Short story behind the first DIY of the trip. I think it was Balakot, not Jalkhad, could be wrong though. So we find a reasonable looking fuel station, and ask the operator to top us up. So he keeps topping, and topping and topping, and she keeps leaking, and leaking and leaking from the fuel tank. I only notice when she's probably topped up to like 80 liters, when its only a 65 liter tank!
I had the fuel pump changed a few days before the trip, and apparently the stupid mechanic in Islamabad thought a good sealant would be silicon. Silicon and petrol don't make a good couple, so the fuel would leak from the very top of tank.
Most of the guys helped a lot over here, apart from Tanzeem and his cousin, who stood cross armed for an hour, they wouldn't blink, like they went into hibernation and shock. Special credit to Kashif and Bash, who took the pump out, and tried to reseal it with Magic and an over coat of silicon. Lots of effort, but unfortunately, as we would find out in Chilaas, it wouldn't last too long.
Solution, just don't top the tank up, leave 5-10 liters of the tank empty. Its still that way! Forgot to fix it !
Rao.
