Cracked Fuel Tank...how?

bad weld, piece flexing and cracking / breaking the section
just my thoughts

 

Could have been the tank strap hangers were loose at one time for a while and the tank was sort of "bouncing along". (Somebody may have had to remove the tank, then improperly re-attatched it and it was driven this way)
... or somebody needed to remove the tank, but lowered the tank before removing the hose connections?

 

The ONLY possible way your driver could have done this, is if he pulled on the shut off valve with brute force. and I highly doubt that. I also see no hammer marks on the shut of valve, indicating malice.

It could be a defect in the tank at the weld, and over time, serious road vibrations caused it to split further.

But I am NOT a metallurgist any more than anyone else.

 

Just had the same thing on a 2011 KW. PU tube moves back and forth flexing the tank until it cracks.

 

Wow, that's nasty. It looks like a manufacturing flaw, to my untrained eyes. However, something is definitely wrong. Or metal fatigue, but if that's the case, why in that one place?

It doesn't seem possible that a driver had anything to do with it, not to me.

 

It looks like it wasn't secured properly to me. Bumps in the road plus the weight of fuel probably caused a hair line fracture which eventuallly would give way.. If it happened all at once I'd think a manufacturing defect occurred. Did the mounts/straps break ? Where's the extra support ?

 

wasn't much weld holding it on the front. I say poor quality workman ship.

 

Looks like the weld broke to me