New head and gasket

[Mr Bean]

Hi All

This is my first post, but hopefully not my last. I am in the process of buying my first Bongo and a bit worried about the fact that the one I'm interested in had a new head and head gasket fitted after the vehicle overheated recently. It has about 80k miles on a 2.5 tdi. I understand that all the hoses, new radiator, thermostat and water pump were replaced. I've been told that the Bongo engine is very robust, so should I worry about further problems with the block etc particularly as all the work was done by a 'recognised Bongo specialist'? (No names at this stage, so no pack drill!). I'm especially worried about reliability as we intend to take the vehicle on extended trips around the continent.

Many thanks

[PS I hope this isn't a post thats been covered before - I looked through the FAQs and did a word search but couldn't find anything that really helped]

[missfixit70]

I would make sure thay any work has a warrantee covering it & that warrantee is transferable to you as the new owner, there's a chance you could be buying someone's unsolved problems. Do you know how long ago it was done & what mileage it's done since? Be very wary, if you're not sure, walk away or get it for a price that allows some "error"
Welcome to the forum

[mikeonb4c]

I would make sure thay any work has a warrantee covering it & that warrantee is transferable to you as the new owner, there's a chance you could be buying someone's unsolved problems. Do you know how long ago it was done & what mileage it's done since? Be very wary, if you're not sure, walk away or get it for a price that allows some "error"
Welcome to the forum

I 2nd all that!

[redalan1971]

as someone that owns a bongo that suffered a cracked head i can say that i personaly replaced my head and have suffered no problems since approx two years now. mine to has had anew radiator,water pump and cam belt all fitted at the same time. i therfore am quite happy now and know what has been done.
diesel heads do crack due to the much higher pressures they have to endure that is not a dig at the bongo, vw/audi and citroen/ pug engines suffer this to but this only usually occurs after high mileage or down to poor servicing.
i have found my bongo to be very reliable overall and really quite simple to work on.
do however make sure that there is no temperature related problems by giving it a good test drive of spirited driving and long idling. my temp guage is rock steady whatever its doing now,but very quickly went off the scale before the head was replaced.

[missfixit70]

as someone that owns a bongo that suffered a cracked head i can say that i personaly replaced my head and have suffered no problems since approx two years now. mine to has had anew radiator,water pump and cam belt all fitted at the same time. i therfore am quite happy now and know what has been done.
diesel heads do crack due to the much higher pressures they have to endure that is not a dig at the bongo, vw/audi and citroen/ pug engines suffer this to but this only usually occurs after high mileage or down to poor servicing.
i have found my bongo to be very reliable overall and really quite simple to work on.
do however make sure that there is no temperature related problems by giving it a good test drive of spirited driving and long idling. my temp guage is rock steady whatever its doing now,but very quickly went off the scale before the head was replaced.

Unfortunately, relying on the temperature guage is a bit pointless IMO as it's been dumbed down to such a degree that it won't move until it's already overheating, or certainly well on the way. Hence the Mason alarm & Coolant alarm & all it's various additions have come into being.

[mikeonb4c]

Mr Beans (potential) problem is that - as Kirsty implies - he doesn't know the history, and will have to hope the job has been done properly and that it lasts. Only miles under the belt will tell, and I fear one reason peeps sell their Bongo is because they lose trust (not necessarily justified, but understandable) after the £ trauma of a head replacement.

[Mr Bean]

Many thanks one and all for the replies and advice - will certainly be careful to ensure I get a proper warranty on the work that was done. Wish me luck!

[aitch]

Welcome to the forum Mr. Bean

I would be a little wary of this vehicle = you need to insure that the work carried out was a.) well done b) is it gaurnteed for you as the new owner. C.) did they (the garage ) know what they were doing (some do know Bongo's well some don't have a clue)

is it a good price??

if not walk away and get a better model with no overheating problems - you pay your money and take your choice!!!!

hope it all works out well for you - good luck

[Miles69]

Welcome to the world of Bongos. My advice would be to check who did the work. I had the head done on my bongo by a "specialist" only to have the gasket blow six months later and then suffer other problems four months later. Needless to say I'll never go back to them again. As I dont wish to name and shame on a public forum pm me if you want to the name of the 'specialist' to avoid. AVI are very good so if the works been done by them or their engine man dont worry - can't praise their engine man enough.

[TINCA TINCA]

Hi
We have had the same problem very recently. Bought our Bongo a year ago and THREE DAYS after buying it whilst on holiday in Devon the head cracked! It was almost certainly a known fault and we should have had our eyes open. On hindsight you are in a position we were in and you should think very carefully. It cost us (besides the humiliation of having to get a flatbed back to our home in Kent) over £1200 on top of the £4700 we paid for the Bongo. Expensive learning curve. Not the end of the story though. Had new head fitted then. NOW A YEAR DOWN THE LINE and after having to top up the coolant levels...told was possibly another cracked head. Have had the inconvenience of being without our beloved Bongo for nearly 3 weeks whilst the head has been sent back to the company who supplied it...NOT THE HEAD BUT THE GASKET HAS GONE. What a trial as now who is liable for a head gasket being at fault. Fortunately (apart from being without our vehicle) it is going to be resolved without cost to us....the worrying thing is will the next gasket be of the same quality and let us down another year on. Our advice is tread VERY CAREFULLY and as I think Kirsty said...any doubts walk away there are other Bongos out there with full history etc.
The head was under warranty for a year and this happened TWO DAYS BEFORE IT RAN OUT. Phew.
Better luck than we had to you.
JIMBO

[missfixit70]

There have been lots of problems with inferior gaskets being used, in theory if you use a genuine Mazda gasket you shouldn't have the same problem.

[TINCA TINCA]

Hi Kirsty
If we have been supplied with gaskets from the Head Centre (this will be the second set) how are we going to get them to supply genuine Mazda head gasket set?
Have you come across this problem before and is it best for us to source and pay for the said genuine Mazda gasket set. I would appreciate your advice on this please. It is going to be "worked" on maybe tomorrow or Monday/Tuesday. Should we tell the garage to hang fire and get genuine sets. This would mean peace of mind I expect as we are always going to wonder if it will happen again.
Thanks in anticipation.
JIMBO

[missfixit70]

I haven't had personal experience, dandywarhol is your man on this one, but personally I would insist on the genuine article if you've already had problems.

[dandywarhol]

I've never had to replace a head or gasket - so by no means an expert on the topic BUT Ex Bongo owner Bumbly1 had a new head fitted with a spurious gasket and it immediately pressurised the cooling system with bubbles in the tank. He bought a genuine Mazda gasket and replaced the duff one - job done and as far as I know the Bongo is still motoring happily around the West coast.

Having seen a duff "new" cylinder head from China, I can see why an aftermarket gasket could be useless

Might be worth seeing if a genuine Ford Ranger 2.5 TD gasket is cheaper than Mazda - same gasket!

[Ian]

We have been supplying the following after-market Ford Ranger head gasket for the last 4 years with NO reported instances of failure on Bongos.

Ultra Parts UCA513

It's about £100 retail, compared to about £250 for the Mazda Bongo original.