nightmare please help

[gregandgoh]

Hi fellow bongo owners

We are bongo lovers and have had ours for four years. We were on our badly needed holiday this year with my sister and our three babies and the bongo overheated on the motorway. It all happened so fast, the guage was at the top then the van cut out and we went to the hard shoulder with smoke/steam coming out. We had to get out of the bongo and huddle with the babies on the side of the dark M5 to wait for the recovery. It was so scary. We got the bongo recovered the next day to Protech Bristol. The van does not turn over anymore and makes a whirring noise when the key is turned. The mechanic, a friendly man from Protech, has said the engine has not siezed but is unsure of the extent of the damage. He says that the smell makes him think that it needs a whole new engine, incase the pistons have bored into the engine, there is also no compression. He says he is going to run the tests on the head gasket and make an assessment. I was wondering if anyone has heard of this, is a new engine too extreme??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

many thanks

Jeannine

[mikeonb4c]

Very sorry to hear your bad news.

Are Protech experienced with Bongos? You ought to get a Bongo specialist to look it over ASAP. From the stories of others, you would be unlucky if the whole engine is wrecked, but I guess it's not impossible. Do you know if it was a coolant leak that caused it?

Not sure where you live (it helps to put it in your profile) but Discount Trucks at Newbury, Berks are Bongo experts and excellent to deal with. There are also some known good garages in or near to Bristol. Have a Search on here (or join @ £12 or so subscription - I regard it as essential and a moral obligation if driving a Bongo - and there may be one on the recommended garages list downloadable from the Members Area).

Good luck and keep us posted.

Mike

[gregandgoh]

hi and thanks for your reply makes me feel less lonely in this nightmare. Protech are in Bristol and i found them from a forum member mentioning them. I could not find the list of garages any where in ther members area ( i am a member). I am actually from old trafford manchester. I think it seems quite severe to suggest the whole engine needs replacing. The head goes for its tests on Tuesday. I am in a bit of a quandry as not sure whether to take it/me back to manchester and how it would be transported as i would have to hire a flatbed.

many thanks

jeannine

[mikeonb4c]

Don't suppose there's any way that AA/RAC recovery cover could 'recover vehicle to home'? Wheelquick in Wigan are great of course, for fixing Bongos.

Did your Bongo suffer loss of coolant? Are Protech saying it needs a new engine? Have they explained exactly why? Have they quoted a price for doing it? I remember Discount Trucks in Newbury offering engine and fitting for £1k on ebay 18 months ago. Bearing in mind a proper head replacement job might cost £600k, it is an option worthy of consideration. I know none of this is much consolation, but stuff like this happens with cars. If it was any old car, you'd scrap it. But a Bongo seems worth more effort than that if you can manage it .

Keep chatting!

Mike

[gregandgoh]

hi again

I have considered getting it recovered up to the north west but these guys do seem to know bongos. They import them and are specialists. They have said a new engine will be 1k and with fitting and VAT it is going to be around £2k (with 4 months warranty). They are stripping it on TUesday at the moment the guy is just going on the smell and a few prelimary tests. He seems concerned that it may have got so hot that other damage could have been done and if i get the head done then we may find later the pistons have scorched or something like that. He does seem really nice and they have told me i am in good hands. They said the head relacement will be about £600. If i do need a new engine maybe it woudl be cheaper with your guys in wigan. I wonder how i could get the van there though, i have already used my sisters recovery to get it to the garage its in. My recovery had run out.

thanks so much for your replies

jeannine )

[waycar8]

Hello and welcome, i am with Mike on this, i very much doubt and overheating issue would cause the engine to seize (unless you have been driving it without any oil) which is doubtfull.

worst case is that the head is cracked, andare easy obtainable, as the engine is the same as a ford ranger, As you a member maybe you could download the pdf file on overheating and present it to the garage that is fixing it, it will help them.

there is a bleeding technique to the bongo engine which if not done probably will cause you to overheat again if theres an air lock left in.

if the head is cracked, then be carefull with the replacment heads on ebay as they are cheap coppies and paople have bought these and had nothing but trouble with them, someone who has had a new head and will point you in the right direction as where to get one.


2k for a second hand engine is way too much, theres a guy on ebay who £900 and take your old one away,
Good luck.
Wayne

[Distilled Waters Run Deep]

As you'll know, a lot depends on why it's happened & whatever else needs replacing- no point sorting the motor alone if the coolant system is knackered, as mine was -rad, hoses comes to about £400+ & both heater matrices, hard to come by, will cost a lot more.
If you end up going for a second hand motor do you know what state it's in? -I decided that as I don't want to risk paying fitter's fees twice, & went for a recon with 6 month mastercare.
-Big bucks, and small consolation to know that you're not alone, sorry.

If you haven't got a bike or feel like watching telly, it's time to go to the jokes page...

[mikeonb4c]

As you'll know, a lot depends on why it's happened & whatever else needs replacing- no point sorting the motor alone if the coolant system is knackered, as mine was -rad, hoses comes to about £400+ & both heater matrices, hard to come by, will cost a lot more.
If you end up going for a second hand motor do you know what state it's in? -I decided that as I don't want to risk paying fitter's fees twice, & went for a recon with 6 month mastercare.
-Big bucks, and small consolation to know that you're not alone, sorry.

If you haven't got a bike or feel like watching telly, it's time to go to the jokes page...

This guys been there so a great contact to have. If I had to make a guess, Protech would rather put in a 'new' engine as they are not confident that fitting a head will on its own guarantee that all is right. And they could be correct on that. A 'recon' engine sounds a good idea, if it is a properly reconned and guranteed one. But (as Wayne says) £2k for engine and fitting sounds a bit excessive compared to quotes I've heard from others. Why not ask Gerry at Discount Trucks what he would charge, or Mike at Wheelquick. Check out ebay for recon/replacement Bongo engines on offer just to get an idea of prices for them.

Also, you really want to know what caused the overheat, as that will need fixing (old pipes, water pump etc. etc.). And of course, if it was coolant leak, fit a low coolant warning alarm. You don't want this happening again.

Very sorry about your misfortune though - cars can bite, and Bongos bite hard at times.

[gregandgoh]

thanks so much for your support. 2K is hard to swallow its encouraging to know that it could be done cheaper, but you are right it will be hard to know that the second hand engine will even be any better. What caused the overheating is that the water pipe burst completely and water just runs straight out. I guess when we were doing 70 on the motorway it must have come out fast and there been no water in the engine. The man at Protech has said that the engine has not siezed which i thought sounded promising but he did say that the smell makes him think that more damage may have been done. I guess he is concerned that if he replaces the head and the engine is warped i could need a new engine anyway. I am wondering if it is worth the risk. Does anyone know how much or how i would go about getting the bongo up to manchester if i decided to replace the engine up there? I can not believe that a burst water pipe or gasket blowing has lead to this........ugh!

thanks again for your support, i feel like talking to you guys that i am at least doing something proactive and not just sitting around sweating!

jeannine

[mikeonb4c]

Might be worth startign a new thread (or renaming this one) to read "Help: urgently need to trailer a Bongo to Manchester".

One thought occurs. There are companies that trailer Bongos from the docks to the dealers (or owners). I seem to recall getting a quote of around £200 Newcastle to Manchester when I was thinking of importing. Try the thread suggestion above and get researching yourself in the meantime on Google.

Also, get quotes from Discount Trucks and from Wheelquick (who might even arrange collection as part of the quote as they import Bongos and must sometimes trailer them).

Then you can start to make financial decisions.

Keep in touch and good luck.

Mike

[Yamaha]

That's very bad luck - but Protech are a very experienced company - they have a branch in Weston - s - Mare that does SVA's on imports.

Bell Hill Garage, nr Bath, also break Bongo's - so they may be worth contacting if the replacement engine option is chosen - 01373 834252 - bellhillgarage@ btconnect.com

Mike

[Bob]

Very sorry to hear your bad luck. By way of reassurance I live within a mile of Protech, and they look after my Bongo. The service manager had a Bongo of his own until very recently, and they are importers of Bongos, so definitely no worries with them doing the work.

If I can help in any way PM me.

[WISHIHADABONGO]

Second hand engines on Ebay for £850 with Warranty and fitting from £300 just dont get ripped off by so called experts....

[waycar8]

What caused the overheating is that the water pipe burst completely and water just runs straight out. I guess when we were doing 70 on the motorway it must have come out fast and there been no water in the engine.

Do you have a coolant alarm fitted?
This would have warned you in time. for the sake of £66.00 these alarms are a must and have saved many many engines.
I hope if you have not got one now, you get one sorted when your Bongo has been repaired.

Good luck and I hope you can save money somewhere.

or you could geta mason alarm for a
less than half of that price at £27, and is easy to fit,just 3 wires thats all no drilling into the header tank involved, anyone could fit it

And is much better imo, as it tells you the temperature of the engine as you drive and has an alarm that will tell you if its getting hot, not just if you have lost coolant which sometimes theres coolant in the header tank still even after an overheating issue due to back pressure.

[missfixit70]

A coolant alarm will tell you the coolant has dropped before any overheating occurs, a Mason alarm in conjunction with the coolant alarm is the way to go IMO