DUMB question

[OMGIBoughtABus]

Sorry to ask what seems to be a dumb a question; I did my due diligence and searched the fora and read every related post and did not get an answer. So here goes:

Yesterday I moved and parked my bus, initially it was parked at quite a tilt, like this:



That's where the property owner needed it, so he could get other rigs in and out that rent yard space from him.

So, while tilted, there was diesel leaking at a pretty good clip, about 3-4 drips per second. I put some planks under the low wheels to level it off, the leak stopped.

Can the leak be anything else besides a hole in the fuel tank?

Thanks.

[gbstewart]

is the tank full? maybe its just over flowing out a tank vent line.
gbstewart

[OMGIBoughtABus]

Originally Posted by gbstewart

is the tank full? maybe its just over flowing out a tank vent line.
gbstewart

About 3/4 full if I can believe the fuel gauge.

I'm hoping it's something like that.

[somewhereinusa]

First thing, where was the leak coming from?

[OMGIBoughtABus]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

First thing, where was the leak coming from?

The leak appeared to be dripping from the frame right below the driver's side fuel tank neck. Neither the driver's side or the passenger side fuel tank necks showed any leaks and the caps were not wet or loose.

It was not possible at the time to get under the bus and try to ID just where the source was, and I can't get back to the bus until next Saturday.

[OMGIBoughtABus]

I would add that the bus was in service at a local school district until it sold at auction, and it passed a Washington State Patrol inspection in 2014.

Unless I put a hole in the tank in a half hour drive... I don't think a diesel leak would go unnoticed by the school or the WSP.

[CaptainInsaneo]

It would if the inspection was done on flat ground, like say a bus barn parking lot.

[family wagon]

My former Blue Bird had two round drum style fuel tanks mounted just behind the skirt on the right side. One time I filled those to where the filler neck joined with the tank wall, then took it home and parked it on a sloped part of the driveway (the routine was to usually park it farther up on a flat area). Quite a bit of fuel leaked out because the slope put the rear tank's fuel level above something on the front tank.. the filler neck, I think it was.. and the front tank overflowed. It took a long time for the asphalt in that part of the driveway to firm up again after having all that diesel spilled there!

[jazty]

Often school buses have an inspection port in the floor above the fuel tank. It's probably worth locating that and popping it open to poke around. The sender and vent can usually be accessed that way.

[OMGIBoughtABus]

I did find a small hatch, about 4 rows back. Didn't get the chance to open it and look today.

A friend of a friend who works for a local school district as a bus mechanic assures me it is not an issue. He says there is a vent hose in the top of the tank that we should tie off before the next time we move the bus.