Smoke Signals

[parabat2]

Last week my Bongo broke down while camping on the Gower.

It idles perfectly well, but when I accelerate, instead of going faster I just get loads of black smoke out the back, and the engine "knocks".

The repair mechanic said it was the fuel pump and there was nothing he could do. So we had to go home at the end of the holiday on the back of recovery truck.

I know I need to change the fuel filter and clean the "banjo" strainer. Is there anything else I can try? Will an injector cleaner help or hinder? Any suggestions on the best place to take it? (I live on the Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire boarder near Sandy.)

Thanks

[francophile1947]

It sounds like you may have a blocked airflow to the engine - there have been instances of foreign objects being sucked into the intake under the bonnet - also check your air filter.

[Steve L]

Parabat
Have a look at this thread, it might be of some help. Similar symptoms.
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =egr+smoke

[parabat2]

Thanks for the suggestions. The mechanic checked the air filter, but not the intakes at the front.

My beast does have a winter pack fitted, so it could well be that.

It could also be the EGR valve - I have noticed it weeps oil where the EGR pipe joins the air intake. (Hope it isn't a turbo!)

Lots of things to investigate next weekend.

[Veg_Ian]

If your suspicions are in the EGR area then indeed the inlet manifold could be partially blocked with crud and for the same reasons as suspecting the air-intake being blocked, you have the same problem - lack of air - albeit further down the inlet system. It's gonna require a bit of dismantling to prove the point though.

[parabat2]

I've just got my Bongo back from the diesel specialist, where it has been for the last few days.

Curiously, I was able to drive it to the garage without problems. Anyway, Stuart, the specialist, couldn't see anything obviously wrong, but thought it might be the EGR, so we decided to blank it off.

He discovered that where the bolts that hold the pipe from the EGR onto the inlet manifold had been done tightened up so far that the thread had been stripped. One of the bolts was too long for the blind whole in the manifold and had knocked a small piece off! He couldn't find the missing bit - hopefully it has passed through the engine without causing too much damage. (The joint had seeped black gunk ever since I got the Bongo, I just never got round to investigating why. Now I know!)

Then Stuart noticed that the engine was misfiring with grey smoke when started - a glow plug wasn't working. Of course, I have the dreaded 102mm long plugs that are impossible to obtain. He fitted an 83mm plug and made a little extension to connect it to the power rail. (The Bongo had always started roughly - I remember the dealer saying it would be solved by a service, but it wasn't. I wonder if they left it because of the odd plug? )

A thread on the forum mentioned something about a valve in the exhaust of Bongos with winter packs fitted causing the Bongo to take up smoking. My Bongo has a winter pack fitted, so he checked this out. The valve is activated by a vacuum tube and lo, if vacuum was applied, the van smoked terribly. This seems to have been the cause of my problem. The valve has been disabled by blanking off the vacuum tube. Hurray!

So now I have a Bongo that starts nicely and runs well again, all for less than £200. (And he spent alot of time on it.)

(Cambs Injector Services at Comberton, Cambridgeshire - highly recommended.)

Brilliant!

[Bongoplod]

Nice to know you`re up an running properly and the grins back on your face!

Brian

[mikeonb4c]

Great news parabat2 - a really satisfying success story. Expect your fuel bill to rise massively as you fail to contain your compulsion to get in and drive it......well.....anywhere

[bigdaddycain]

Glad its sorted parabat2...Time to start enjoying your bongo again