Fuel Leak..... Uh Oh!!

So after the fuel pump issue was solved I thought all was well with the BMW. Little did I know...

When the mechanic fitted the fuel pump, he said it wasn't easy to seat properly.. He wasn't joking either!

On the way back home the other night we stopped off at a drive through. As we sat there we could smell fuel, but I assumed it was the car in front running (very) rich!

Then a worried head looked out the window and said "oi mate there's petrol coming from the back!".
At this point I looked out the window to see my fuel running past my door on the floor... Bugger!

I pulled into the car park and took a look under the car. Sure enough the bottom of the fuel tank was wet with petrol.

I checked the petrol cap to see if it was lose or not fitted right. It seemed OK though which was weird. I started her up and checked underneath. The leak appeared to of stopped. So I took her home again (not a long trip) to investigate.

I pulled up the back seat and took off the hatch above the fuel tank.

Low and behold there was a pool of petrol sat around the top of the tank. I mopped it up and dried it off.

Then I checked the seating of the fuel pump securing ring. It was not secure at all!
So I loosened it and tightened it back on to the fuel tank. It was better than before, not 100%, but better.

There was only one thing to do, get a new ring and gasket. So off to trusty Sytner BMW to get the bits. Gave all the details to them, E36, 1992, 320. Got a call from sytner to say they were in. Picked them up.

Booked her into the garage and waited for the call to say it was done (or that they had found a problem... a mouse in the tank or something similar!).

However, all was fine. The only issue was that the ring supplied by BMW sytner was too small. Not sure which car it was meant for.... but it wasn't this one!!

Oh well the gasket was fine, and this was the issue anyway. So all is back to normal.

This really emphasises the fact you need to replace the sealing ring gasket when changing the pump!