Low coolant and high temperature

[catzi]

Hi Folks,

We were about to start a journey up North in the Bongo and did a 5 minute run to fill up with fuel. As we were driving away, having just gone up and over a short hill, I glanced at the Temperature gauge and it had moved from its normal 11o'clock position to about 2pm (about half way between the center and all the way to the right).

Turned back for home immediately (taking it very slow) - the temperature gauge then dropped back to the normal position. Checked the collant level and it is a little above minimum - considering it was serviced a few months ago and was definitely full then, it looks like it has been losing coolant.

Since I'm a mechanical numpty a few questions:
1. Can I just top up the coolant into the header tank since it is still at a reasonable level - I'll need to drive it to a garage.
2. Anything obvious I should be looking for? I had a quick check for leaks under the Bongo but I couldn't see anything.
3. My brother suggested that perhaps the thermosat was sticking and it had opened when the temperature went down. Does that sound reasonable?

Any help gratefully appreciated...

Iain

[missfixit70]

Could be a sticky stat, but it'd be worth getting the seats up & having a thorough look around to find the leak (check around all hoses, pipes & connections for swelling & pinhole leaks or staining from a leak, check around the rad for leaks or staining), if you can & giving it a bleed if you're not sure where the coolants gone. Personally I wouldnt try driving it not knowing what's happening, get it recovered to the garage if you can't do anything about it yourself, not worth the risk.

[waycar8]

Does it have a mason alarm fitted?

you can top the header tank up to the full mark, you shouldnt need to bleed it if it hadnt dropped lower than the minimum, but if the temperature went above the 11 o clock mark and you havent got a mason alarm fitted then it sounds like you have a problem, either you have a leak or the garage hasnt bled the system properly

Check all the hoses as one might have a pinprick in it, also check the water pump as the seal might be leaking.

[sparkymik]

Sounds like it was'nt bled as per and it has air in the system if the header is not empty top it up if it is ( no coolant) then I suspect air has entered and try bleeding it download the instructions here

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/member ... oolant.pdf

make sure the lower pipe into the rad gets hot (stat is working), there's no coolant under the Bongo (leaking) check both heaters get hot air output when set to hot hope this helps

Sparky

[catzi]

Thanks guys. Not sure about the air in the system/not bled properly thing. Since it's service it has probably gone at least 600 miles without problem.

Will be on the case tomorrow and have a good look over for leaks etc then contact the dealer and see what he suggests.

[catzi]

Good News

Finally got round to getting this sorted out. Called out the AA and it turned out that the large coolant hose that goes from the drivers side of the engine to the Radiator had a pinhole leak. The AA guy effected a temporary repair and got the coolant topped up - took it out for a drive and the temperature is steady once more. Looks like we caught it just in time.

Ordered a new hose from Campers Scotland and it's getting fitted on Wednesday. Hooray for the AA

Bongo panic over.

[missfixit70]

Glad you found the leak Did the AA guy bleed it as per the factsheets, or just put coolant in? Have you checked both front & rear heaters work? Please be very careful, especially if you are relying on an unmodified temperature gauge & don't have any other alarms fitted. The temperature gauge is dumbed down, so if it actually moves off about 11oclock, it's getting really hot .

[catzi]

Thanks MissFixit, haven't checked the rear heater but the front one certainly works. The AA guy seemed farily knowledgeable regarding making sure there was no air in the system.

I've had the Bongo out for a couple of short runs - 20 minutes or so and there is no sign of the overheating we had previously.

Will check the rear heater today.

Also, getting a new hose fitted on Wednesday so the system will be getting a full bleed then.

[catzi]

New hose fitted and temperatures all fine. Whew!

Now that I've had a coolant problem I can chalk it up to experience and hopefully not have one again.

Next job is to get the front (and probably rear as well) drop links changed. The front is definitely clonky and figure I may as well get the rear ones done at the same time.