Which coolant to add

[sotal]

I posted a while back about the fact that the LCA had gone off one morning as we started the Bongo. I topped the coolant up with water and all was fine. I couldn't find any leaks or signs of leaking so proceeded. We're now a few months later on and about 1000 miles later and the same has happened again!

So there must be a tiny leak somewhere, I'm just concerned that if I top up with water that I will be further diluting it and with winter round the corner I don't want to freeze it.

Which coolant should I be adding? I thought I'd read on here that it should be blue or green not red - is that right? It's hard to tell the colour that is in now but it certainly doesn't look blue.

What should I be buying to top it up?

Thanks

[Bob]

Best will be the same as you have.

It might be best to identify and fix the leak then flush, refill, bleed.

Hope it's an easy fix.

[sotal]

Can't really tell what I have to be honest.

[Bob]

Could you draw off a tiny bit from the drain valve, bottom of rad?

[sotal]

Knowing my luck, it'll probably snap off

Might try a turkey baster in the header tank to draw some out.

Think it was 300ml to go from the point where the alarm goes off to the full mark. So it has been about 70 days since I last put 300ml in, and looking closer I think we've done about 1300 miles in that time. So it must only be a very small/slow leak. I'm guessing it will be hard to find at the moment.

[Dogran]

I've used the Prestone universal anti-freeze without issue for a number of years. We have an extremely slow coolant loss in our bongo and use this to top up. I think we have the red long life coolant in our Bongo. I have also used it in my citroen picasso (please, don't judge) which has the green stuff in it with no problems. You can get it at tesco: https://www.tesco.com/direct/prestone-a ... rce=others

Hope this helps
Mark.

[sotal]

Well 14 days this time until the coolant had dropped again. So whatever is leaking is speeding up.

I've had a good look round and can report the following (nothing conclusive):

Under the drivers seat one of the coolant pipes looks rusty but dry.
Towards the rear heater unit, there is a metal T piece which looks rusty and looked wet this morning (had been raining) - however after running it dried.
Bottom corners of the Rad were both wet - before and after running the engine. Dried them off and the wet hasn't come back yet.
Left the bongo running on the drive - as the rad heated up there was steam coming from the inner side of the rad. (It was cool enough that I could see my breath)
When looking at the drivers side of the engine it looks quite wet for the lower half - can't tell if it is oily though. The core plugs look ok and it doesn't seem to be round just one area. I think it has always looked a bit wet there.

I've got to be honest that I am suspecting the radiator but can't see anything obvious. I've removed the intercooler air feed from below the radiator but that hasn't shown me much more really.

Luckily the Haydn Alarm has been faultless and has let us know the coolant is dropping low before any damage can occur, so we've had no overheating etc.

[teenmal]

Well 14 days this time until the coolant had dropped again. So whatever is leaking is speeding up.

I've had a good look round and can report the following (nothing conclusive):

Under the drivers seat one of the coolant pipes looks rusty but dry.
Towards the rear heater unit, there is a metal T piece which looks rusty and looked wet this morning (had been raining) - however after running it dried.
Bottom corners of the Rad were both wet - before and after running the engine. Dried them off and the wet hasn't come back yet.
Left the bongo running on the drive - as the rad heated up there was steam coming from the inner side of the rad. (It was cool enough that I could see my breath)
When looking at the drivers side of the engine it looks quite wet for the lower half - can't tell if it is oily though. The core plugs look ok and it doesn't seem to be round just one area. I think it has always looked a bit wet there.

I've got to be honest that I am suspecting the radiator but can't see anything obvious. I've removed the intercooler air feed from below the radiator but that hasn't shown me much more really.
Luckily the Haydn Alarm has been faultless and has let us know the coolant is dropping low before any damage can occur, so we've had no overheating etc.

Does the vehicle show any signs of steam coming from the tailpipe on initial (cold) start up.??

[sotal]

I don't think so but for the last few years I have had a bit of white smoke on startup during winter, so when starting at the moment, I do get a bit of rough running and white smoke for a few seconds. This quickly clears though and doesn't happen in summer. If I turn the glow plugs on and off a few times it reduces this too.

[Northern Bongolow]

sounds like the usual T piece leak if its wet, it will dry quickly when the engine is switched on as its one of the first pipes to get hot as its the heater pipe.

[sotal]

What is the normal fix for that t piece? Is it a whole new metal section? If so is it easy enough to get one and is it easy enough to fit?

[mikeonb4c]

What is the normal fix for that t piece? Is it a whole new metal section? If so is it easy enough to get one and is it easy enough to fit?

When mine went my mechanic Adrian (at Japandirect in Bury - one of the most experienced Bongo mechanics in the uk) said he fixes a lot by cutting out the corroded section and using a tee piece. Saves on parts and labour as the whole pipe is a bit tedious to remove. I opted though for a complete new pipe because i like the best for my Bongo. And i had a new radiator a few years ago as it started to leak where the plastic top is bonded to the metal body. They're well known to go with age so if in doubt i'd fit a new one. Couldn't agree more about the value of the Haydn Alarm. They can't cover every eventuality but they provide an alert/early warning on one of the key issues for ageing Bongos: coolant leaks.

[sotal]

The t piece does get very slightly wet when left but doesn't drip over 48 hours. So it might just be on its way out. The radiator however is the main source of the leak. As someone posted above it seems to have gone between the plastic top section and the main radiator.

So I've ordered a new radiator and whilst it is drained down, I figured that the steel pipe with t piece might as well be replaced too. I considered just chopping the t out, but the section under the driver's seat is corroded too so I figured the whole thing should be replaced. So I've got the metal pipe on order too.

So both parts ordered and booked in with Ian Taylor to have them fitted.

That should keep her going for a bit longer!

[mikeonb4c]

The t piece does get very slightly wet when left but doesn't drip over 48 hours. So it might just be on its way out. The radiator however is the main source of the leak. As someone posted above it seems to have gone between the plastic top section and the main radiator.

So I've ordered a new radiator and whilst it is drained down, I figured that the steel pipe with t piece might as well be replaced too. I considered just chopping the t out, but the section under the driver's seat is corroded too so I figured the whole thing should be replaced. So I've got the metal pipe on order too.

So both parts ordered and booked in with Ian Taylor to have them fitted.

That should keep her going for a bit longer!

Excellent and see it as an investment I'd ask Ian to give a frank assessment on anything else he doesn't like the look of as he's a very experienced pair of eyes and i'd make the best opportunity of that even if you can't afford to have all work done at this time.

[sotal]

It isn't long since it was last in so hopefully won't need anything else yet! I will ask him to cast his eye over a couple of bits though.

My biggest worry is the small dots of rust appearing on the bodywork. They will be my next job to tackle.