Oh dear new radiator..

[catzi]

Fliiping heck - just got the front/rear droplinks, rollbar bushes and brackets done and asked the garage to investigate a slow coolant loss. Turns out to be the radiator. This is turning into a very expensive visit to the garage!!!

Still, it's cheaper than a new head.

And my Skoda Octavia needs a radiator too... Must be radiator season.

[mikexgough]

Mine went last year..... the plastic came away from the ally core by the clips.... oh well good time to change and flush the system, replace the 'stat and coolant ready for the summer meets...

[bigdaddycain]

Fliiping heck - just got the front/rear droplinks, rollbar bushes and brackets done and asked the garage to investigate a slow coolant loss. Turns out to be the radiator. This is turning into a very expensive visit to the garage!!!

Still, it's cheaper than a new head.

And my Skoda Octavia needs a radiator too... Must be radiator season.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with rads Catzi... Is your garage clued up on bleeding the bongo's system?

[Alacrity]

the plastic came away from the ally core by the clips

Snap. Mine did the same last month. Lost the key (cost £140 + vat ) then found the radiator gone.

[catzi]

Got new radiator, drop links etc fitted. Drove away with engine hot (from garage checking) and immediately noticed front heater was stone cold. Went straight back to garage and they got the mechanic on it - turns out he wasn't aware that there was a bleed tube under the passenger seat. Cue impromptu Bongo bleed session outside the garage.

Not very impressed since the Garage is on the recommended list and ticks 'all' the boxes. Clearly know nothing about Bongo's. Guy told me he bled it 'the same way he does other Jap MPV's'.

Anyway, once he understood what he was supposed to to, we seemed to get all the air out. Both heaters hot.

B***Y rubbish though.

BTW - New drop links etc are marvellous.

[mikeonb4c]

Got new radiator, drop links etc fitted. Drove away with engine hot (from garage checking) and immediately noticed front heater was stone cold. Went straight back to garage and they got the mechanic on it - turns out he wasn't aware that there was a bleed tube under the passenger seat. Cue impromptu Bongo bleed session outside the garage.

Not very impressed since the Garage is on the recommended list and ticks 'all' the boxes. Clearly know nothing about Bongo's. Guy told me he bled it 'the same way he does other Jap MPV's'.

Anyway, once he understood what he was supposed to to, we seemed to get all the air out. Both heaters hot.

B***Y rubbish though.

BTW - New drop links etc are marvellous.

Phew- thank goodnes you were on the ball - a narrow escape

[mister munkey]

turns out he wasn't aware that there was a bleed tube under the passenger seat. Cue impromptu Bongo bleed session outside the garage.

Not very impressed since the Garage is on the recommended list and ticks 'all' the boxes..

Serious heads up there Catzi.

Heaven knows what further damage could have been caused without your dilligence. If the same thing had happened on a hot summers day you wouldn't have known before the Big Bang.

Ian should investigate this one & seriously look into striking them off the list.

Theres no excuse for that "specialist" shabby service.

[Bob]

Agree with the guys, well done spotting this.

Proves how diligent you need to be with a Bongo.

[mikeonb4c]

Incidentally: having discovered the bleed tube, did they then bleed the Bongo as they should have i.e. running it until the bottom hose got warm/hot to ensure the thermostat was open and the whole system flowing. Also, check your header tank regularly for any level drop over the next few days and top up with 50/50 mix if need be.

[mikexgough]

I have been reading another thread on a large Petrolheads forum...... as there was a thread on how people feel that they are being ripped off by garages.....either not doing the jobs or not doing the job properly......
Many of these guys own TVR's and high performance cars.....a few own Delica's and Bongos.. ...... and a wide consensus of opinion is......... unless you need to plug in to a computer..... do any work and fettling yourself.....
At least you know the work is done properly..... say many of them......Do you trust a garage?..... say others......

A few of them only allow a garage to "play" with their cars when they have the annual MOT test.........although that could end up be a 2 yearly test.... ...... as they do everything themselves or have a qualified mechanic they trust to assist them with any work that is a bit more complex......

I used to have a business specialising in Citroens, mainly the older ones 2CV, DS, Light 15,HY, CX then onto the BX,XM,Visa and Xantia/Xsara...but had to give up due to poor health........but I would always....always.... talk through any work that was needed ......should it be needed......... I would also have the used/replaced parts bagged up so that I would show the customer what had been replaced and what had failed.... I also used to run "Workshops" so that owners knew their way around their cars and what to look for and what are the "weak" spots of that particular vehicle..... But then and I do still for odd people ..... change their alternator Brushes on their 2CV or change the spheres on a DS etc.
I have a colleague in the Trade, MOT station too, his garage is "in the sticks" but his workload is huge.....his reputation is such he works on plant like rotovators through to HGV's..... he has all the computers he needs and he does tyres/aircon etc too...... Not many of these garages about now........
I think that we need now NOT to be scared of our cars.....and get our hands dirty again.....the next time my C3 is serviced ......I'm doing it.....at my pals garage.....so I can reset the computer..... at least I know it will be done properly and I won't get the phone call that "this and that needs replacing" like last time.......when in fact nothing needed replacing

Sorry to ramble on folks...... just food for thought.....

[BongoMTBer]

I afraid I have to agree, I have a deep distrust of garages. It is a shame as I know there are good ones out there and it wrong to tar all with the same brush. Mine goes back to an MOT fail I had in two areas. I was told that a brake pipe was corroded and was about to fail and that the seat mounting was loose. When I got it the car, the seat mounting wasn't loose, the guy that had moved the seat forward and not 'clicked' the mechanism back in on both rails. What surprised me more was that all I had to do was put my foot on the brake pedal to sort it. How had he done the brake test? When I got it home to repair the 'brake pipe', it was actually the fuel return. It wasn't corroded, the plastic covering had come off it and was a bit mucky, looking a bit like a flake of rust.

Since then, I have gone back to garages only for a new cylinder head on my Bongo (as it was a warranty issue) which sorted very well. Prior to that, I took my Merc to a garage to plug into their computer. 4 hours labour later, it still had the same problem and they wanted to fit a new exhaust as it had become 'blocked'. I took it home, changed the lambda probe myself and fixed the fault. I only wish I had done it myself before taking it to them.

A more recent issue has had me being told that there was not problem with the power of my Bongo, and that it was OK. I took it to a diesel pump specialist who straight away identified the fault and said that it is quite common with our injector pumps.

I know there are good motor engineers out there, and I really wish I could find one I trust as, as I move on in my career, I have less and less time to work on the vehicle myself.

[Alacrity]

Quite why there is a garage recommended on the site though that doesn't know something as fundamental as the Bongo beeding issues needs looking into.

[Doone]

Quite why there is a garage recommended on the site though that doesn't know something as fundamental as the Bongo beeding issues needs looking into.

I expect it'll be looked in to.

It's lucky you spotted that Catzi.
We all know what can happen when a Bongo isn't bled properly.
I'm glad that the garage admitted their mistake and has put it right.

Keep an eye on the coolant level in the expansion tank for a few days.

If a garage does something wrong, it's a good idea to do what Catzi has did - point it out, and give them a chance to put it right.
As far as I know, Trading Standards would also advise you to do this.

Without doubt, there are good guys out there. But if a garage does let anyone down, it can be reported to Trading Standards. They can be contacted via your local council or found on the internet