A little help bringing my new Bongo up to scratch

[Lloydy]

Hi all,

you may notice that i have posed a few questions recently in this section.... This is due to the fact that i have just become the proud owner of my first Bongo "ELMO".

I currently need some advice on the following subjects:

1) Knocking from around the engine on start up and shut down
2) Really squeaky / screaming belts... Has had a recent alternator fitted from new
3) A couple of coolant leaks
4) A couple of oil-like leaks
5) A really small diesel leak

This is one of the collant leaks:



And the other:



Oil leak 1:



Oil leak 2:



Oil leak 3 and small diesel drip:



And this is ELMO as bought (well with a bit of TLC already given). Watch this space for the renovation!:





Thanks in anticipation of your advice / observations!

Lloydy

[haydn callow]

Hi...it would take ages to go through that lot. I live in Somerton and if you feel like a run out you are welcome to bring Elmo down and I will give you my best advice. Looks like you need some new hoses urgently. Oil leak 3 is normal on a bongo and is in fact just crud from the EGR system. The rust round the rear arches....can only be properly sorted by fitting good replacements...just had mine done.
Carn't make out the other oil leaks.
The screech could well be a broken No1 exaust manifold stud. The only one you can see passenger side above and slightly rearwards of the alternator....easy job to get fixed and very common.
Let me know if you want to come down.

[Lloydy]

PM sent Hanydn.

Thanks,

Lloydy.

[platty345]

The screeching sounds like the stud manafold, Just had mine done @wheelquick its not an easy job if stud as broken it took mike 6 hours to drill it out then fit the new part,
It really does need doing as it gets louder by the day,
Try and get a decent mechanic to do it as you need to strip a lot of the engine.

good luck.

[haydn callow]

Mine was sheared off inside the manifold flush with the Cylinder Head (as bad as it gets) If you are talking about The No 1 stud. I just swung the Alternator down and did the whole job without any further stripping down of parts. I put a piece of 4mm internal dia tube in the manifold hole to centre the tungsten drill and drilled 4mm as a starter and then 8mm. Placed a helicoil in and a piece of stud. Put a nut on and as I tightened up I could see the manifold "pull in" and close the gap.
Job done in 90 mins/2 hours. ( I was working it out as I went along)
If it was any other stud then ..Yes.. it would take longer.


Just spoke to a owner who's friend has just done a BIMTA check on his Bongo...66k on the ckock now and 206k on the clock 6 months ago in Japan. So much for the honesty over there...Thats 4 to my certain knowledge including mine. That one is the worst case. and he has just spent £1200 on a new cyl head.

[Lloydy]

Im hopeful that mine is just new belts!

Haydn has very kindly offered to have a look around Elmo with me so hope to have a better idea soon.

Its weird... Despite being quite hands on i have never had any interest in mechanics. Since having my Bongo (less than a month) i have gathered lots of tools and it spends more time up on ramps and stands than it does on its wheels! The funny thing is i enjoy it??!

It really is true.... FUNNY THINGS BONGOS!

Lloydy

[mikeonb4c]

Its weird... Despite being quite hands on i have never had any interest in mechanics. Since having my Bongo (less than a month) i have gathered lots of tools and it spends more time up on ramps and stands than it does on its wheels! The funny thing is i enjoy it??!

It really is true.... FUNNY THINGS BONGOS!

Lloydy

Ditto for me - where I can, I love working on the Bongo myself. Gives me a real sense of achievement if I pull it off.

Very handy having Haydn nearby to give it the once over

[MattK]

The knocking on startup / switch off may be a very easy one to fix:
There are 2 shiny (chrome / stainless material??) pipes running under the bongo from the front to the engine bay area. These have rubber bushes to stop them clanking when the engine starts / stops. Your bushes may be perished or missing, or the bracket holding them may just need to be tightened.

Very easy job, but you need to take off the tray under the engine.

[Lloydy]

Thanks for that one!

I will check it later... Hope it is a simple one. Seems like once you have scratched the surface on a new Bongo its hard to stop!!!

I will let you know how it goes..

Lloydy

[mister munkey]

5) A really small diesel leak

This one's a bit odd.

The Bongo tank is officially 65 litres. However the feed pipe to the pump from the tank sits an inch or two off the bottom so the last gallon or so sits in there when you've "run out".

My guage reads empty when in fact there is still 15 litres in there. I tend to zero the trip meter around then & risk another 50 miles before a fill up.

Ran it 'till it stopped, just the once & it took 61 litres to fill up.

You may find your tank is bigger than you think . . . .