Cooling system service

[rita]

Be very wary if one of theses vehicle turns up at your Garage/Workshop on a low loader with a bad coolant leak.

I know of some Garages that wont even touch them.

Hi Rita
Yes I can understand that some vehicles have a fearsome rep but it all depends on how you approach the job.
We try not to reject any vehicle unless we were not equipped, its a basket case or its a boy/girl racer with the wheels on back to front and no tread on the tyres .
Our take is we have to sell a certain number of hours in a week to stay ahead so it doesn't matter if its 1 hour each on 10 jobs or 10 hours on 1 its all work at the end of the day and if the customers dont mind paying the bill we dont mind doing the work.


Watch that come back and bite me on the ?rse

What I was trying to get through is that there are some unscrupulous people out there, you work on the vehicle cooling system (after they deliver it on a low loader)then they try to Sting you.

You Knackered my Head.

[Bongolia]

Ahh... gotcha!

[Merlot man]

Be very wary if one of theses vehicle turns up at your Garage/Workshop on a low loader with a bad coolant leak.

I know of some Garages that wont even touch them.

Ah Rita no true bongolian would do that , would they

They do have a bad reputation all right

[mikeonb4c]

The problem resolves itself really as you're unwise to want any garage you are not confident loves and knows Bongos working on it anyway. And even the best can get it wrong. For the rest, you have to keep a sense of proportion. My Bongo head went after 8 years. Whilst in my ownership the Bongo has done 70k miles and lots of short runs as its my daily drive. The diesels head does appear vulnerable to failure and mine had done a lot of thermal cycles, which was quite possibly what caused the failure. The repair bill was about the same as an ECU for a 2 litre petrol model looks likely to cost another owner on another thread. Over 10 years great ownership i can live with my disappointment.

[Bongolia]

I didn't mean the Bongo has a fearsome rep but that some vehicles do.

The advantage a specialist garage has over the non specialist is they have probably seen the problems before and have probably fixed them too.
Whereas a competent non specialist garage working through in a structured manner will arrive at the same diagnosis as the specialist but it may take them longer.

The problems actually arise when you deal with an incompetent garage.

[rita]

Be very wary if one of theses vehicle turns up at your Garage/Workshop on a low loader with a bad coolant leak.

I know of some Garages that wont even touch them.

Ah Rita no true bongolian would do that , would they

They do have a bad reputation all right

I have actually heard of a couple of instances where the Customer Claimed the mechanics did not replace the header tank caps resulting in overheating and knackering the head.

Good Luck

[BongoBongo123]

Sorry not sure of crack details, all I know is it failed a pressure test on the head.

[BongoBongo123]

Be very wary if one of theses vehicle turns up at your Garage/Workshop on a low loader with a bad coolant leak.

I know of some Garages that wont even touch them.

I would have thought it unlikely without prior arrangement.

If the garage knows what they are doing/taking on i.e. an actual Bongo expert/competent it is good work for them. And good for the person getting the work done that that person knows what they are doing.

I suspect it is a good thing some garages won't take them on, for customer and garage if they are out of their depth. Clearly the case for some who prefer to blag it.

[rita]

Be very wary if one of theses vehicle turns up at your Garage/Workshop on a low loader with a bad coolant leak.

I know of some Garages that wont even touch them.

I would have thought it unlikely without prior arrangement.

If the garage knows what they are doing/taking on i.e. an actual Bongo expert/competent it is good work for them. And good for the person getting the work done that that person knows what they are doing.

I suspect it is a good thing some garages won't take them on, for customer and garage if they are out of their depth. Clearly the case for some who prefer to blag it.

Yes you are perfectly correct, it is normal practice to "Book it IN" even if you are driving / towing / or even Pushing it. But as you probably know a lot of vehicles are transported to garages for repair.

[BongoBongo123]

Sure Rita, that is what I deduced you meant but really any bongo owner should know they need a knowledgeable person at the helm of anything cooling system related.

You would need your head buried in the sand to not know they can be cantankerous in engine cooling department what with the endless mantra of coolant and temperature alarms and regular coolant servicing/pipe checks etc.

It is one area of the vehicle which is a bit of a thorn in the side for all owners.

[Merlot man]

Hello all
I'm making slow progress on this project and am hoping to get the Norma constant tension hose clamps from Hydn callow's company low coolant alarms , I've already got the tm2 from them
I've got 10 no. 32-50 mm from them for the large hoses but does anyone know how many of the 20-32 mm and 12-20 mm clamps ill need for the FULL coolant system i.e. front and rear hoses ? I plan to get hoses etc. from Ian in the club shop .
Thanks again for all the help
Brian

[Merlot man]

Hello all
Just to update this tread I've just taken delivery of loads of the coolant service items from ian in the bongo shop !
I've also got the all the constant tension hose clamps from Jo at hydn low coolant alarms who could not have been more helpful or fair , the same of course is to be said of the bongo master Ian , thank you both . Ian was very helpful in advising me of to areas to consider "while I'm in there " this Is NOT the same as trying to sell me more bits just to be clear . I would have no hesitation in recommending both of these people to anyone on here , ill certainly be dealing with them in the future ! They make owning and driving our bongos a really viable proposition .
The only bit I think I have left to get is the coolant I'm going to try and get the red triple QX as I've read good reviews on it for our bongos ,
Thanks and ill keep you all updated , as always all comments/ advice appreciated .
Brian

[haydn callow]

If you use new red coolant, expect the low coolant alarm to play up for a while afterwards. Personally I would use blue coolant because after doing such extensive work to not have the protection of the alarm is a bit dodgy.
Red coolant will probably coat the sensor screw and cause false alarms for about a month.

[cmm303]

Probably best to renew all the hoses , pipes , and clips , then relax for the next 20 YEARS. Its usually the part you don't renew that lets you down.

If you are thinking of Sale or Return most decent motor factors will honour this providing the parts have not been used, and returned in original unopened packaging if appropriate.

Good Luck.

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but had to share my smiles at this sage advice. I changed hoses, clips, pump, stat, sensors last year, not the rad (or heater matrices). Radiator dripping this morning . Kicking myself!

[Bob]

Oh poo.