Pyrenees distress call

[helen&tony]

Hi
Head gasket.
The scavenger fan seldom comes on....the sensor is on the bodywork behind the handbrake....connections under the central consol....it works on engine bay temperature, and NOT on engine temperature.
You should be able to get that fixed no probs. ....hopefully a gasket and head skim. Also check the top of the block, as one member did recently
Good luck
Cheers
Helen

[Veg_Ian]

I agree, looks like exhaust gases are getting into the coolant. You may get away with just a head gasket but you won't know that until the head comes off. Safer to go for a skim and detailed inspection as well. Bummer! Hope it doesn't work out too expensive for you.

[Simon Jones]

It's worth getting the head pressure tested - its better to find out if it's cracked before you re-fit it. The company that does the skim should be able to arrange that for you. If possible, find out if they can test it at temperature (probably about 70C) as that will tend to open up any cracks that may not be apparent when cold.

I did all of the above & then had the same symptoms at the end (very similar to yours). Bellhill Garage gave me some excellent advice & it was following their guidance that I was able to get it right second time round. First tip is to 'deck the block' which involves using a piece of 8" square (flat) marble or granite with a piece of very very fine emery cloth to gently take off any surface undulations. You will need to remove the two locating dowels & the oil feed pipe (v. tricky) first & then using the abrasive to carefully move over the block from front to back. It took me over an hour to get an even finish on the surface, but you'll see when it's right. You'll then need to get every spec of dust & metal out of the cylinder. I found that a wet & dry vacuum cleaner & then cellulose thinners did the trick.

The other tip is to use a proper gasket sealant called Wellseal which is designed for use with cylinder heads. Put it on both surfaces & let it go tacky for 15 minutes before refitting together.

If you are getting all the work done by a garage, they should be able to do all this for you, but speaking from my experience, these are vital steps that should not be skimped on.

[ronhud]

As the bleed instructions are so important do we have anyone on the forum who could translate it into French and someone who could translate into German and perhaps Spanish. If these were included in the fact sheets drivers could take a copy with them.

Any offers?
Ron

[Simon Jones]

Bon idea monsieur, mais mons Francais est tres mal.

The Engrish translation in the manual is enough to confuse anyone.

[Ricardo]

Graduate teacher of French and Spanish at your service Sir, what can I do for you?

Ricardo

[ronhud]

Hi Ricardo Bleeding the cooling system of a Bongo is a procedure which many garages probably don't understand. There is a fact sheet on this and it seemed to me that it would be useful to have translations of this available for anyone going abroad to take with them and pass onto a garage if necessary. Could you do translations into French and Spanish?

I will pm Ian who I think looks after the fact sheets and see whether he would then place your translations alongside the English version.

Ron

[mikeonb4c]

Graduate teacher of French and Spanish at your service Sir, what can I do for you?

Ricardo

What an excellent collection of peeps (is that Spanish?) we have on here. Well done Ricardo

PS - you must be feeling pleased to be Spanish just now, what with the football championship and then Rafa's superb win on Sunday - best tennis match I've watched since I don't know when