Thinking of joining the Bongo world

[mikeyr]

No expert on the subject but think both of those are outgoing electrics... https://www.towbar2u.com/news/towbars-w ... electrics/

"WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
Single – With single electrics, your car is wired so that it will only power the lights of your caravan. This is the minimum legal requirement when towing vehicles or trailers.

Twin – Twin electrics use two 7 pin sockets, and wire your car to power the towed vehicle/caravan road lights, reverse lights, and any interior electrics in the caravan such as the fridge and leisure battery"

We've got a tow bar like that and a quite separate electric hook up on the side which are normally white...like this...but under corner of van.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/617837642601750366/

[oibaf]

Ah ok, thanks Mikeyr. I doubt the guy knows the situation with this but I can always ask, and, better yet, if I go see it, will take a root around to see...

[oibaf]

Well folks, a bit of news. We purchased Bertie Bongo this past weekend.

Drove it the 2 hours home and it never missed a beat.

It's in OK condition - it needed a proper clean inside and out and that cleaning has really given it a new lease of life. The rear arches are bubbling so I know they'll need replacing sooner rather than later. There are a few other rust spots and a few dents on the side unseen in the photo below but nothing too serious.



A few odd things with it:

Strangely, the coolant header tank is actually overfull (I put a dip stick in and it measures about 4-5cm rather than just 2cm) and the coolant seems to be clear. I might actually just be water. That'll need a flush, new coolant, and a bleed. I bought a coolant alarm for it, I was sure it was one of Haydyn's but unfortunately it is not. My mistake. I'll probably fit it tonight if the rain stops.

The auto box works fine but there seems to be a little too much ATF in there. I've checked it with the engine warm, and on, and the ATF fluid goes over the "full" line on the dipstick. Might suck some out, or just suck all of it out and replace.

Finally, there's a new steering column in it as the last one was leaking. However, the indicator and light stalks are not level. It's like it was fitted slightly askew and I wonder can I remove the steering wheel and straighten up the bit that the stalks are housed in. Also, despite the alignment being spot on (or so the CVRT test said) it pulls to the left at anything over 50mph. If you keep your hand on the steering wheel it's not an issue, you wouldn't even notice it, but I'd like to sort that.

[g8dhe]

Congratulations! ...... I think ..... how deep is your wallet

Never certain about the coolant level, the figures for 2cm are for diesel.
On a V6 petrol lots of people including myself report it as being lower, also on the V6 several people including myself find that if you fill it to the right level then it will eject the excess itself, not violently (as in overheating) but simply because of expansion, so mine always ends up a lot lower than 2cms, checked mine this morning as its had the engine changed in the last week and I had topped up before a run yesterday and its back to my "usual" (lower ) level this morning, so will repeat and make sure that its settled again and then keep a watch from then on!

[oibaf]

Congratulations! ...... I think ..... how deep is your wallet

Never certain about the coolant level, the figures for 2cm are for diesel.
On a V6 petrol lots of people including myself report it as being lower, also on the V6 several people including myself find that if you fill it to the right level then it will eject the excess itself, not violently (as in overheating) but simply because of expansion, so mine always ends up a lot lower than 2cms, checked mine this morning as its had the engine changed in the last week and I had topped up before a run yesterday and its back to my "usual" (lower ) level this morning, so will repeat and make sure that its settled again and then keep a watch from then on!

How deep is my wallet? Probably not deep enough Geoff .

It's a 2.5 TD so I know I need to be wary of the coolant and make sure it's the right stuff and bled correctly. I'll change hoses over time I reckon too.

Just on the steering thing...here's a picture which might go some way to explaining what I meant when I described the indicator and light stalks as being "off centre":



Dunno how to sort that, or whether it might be best to bring it somewhere...

[Bob]

Well done.

[oibaf]

Well done.

Thanks Bob!

Seems like the steering thing is a "clock ring" or "squib" - from what I can gather from scouring images online while I should really be working, it can be rotated independently of the steering column. Maybe.

However, would love any info to tell me for sure?

[g8dhe]

Its not clear from the mech diagrams http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsm ... mgno=.html
just how they are fixed, I can't think that its a compression/friction fit, so there must be the screws as shown in the diagram above, how they can be in the wrong position needs eyes on the actual brackets to see if there additional (wrong) holes ?

[oibaf]

Its not clear from the mech diagrams http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsm ... mgno=.html
just how they are fixed, I can't think that its a compression/friction fit, so there must be the screws as shown in the diagram above, how they can be in the wrong position needs eyes on the actual brackets to see if there additional (wrong) holes ?

Ah, thank you for digging that out. I suppose the best thing to do is to take the steering wheel off and check.

[g8dhe]

Its well worth bookmarking the site, then you can select year/version more easily http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/

[oibaf]

Its well worth bookmarking the site, then you can select year/version more easily http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/

That's a brilliant site, thanks!