leaking. I got a brass one from Beemer Boneyard, coated it with yamabond case sealer, and put it back together. It's been holding for the last 10k miles.

Check out post 21 and 23:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301118&page=2

Joe

When changing my QD's for my R1200ST (same as the Camhead GS QDs), I found some very minor cracking. This bike has 66K miles on it, and one hard hit from behind. The QD started leaking, and it was the right time for filming the next Repair DVD, so I took photos and video.

Here are a couple:






The arrows show the location of the crack.

No leaks since the change 600 miles ago!

Jim

JVB - With your creative "work around" aptitude I'm sure you have an alternative tool for taking the metal ring off. What does it look like?

With the right sized PVC pipe something like this:



Jim

If you have had any warranty work done on the fuel system you should be covered, such as a fuel strip replacement, because the warrantly for that work/part(s) resets on the last service date.

Joe, It could be the fitting like yours I can't tell. When I switch on the ignition I can immediately see fuel seep (not spray) out from the middle of the three flange cracks I'm pointing to below. That one looks like it extends a lot further into the plate than the one in Jim's photo.

I have disconnected the QD a few times when removing the tank but I have never put a wrench on the fitting.

If I get no joy from BMW I'll attempt a similar repair. Is Yamabond the best stuff to use?


Thanks everyone.

Fuel strip replaced last November. So the warranty on the entire pump is extended? I didn't know that.

Looks like yours may be leaking fron the flange itself. Mine leaked from the cracked fitting, but my flange has small radial cracks similar to yours. The Yamabond was used to seal the threads on the new brass fitting. This is a totally wrong place to use a tapered pipe thread because of the weak plastic flange. It looks like ours were overtightened from the factory, causing the cracks. I hate to spend the $300 on a new flange, but even though it's holding now, I don't trust it.(on the 07 GSAdv plate is listed separately from fuel pump). This is one of those parts that should never break within reasonable life of cycle. Try for warranty repair before you fix anything.

Joe

Agreed. My experience with NPT connections is to never use a female thread in a plastic part. The hoop stress is fairly high and one can easily crack the flange by over-tightening it. I think the case here may be that, over time, the flange material degrades from contact with oxygenated fuel until it cracks under the original assembly stress. What's more is that the pump flange sits almost directly downstream of the oil cooler too. Summertime riding in Phoenix certainly can't help the situation.

Dave

They gotta mess with the tank flanges to get the strips, so yea you should be covered.

JVB - Got it. Clever as always. I think I'll glue a PVC cap to the top, drill a hole through it then fasten a bolt through the hole. That way I can put a socket on it with a torque wrench. Idles hands, etc.

I'm not familiar with this failure. Only had my 07 GSA for >1 yr. But why not replace the QD top and bottom with a solid 90 degree elbow. Yamabond the threads, flange, and everything else without any Pam to completely bond and seal everything. Then place a sturdy in-line QD downstream a little ways. This may require rotating the exit of the 90 a little given the small amount of clearance between that and the fuel pump cover clamping ring (the one requiring the special tool for removal). If the original fuel line is too short then I would think that a small bit of fuel line could be added between the QD and the new 90 to accommodate that. I would also zip-tie up the new QD to something solid to relieve any stress on the flange.

Feel free to tell me why this method would not work... I may be fighting this very issue some day.

ALL fuel leaks from cracking and bad design should be reported to the NTSB. I do not think this was a good design. Plastic is not suited for female pipe threads, as stated the hoop stress gets very high. It should have been a straight thread with an o-ring for seal. design defect. BMW is not going to fix this with out some pressure.

Rod

My failure has been reported!!

Joe