newbie Bongo owner with ticking noise question...

[silverbongo]

Hi Everyone,
Interested to know if this is normal or not - I have a V6 petrol Bongo (52 plate), 2wd, that "ticks" when the throttle pedal is being used to accelerate (in drive or the lower gears). Especially noticable during the Summer if windows are open and the sound is reflected off a wall as the sound appears to come from outside the car. At first I thought it was a stone stuck in a tyre, but tyres all looks ok. The ticking noise stops if I take my foot off the throttle, but gets faster in frequency of ticks as speed increases. It does not tick whilst idling or revving in neutral, only when moving - my guess is it might be something in the auto transmission or is normal for an automatic ??? - but I am not a mechanic - any ideas anyone? Thanks!

[Bongolia]

Phew , that s an awkward one! Does the ticking increase with road speed or engine speed"

[Northern Bongolow]

check for slack in the prop shaft universal joints.

[silverbongo]

Phew , that s an awkward one! Does the ticking increase with road speed or engine speed"

I think it's road speed.

[silverbongo]

check for slack in the prop shaft universal joints.

Thank you for your reply - can this wait until the next service do you think or should I get this looked at asap? Is this going to cost much to fix? (and more importantly is something going to break if I don't get it looked at soon ???)

[Tertiary]

When is the next service due?

How far do you intend driving it before then? (and how fast?)

Easy enough to check if you're able too... Make sure the handbrake is on and gear selector is in park, keys in your pocket! Lie underneath and try and turn the propshaft back and forward...also try to 'lift' either end near the universal joints. Any slack means you may have a problem so best to get it sorted sooner rather than later. A universal joint or two fitted now may save you the cost of the complete propshaft (and possible recovery to your garage) later..

[windywatson]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum. I have 2 V6 bongos, neither of them have exhibited the sound you describe. Whilst out on road with window down when you can hear the clicking, is it only there with engine under load? If you put the box into neutral & coast does it go away?
I have heard of vehicles that have clicking type of noise that has been due to a cracked exhaust manifold. And the noise is worse when the engine is under load. However I've never heard of a Bongo suffering from a problem like this.
You could take the van to a garage with a rolling road and that would enable you to replicate the fault & track it down.

Keep us all posted as this could be an interesting one.

PS Where are you based? There may be a member in your area that can help.

[Bongolia]

Yup follow Windy on that.
You need to know if the noise is speed related or load related.
Blowing exh manifold/gasket could fit the description.
Can you record it and post it on here?
Probable best bet would be to get it to a garage for them to diagnose. May be quicker in the long term.
N.B.
A rolling road is not the same as a brake tester "rolling" road, you would need a proper rolling road i.e. Dynometer to test under load.
Keep forum posted of the outcome.

[rita]

Does the vehicle have Alloy Wheels? ,also worth checking the brake discs/callipers/brake pads springs shims/back plate etc.

And as said " If you put the box into neutral & coast does it go away?"

looks like your going to be Busy.

[Northern Bongolow]

Does the vehicle have Alloy Wheels? ,also worth checking the brake discs/callipers/brake pads springs shims/back plate etc.

And as said " If you put the box into neutral & coast does it go away?"

looks like your going to be Busy.

as an add on to this above, check the alloys if fitted have the correct size center hole to match the hub,and the correct nuts, alloy wheels need different nuts to steel wheels. i think this was in rita's mind when he mentioned alloys.
if the center hole is too large the wheel can be moving about on the studs, it may have some adapters fitted to the wheel to make up the size difference, one of these may have been removed/lost so one wheel maybe moving about.

[silverbongo]

Thanks everyone - you have confirmed that it needs looking at, and thank you for all your suggestions. Service is due next month and as I am not expecting to do any big trips so will wait until then. I will post the results of the investigation! I have just come back from a 100 mile round trip, ticking noise only heard when the window is open, it appears in the lower gears and drive when the throttle is depressed i.e. accelerating - but not when coasting in neutral, the engine revs in neutral but no tick...back in drive/accelerate - tick...foot off pedal, no tick...even the slightest acceleration starts it off again - very noticeable at low speed going through towns, on open roads at higher speeds it's drowned out by the wind noise....yes..they are alloys so will get them checked out as well - thanks everyone!

[silverbongo]

Finally got this one sorted – it was the “charcoal canister solenoid” – it’s been replaced and the ticking noise has gone.....

[Bongolia]

Finally got this one sorted – it was the “charcoal canister solenoid” – it’s been replaced and the ticking noise has gone.....

Thanks for coming back with the solution.
It would be helpful if more people posted back their solutions to queried problems but so often they dont. If they did then we would have a more accurate anecdotal database that could help others.

[Bob]

Agreed.

It really is a massive help to us all when a result is posted.

[mikeonb4c]

Yup. Well done silverbongo and glad its sorted.

I hate to think how all this would (not) work on Facebook. We really need to keep plugging BF on FB.