about to buy bongo that has new cylinder head

[moloko5]

anything to watch out for? dealer says that new head is a *good thing* but also suggests to me that something has clearly gone quite wrong with the engine in the past to necessitate such a major replacement

anything in particular I should look out for?

mileage on it seems low (76K) for the vehicle's age and overall it seems to be in relatively good nick - i ran through the excellent checklists on the site and couldn't see anything to worry about except a touch of surface rust around the radiator chassis. it did seem pretty minor considering the age of the vehicle (everyone warns about rust but surely some level must be inevitable in any old vehicle - question is, how much?)

Any help gratefully received

[g8dhe]

The head blowing is a symptom of overheating, the question is did they fix the cause of the overheat ? Is the radiator blocked ? Was the thermostat faulty ? Was there an air block stopping the coolant getting around ? You need to ask them what was the cause, and how did they fix the cause if there at all unclear then back away ....

[moloko5]

thanks Geoff, v helpful

[novocaine]

we bought ours with a new head fitted.
the head is still fine but we had issues with the coolant hose being weak due to the overpressure on the system when the head went. dealer replaced all hose FOC and not had an issue since. (2 hose went in a week of ownership, both times we caught it before overheating).
just be aware of this and do as Geoff says and you should be good to go, do have a really close look over it though as typically if a hose hasn't blown to cause the overheat it will be down to poor maintenance, so check other stuff is done too (nothing the dealer shouldn't sort as part of a pre sale to be honest)

[mikeonb4c]

And check that rust. You're right that it may have to be expected but welding my sills and putting in a new radiator cross member cost me around £500.

[moloko5]

And check that rust. You're right that it may have to be expected but welding my sills and putting in a new radiator cross member cost me around £500.

many thanks for the helpful responses. I have checked the rust and though there is a bit it's just surface pitting really. is that anything to be concerned about? can anything be done to prevent it from getting worse?

[mikeonb4c]

And check that rust. You're right that it may have to be expected but welding my sills and putting in a new radiator cross member cost me around £500.

many thanks for the helpful responses. I have checked the rust and though there is a bit it's just surface pitting really. is that anything to be concerned about? can anything be done to prevent it from getting worse?

places to check, with a sharp screwdriver if allowed, are areas where sills meet cross members, area around rear heater, cross member behind rear bumper, and cross member underneath radiator. Things rust from inside to outside, so appearances can be deceptive.