Panic...water leak!!!

[CavemanClarke]

I came out to my beloved bongo to sadly see a massive puddle coming from under the drivers side and the 'low coolant dreaded alarm' was sounding The pipe had perished and was leaking badly. I have no idea what pipe it is and cant find anything concrete to satisfy I know what it is to buy another part. Here is the position of it:



Can anyone help me identify the pipe so I can purchase another one.



Also, is there any process I need to adhere to when ive fixed it and put the new coolant in?

Many thanks in advance
CavemanClarke

[Steptoe]

That'll be your rear heater matrix pipe. I believe some people bypass this altogether, but will obviously lose rear heating.

Someone will be along shortly to give you exactly what you need.

You'll need to bleed the system thoroughly afterwards, as with any work on the bongo cooling system.

[CavemanClarke]

Many thanks! I dont need heating in the back really so I dont mind bypassing it although no idea how to properly do that lol!

[Snoozie]

Can't help with your question ... someone will be able to, but I couldn't view your pics so I got rid of the extra img's in brackets to copy into here but it seems that they are too big to view anyway. In preview it says your images may only be up to 768 pixels high

I see that steptoe has just posted, but i don't know if he could view your pics or not.

[CavemanClarke]

Sorry about that, I have re-done the images and they are now viewable if you refresh the post. Apologies

[francophile1947]

Bleeding correctly is vital - see http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/member ... oolant.pdf for various methods.

[CavemanClarke]

If I either want to mend the pipe or bypass it, what would everyone recommend? Also, if it needs doing by a garage, are there any bongo campervan friendly garages recommended around Cambridgeshire?

[Bob]

Thanks for having the sense to ask before you drive it.

Don't drive it until it's fixed, even if a garage says, "it'll be OK to top it up and drive it here".

Don't drive it.

[mikeonb4c]

Mine went the other week and I made a partial repair and a scary trip to Adrian in Bury, witha dripping pipe and lots of spare water on board for top ups. The low coolant alarm meant I could risk this as it let me know when top up time had arrived! I opted for a new pipe as (luckily) Adrian had one in stock from a cancelled order. From memory the pipe was £75+VAT, though Adrian often puts a plastic t-piece in where the corrosion failure usually occurs, and that is a lot cheaper on parts and labour and probably just as effective. But I preferred the idea of a new complete pipe to be safe!

Don't drive it without bleeding though if the level has dropped below the header tank (I managed - just - to stop that happening as I was there when the leak started).

Hope this helps, and good luck! Ah the joys of an old campervan ha ha!

[Ian]

We usually have these in stock. We call them "rear heater supply pipes" and the member's price is £80 including VAT & freight.

[Bob]

There's a certain Japanese cunning in the way you name things, Bongomeister.

[Simon Jones]

You can fit a U-shaped pipe to bypass the rear heater (as I've done below) but a new pipe from BF shop will be your best bet. May be worth confirming it is the pipe that's leaking as it could be the plastic feed to the rear heater matrix that's split. Have you perhaps driven over something that could have flipped up and done some damage?

[mikeonb4c]

You can fit a U-shaped pipe to bypass the rear heater (as I've done below) but a new pipe from BF shop will be your best bet. May be worth confirming it is the pipe that's leaking as it could be the plastic feed to the rear heater matrix that's split. Have you perhaps driven over something that could have flipped up and done some damage?

Which reminds me, Adrian advises never use jubilee clips on connections to the heater rad as they are plastic and liable to crack if you over-tighten. For the rest, i'd advise owners to inspect and replace the pipe with one from the Bongo shop if there's any doubt about its condition. I was lucky mine didn't go when travelling. The lca would have saved the engine but the recovery would have been tedious.

[Simon Jones]

Yep good point, the spring constant pressure clips are better for plastic spigots. In my photo, on the metal pipes I've used two genuine Jubilee clips just for double protection and that method has never let me down.

[CavemanClarke]

Thanks everyone. I haven't driven over anything I don't think. The pipe is badly perished but it could also be where it's connected. I need a closer look which involves me borrowing my old mans jack and tools! All the coolant has come out so I will need to do the whole laborious process

Also, £80 for a short bit of rubber pipe seems outrageous! Am I missing something here or are parts for these a fortune? Can't I just get something generically that size and stick it on? I was expecting a bit of pipe to be inexpensive.