air bleed no bleed hose

[borisbongo]

hi all

i need to do an air bleed (no heat from heaters )but dont have a bleed hose.
i have seen how to vids online where you just need to remove rad cap over fill with funnel heaters on full turn on engine to heat up i'm thinking this should still work on a bongo am i right about this.
2.5 diesel 4x4 1997

thanks

[JulesMartin]

welcome to the Fury! I guess first off we need to know why you haven't got a bleed hose. when I got my Bongo just a few weeks ago it too didn't have a bleed hose and I've since found out (via this forum) that mine has a Ford Ranger head which does not have the additional three way connector just forward of the exhaust manifold level with the alternator. There are posts on here that say you can bleed by elevating the front of the bongo. I've gone down the route, at the moment, of cutting into the hose leading from the two way connector to the Turbo and putting in a three way connector and purchasing a bleed hose from here. I'm not happy that this is working as well as it should as it is not at the highest point of the engine but worth a go. if you do have the three way connector but its blanked off I'd highly recommend you get a bleed hose from here or Bongo parts and get it bled correctly as per the vids on here. have fun! give your Bongo time and patience and you'll get to love it likes us all!!!

[borisbongo]

hi mate thanks for the reply
had mine for about 6 months had the heads done b4 i got it so i think its the ranger as well dont like the idea of fitting the new bleed hose think ill try the funnel in the rad method .overfill then watch for the bubbles.hope this works.

[Bob]

Just a personal opinion, but I think you're setting up another failed head.

The bleed process is a right pain, but crucial.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

[JulesMartin]

I have to agree with Bob (supreme being for good reason)! My experience of the Bongo is admittedly limited but I was a mechanic in a former life and can see the inherent flaw in the design of the Bongo in that it's mid engine, and the rad is below the level of some of the water system. This is probably to comply with the trend of having an aerodynamic looking front end. In addition the rear heater is also an additional issue. the only real way to evacuate all the air from the system is to allow it to escape at its highest point which in the case of a TDi Bongo is that three or two way connector. as mentioned elsewhere if you can raise the front of the Bongo to a point where the top of the rad is the highest point then you may well have some success. I've had some experience of VW T25's and they do benefit from being raised at the front end to bleed the air from the system but in their case the rad is higher than the engine.
All that said it would be interesting to hear how you get on.

[borisbongo]

Ok guys you just scared the shxt out of me hahaha will get the hose fitted but for now I'll get halfords to do a coolant replace for £40
thanks alot

[Bob]

I'm not sure even Halfords can bleed it without the bleed pipe fitted.

If you change to coolant, or otherwise get air in the system, it must be bled or the head will crack.

[g8dhe]

Provided the hoses are in reasonable condition, vacuum fill methods seem to be pretty good, but causing old rubber hoses and corroded metal spigots to "collapse" is not always a good idea!

[JulesMartin]

If you don't fancy the idea of cutting into the pipe between the connector and turbo to fit a tee piece and then the bleed hose you can buy the three way connector from Bongo Spares although it is a bit of a job to do which is why I haven't committed to it yet. I had made a suggestion on here to fit a bleed hose into the expansion tank cap but that doesn't seem like a goer either. You have to step back and look at why Mazda themselves fitted that bleed hose. If they'd have been able to work round it another way they surely would have.

[borisbongo]

thanks to everyone for the info.
i going to go to halfords next week and see if they can do it also ask them about fitting the hose for future bleeds.
they have been good with my focus and had been a couple of months ago with boris for a free check up b4 i did a 600 mile trip and they seemed to know what they were doing.