Anti Freeze leakage?

tony · Post by **tony** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:32 am

I am a new Bongo owner (6 weeks ish!)
On Friday after leaving work I noticed some leakage under the Bongo. I checked it and it seemed to be Anti Freeze. However since then I've had no further leakages and I've checked everywhere that I can think of and not spotted any other leaks.

When the engine & radiator are hot the expansion bottle seems to fill to the top. Doe's anybody have any idea what this might indicate?

Thanks in anticipation!!!

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:33 am

The expansion is quite normal. When hot the coolant expands. Keep an eye on the level in the expansion tank when cold and ensure it stays around the 'max' line and keep checking for leaks. Are you sure it was a coolant loss and not drips from the aircon?

francophile1947 · Post by **francophile1947** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:52 am

I agree with Ian - I bet you had used your aircon and it was condensation from that - it catches lots of people out.
BTW welcome to the madhouse.

trevd01 · Post by **trevd01** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:49 pm

Check the jounts under the driver side, behind the front door where the rear heater connections are. Ours had a leak of anti-freeze there, which only showed up when parked 'uphill'. It was a tiny, tiny leak only millimetres down in the header tank over several weeks. Just needed a new jubilee clip to replace the rubbish wire clip that was there.

{I've edited the post title to something more specific, it was orginnally called 'Advice Please'}

tony · Post by **tony** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:52 pm

Hello
Thanks for the information.
I drained the anti-freeze out of the expansion box so it was down to the maximum level and all was wellfor a few days.

Today, after driving for around 10 minutes, the needle on the dashboard went to hot and there was a rumbling noise from under the drivers seat. Drove home slowly lifted the bonnet and anti freeze was all over inner wheel arch under expansion bottle.

Not used Aircon.

Any more advise please?

Cheers

Tony

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 7:27 am

Oh dear, pressure build up in the cooling system.

It could be the head gasket but may just be a blockage in the radiator. Remove the air intake pipe to reveal the radiator cap then from cold, with the rad cap off start the engine and check for bubbles as the engine is running. Also look for oil or if the coolant is a dirty brown colour. Also check the engine oil for drops of coolant on the dipstick. Any of these signs would indicate a failed head gasket. However if all looks well then drop the coolant and backflush the radiator and refill following the guidelines on bleeding. Let's hope it is no more than a blockage. Fingers crossed.

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 7:53 am

Is there a case for doing a flow test on the radiator? I'm not an expert on these things, but the opinion of the BF experts seems to be that Bongos (maybe because they had sat on a dockside for a long time, also rumours of poor Jap antifreeze) get clogged up cooling systems, particularly the radiator. Reading these tales, I almost thing a new radiator should be as 'mandatory' as a new cam belt on a Bongo of unknown pedigree. So even if your problem now is due to a head gasket / head problem, if it were me I'd want to know that once I've got that fixed that I won't be let down in the future by a dodgy cooling system. And I'd fit Haydns low coolant warning system too.

Good luck and hope its not too bad.

Mike

haydn callow · Post by **haydn callow** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:27 pm

Sorry to hear about your problems.. Does not sound good... If the temp gauge went high then it could well have done damage to the head or engine.. If you bought it from a dealer get it back there... If private then get it to a Bongo friendly garage and hope for the best.

Sorry to be so gloomy.
not I suspect what you want to hear.

haydn callow · Post by **haydn callow** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:31 pm

To test the Rad ...get a food type thermometer and take readings from all over the rad.... any cool spots are probably blockages.... best done with rad out of bongo.. filled with hot water and laying on side (the rad that is)

tony · Post by **tony** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 11:13 pm

Cheers Guys

Going to have a look this weekend. Expect tohear more!!

Thanks for your advice.

Tony