auto box not holding on junctions and hills

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:25 am

Yep, it's as Madmile says. I too have driven a few autos (heavy ones as well) and the Bongo is poor at holding on an incline. Get used to it

trevd01 · Post by **trevd01** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:56 am

Veg_Ian wrote:Yep, it's as Madmile says. I too have driven a few autos (heavy ones as well) and the Bongo is poor at holding on an incline. Get used to it

Yes, I would agree with that. As a person that rarely drives a manual, I confess to the old using the left foot on the footbrake trick (releasing it like you would a clutch on a manual) starting off on very steep inclines.

If you regularly swap between an auto and a manual though, I wouldn't recommend letting your left foot anywhere near the brake pedal - it's a bit dramatic if you forget and did it on a manual

moonshine · Post by **moonshine** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:32 pm

bigdaddycain wrote: But then again, i dont think i've had an auto car that weighs quite so much.

Weight shouldn't really come into it as the transmission is designed for the vehicle weight. Some of the buses I drive have autmatic boxes, and they weigh over 8 tonnes when empty. Probably over 10 tonnes with 72 people onboard. Never known one of them not hold on a hill.

I think I would have your transmission checked by an auto specialist, Kloonsy. It's probably only a brake-band that needs adjustment.

moonshine · Post by **moonshine** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:41 pm

trevd01 wrote:If you regularly swap between an auto and a manual though, I wouldn't recommend letting your left foot anywhere near the brake pedal - it's a bit dramatic if you forget and did it on a manual

I would go along with that. I had something similar happen to me recently, but involving two manual box vehicles that I sometimes drive. I am quite used to swapping between vehicles with all sorts of different gearboxes, but this caught me out. I had been driving my works van which has the pedals offset slightly to the right, and later had to drive one of the firm's cars which has the pedals offset slightly to the left. I went to change gear, and stamped hard on the brake with my left foot!

Good job there was nobody behind me at the time. Why doesn't everyone have automatics, it would be much easier.

BongoMTBer · Post by **BongoMTBer** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:58 pm

Mine doesn't hold.

Mr Halibut · Post by **Mr Halibut** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:27 pm

Mine holds ok, the level of forward creep seems to be determind by the aircon being on at that time. I found it doesn't hold with a big caravan on the back, and so did the chap behind me who nearly ended up sitting in it!

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:28 pm

No bands in the Bongo 'box moonshine - just loads of clutches. But even if it had bands it wouldn't affect it in forward selection on a hill but an out of adjustment band would cause a slipping shift into 2nd.

nfn · Post by **nfn** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:17 pm

I've owned or driven a number of automatic transmission vans and pick-up trucks, and have not noticed that the bongo holds worse on hills in drive than others. I do, however, presently live in Norfolk -- but it's a hilly part of Norfolk. One thing to check before suspecting the torque converter is whether the idle speed is set high enough.

I had a 1971 VW camper in the US, and when visiting Mount Hood in Oregon, could not manage to park the thing without it rolling down the mountain. There were no convenient sideways parking spots, so we borrowed some boulders and piled them in front of the van. It looked quite interesting.

mikeonb4c · Post by **mikeonb4c** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:30 pm

nfn wrote:I had a 1971 VW camper in the US, and when visiting Mount Hood in Oregon, could not manage to park the thing without it rolling down the mountain. There were no convenient sideways parking spots, so we borrowed some boulders and piled them in front of the van. It looked quite interesting.

I'll bet!

moonshine · Post by **moonshine** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:02 am

dandywarhol wrote:No bands in the Bongo 'box moonshine - just loads of clutches. But even if it had bands it wouldn't affect it in forward selection on a hill but an out of adjustment band would cause a slipping shift into 2nd.

Well, you learn something every day. Must admit I have never looked inside a Bongo autobox, I'm more familiar with the old Borg Warner 35 and 65 boxes.

Out of curiosity, what could cause this problem then? Mine seems to hold fine on every hill I've encountered in the past 2 years, but it seems that doesn't apply to everyone elses.

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:18 am

Maybe their brake calipers are sticking

Here's pics inside the auto box moonshine............

http://www.lushprojects.com/bongoparts/ ... ssion.html

http://www.lushprojects.com/bongoparts/ ... verse.html