3AJ fuel pump

Xt 3 has always been a pain to start if it stood for a few days/weeks- always thought some carb /fuel pump cause the tap sitting lower than the carb- then a little vacuum pump even lower which has to get the fuel back to carb. Once its going all seems well and will start all the time. Yesterday just died like fuel starvation while riding- checked fuel all ok- due to ergonomics and no tools i could not get to sparkplug- in a moment of wisdom/desperation thought lets take fuel line of pump and plumb staright up to carb- easily 8 cm higher than tank tap level- bike starts straight away- so fuel pumps failed- bike ran faultless for the next 50km.- Only problem would be running fuel level low i suppose

The pump looks pretty good with no obvious leaks or or sweats- any one ever opened up