Bongo 2.5td and Ford RAnger engine difference/CAm belts..

chiefster1976 · Post by **chiefster1976** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:52 pm

Hi..Recently decided to go for a cam belt change /runners/tensioners etc even with 34000miles on the clock..
Rang MAZDA.....£500 to do the job....As you can imagine i nearly fell over with laughter....NO CHANCE

I was told the FORD RANGER engine is similar so i rang them...And got quoted £120 fitted....
Wanted a main dealer really to fit the belt instead of back street garage...

The ford garage bloke said the ranger didnt come out until 98....
My bongo is a 95 4x4 2.5 td SGL 5....I need to clarify that the engine IS infact EXACTLY the same as the Ranger???
Thanks...

dreamwarrioruk · Post by **dreamwarrioruk** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:22 pm

the heads the same but not sure on the rest of it.

white van man · Post by **white van man** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 10:19 pm

i dont think they are identical because the cambelt would be the same for a mazda B2500 pick up which is the same as a ranger and the belt isnt cross referenced to the bongo as far as im aware!!!

chiefster1976 · Post by **chiefster1976** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:16 pm

Does anyone have any ideas on this one?

Post by **Ian** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:27 pm

The Ranger has the same engine (a WL-T) but because the Bongo engine is situated mid-vehicle, certain modifications have been made, including the positioning of the cam belt. You are best to use a Bongo friendly garage.

Peg leg Pete · Post by **Peg leg Pete** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:29 pm

Why not buy belt, tensioner etc, and download cambelt instructions from site, and get a good mechanic local to yourself to do the work

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:39 am

I fail to see why people get hung up on dealers, thinking that their staff are the best placed to carry out repairs. You pay through the nose for what? ISO 9000 and other process management overheads. Just because they know how to fill in forms doesn't necessarily make them a good mechanic. A good independent garage near me went out of business a few years back. When I asked him why he said it was because he couldn't get good mechanics. He had hired and fired 3 within a year and finally gave up. Dealership trained mechanics these days only know how to swap out components and plug in diagnostics leads and only on a limited range of cars. They don't get into stripping down an alternator or gearbox they just swap the whole unit out. This is what you pay for, full replacement units when maybe a new O ring would have fixed the job.

In my opinion, if you can find a good independent garage (if not able/prepared to do the work yourself) you are more likely to get a better and cheaper job because the people doing the work have a wider experience of different vehicles and where needs must have had to use non OEM parts or parts from other manufacturers and fully stripped units down to replace only the faulty component.

As for imports. How many times have you heard "grey import? Sorry mate don't know anything about them!" I read into that - you don't have a manual that gives you step by step instructions on what to do and are unable to apply a bit of lateral thinking to do the job. Or maybe there isn't a tick box on your sheet for a Bongo or any other vehicle that isn't UK spec. meaning your QMS can't handle it?

No, I could never see me taking a car to a dealer for repair/service work.

Sorry about the rant but I think that's been building up for years........

grumpo · Post by **grumpo** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:08 am

I couldn't agree more, whatever happened to the good old days when
mechanics had to serve a recognised apprenticeship ?.

Keep ranting Ian, at least it gives me some satisfaction.

chiefster1976 · Post by **chiefster1976** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:15 pm

DOH!!

And i thought going to a MAIN dealer would be the very best option...I mean A MAzda dealer or A FORD dealer(as they use same engine as the ranger)
Or ARe we talking about these SO called BOngo frienly garages advertised on various sites???
Its a mixed bag...But once i get the right info on whether my 95 TDI bongo SGL5 is the same as the ranger than i think i will go for the FORD garage (not a so called friendly bongo garage) Anything breaks then the credibility of the garage would come under some serious slagging!!

antique · Post by **antique** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:02 am

hi you will find the bigger the garage the worst they get i have a ford main agent round the corner needed a fan belt for a 97 mustang sorry cant help you we do not sell mustangs ? take the advice of the people on this forum find a garage or mechanic that understands bongos they are very simple to service you can buy the compleat kit on this site and just pay the labour what is there to service? fuel filter oil filter antifreez check .trans oil check the pads change cam belt if needed? is this worth £500

moonshine · Post by **moonshine** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 11:09 am

To me a main dealer has always been a last resort. I always used to do all my own repairs and servicing, but now I'm not as fit as I was I tend to go for small garages where the owner is often also the main mechanic. Their livelyhood depends on giving good service and I find they are often the best bet for versatility.

Main dealers often employ anyone they can get for as little as they can pay them, and we all know what you get if you pay peanuts. Monkeys!

Why pay through the nose for your vehicle to be serviced by someone whose only interest is their pay packet at the end of the week.

There, I felt like a rant too!

tigger · Post by **tigger** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:15 pm

chiefster - like you, I'd only want a good, honest and competent mechanic to service my Bongo. Particularly for a job like changing the cam-belt. But unlike you, I have no love of main dealers. OK, they generally stick to certain standards of professionalism and integrity (usually, but by NO means always), but you're paying through the nose for this!

I appreciate only too well that the world of 'back street garages' is largely populated by idiots and rip-off merchants - and understand your reluctance to use one. Even the 'Bongo friendly garage' list is based largely on members' opinions and reports - it's by no means definitive. BUT - find a good one and you'll save £100s AND have a much better job done. As just one example, Allans down in Plymouth (no good to you oop north I know!) is an independent Bongo specialist with loads of experience. He's Jap trained, and spent many years in main dealer franchises - including working as a foreman. If he was still there, it would be his job to make sure that the inexperienced monkeys working on your vehicle didn't cock it up too badly. But as he's now an independent, you get him working on your Bongo personally, charging a fraction of the main dealer rate and knowing that his reputation counts for everything. This is the sort of independent mechanic you need to find....

Final thought. Main dealer workshop 'job rates' are generally based on a (very generous) time and motion study done by the manufacturer. This takes into account the WHOLE of the job - stripping down, removing stuff for access etc. It could explain the disparity between what Mazda quoted and what Ford quoted for the job. You may find that, because it's NOT a Ranger, Ford actually charge you a lot more because the job took them longer than it would have done on a Ranger due to access etc. Just a thought...

tigger

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:34 pm

I appreciate only too well that the world of 'back street garages' is largely populated by idiots and rip-off merchants - and understand your reluctance to use one. Even the 'Bongo friendly garage' list is based largely on members' opinions and reports - it's by no means definitive

Oh no now you've got me on my soapbox .....

Well Chief I've been a car owner for over 30 years and in my experience the motor industry, like the IT and building industry, is full of bandits and con artists out to take your money. Flashy websites and advertising campaigns count for little. The very best commendation has to be word of mouth and that's why the Bongo friendly garage list has to be a better gauge of reliability than any glossy advert. Why? because it's been compiled from feedback by people like you and me who are looking for a decent honest job. Do you really think that your Ford garage will give a damn if you slag them off for a bad job? I very much doubt it. They probably rely on service warranties from new vehicles for their income. But where does the independent garage get its customers from? Mainly word of mouth, so yes they do need to take care and do a decent job otherwise their customer base will soon dry up.

However if the placebo of a stamp on a piece of paper with a main dealer's logo on it does it for you then go ahead and spend your money. I do hope all goes well for you though, I would love you to prove me wrong.

tigger · Post by **tigger** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:11 pm

errrm, Ian, are you agreeing or disagreeing with me? Or are you quoting me but disagreeing with chiefster?? Or is it neither??? Whichever, I think we're broadly in agreement re. main dealers!!

My only comment about the Bongo friendly garage list on this site is that one man's (or woman's) good service could be another man's indifferent service. A technophobe could be blown away by a garage that 'manages' to change the oil with no problems, while another person might be underwhelmed to find that the same garage fails to bleed the coolant properly. I used one (I won't say which) on the basis of a rave review on this site and found them absolutely adequate but a tad expensive and perhaps just not quite ticking the boxes that I look for in an independent garage.

But - I totally agree with the principle that lots of word of mouth recommendations is the best way of finding a good garage, plumber, accountant or whatever!

tigger

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:36 pm

Tigger I was agreeing with you but on re-reading my post I can see the confusion. I quoted you because you seemed to summarise quite nicely what Chief was saying. Yes you are quite right what you say about word of mouth. The recommended Bongo list is subjective and might carry more credibility if it showed the number of positives against the garages quoted and markings perhaps. However, it's a good start.

Personally I would prefer never to use a garage of any description because finding a good one is such a chore. But there are times when needs must or it's a task that needs specialist equipment for example.