bongo despair :-(

[char]

Hello all,
I've just found this forum online and hoping perhaps someone may be able to help me.
I bought a bongo 4 weeks ago second hand (1997 diesel model; it's done 93,000 miles). First car I've ever owned so it was a very exciting milestone Was intending on doing a summer of camping trips. Had been absolutely LOVING it. It drove amazingly. Then..... on Sunday I noticed the heating wasn't working anymore. On Tuesday evening it broke down. Engine gurgling. Temperature gauge shot right up suddenly, alarm went off inside the car, loads of smoke. Couldn't believe it. Was hoping it wasn't too serious. Managed to drive it to garage on Wednesday (after topping up lots of water). They said the gasket has gone. I nearly cried ! It's going to cost an absolute fortune to fix.
Bought the van for £4500 - did I get totally ripped off? i wonder if the person who sold it to me knew of this issue?
I have no idea what to do. Spent all my last cash on the van, so I'm going to have to borrow money to get the issue sorted, and wondering whether it is worth it (considering I'm totally not mechanically minded), and unsure whether more things will go wrong ?
I've spoke to several mechanics. Garage are wanting to charge me £800 to replace gasket. I've spoken to other garages and they say it's best to also replace cylinder, radiator etc at same time. Trying to gain as much info as possible before making a decision re what to do. I don;t know who to listen to / who to trust. Just feeling very disheartened after losing lovely bongo (it's amazing how attached you can get to a van after just 4 weeks). It drives so amazingly also still, so it's just confusing me that something so serious could have happened. Also wondering if there's anything I could have done to prevent this (or that the previous owner could have done?) And basically... what on earth shall I do now?
Perhaps someone has some ideas/ advice. I'd really love to hear if so.
Thank you so much

[char]

Is this the right place to post this, or should it go somewhere else?
thanks

[Dr Fingers]

Was it from a dealer? If so, I think the new trading rules give you a 6 month fix or full refund ?


Derek

[Bob]

Hi, and a warm welcome to the Forum.

Really sorry to hear of your bad luck.

First off roughly where are you? We can likely recommend a Bongo Friendly garage. The one thing garages (and owners) need to understand with a Bongo is the cooling system and far too many will carry out work without this knowledge.

The head may or may not need replacing, only inspection once its removed will reveal this, and it is vital to find out why it overheated otherwise it will fail again.

Randomly replacing the radiator may or may not fix it, you need to be certain.

We can't possibly know if the seller was aware of an existing problem but, as said, if it was a dealer you should have a warranty, not so with a private sale, sadly.

Hope that helps and no doubt one or two of our very good techie people will be along soon.

[char]

Hello thanks for replying.
No I bought it from a private seller Did I get ripped off?
I'm in sussex (near to East Grinstead).
I've called a few garages around and also spoke to a nice guy called Simon who is miles away (in midlands) but who deals with mostly just bongos. He's said it'll cost £1350 to replace everything (he comes and picks up from wherever you are).
The local garage near me are quoting 800 just to do gasket (and then obviously if cylinder faulty it's loads more... he said from around 1500-2000 depending on what they find if more is wrong).
The guy simon who i liked said they just replace everything as this is more reliable. I can post his email and what he is suggesting doing if this is helpful?
It's all so much money. If I spend this amount of money will the bongo be good or is it possible a new major issue could arise. I'll be borrowing the cash to get this work done.

[char]

this is what the mechanic simon would be doing:

MAZDA BONGO/FORD FREDA 2.5 TURBO DIESEL CYLINDER HEAD KIT
Parts and services we cover when replacing cylinder head

1 brand new cylinder head casting assembled by ourselves,refaced valves,new seals,camshaft & followers checked and assembled,all clearances set,new exhaust studs fitted,new thermo sender fitted.
2 full victor reinz headset ,brand new headbolts.
3 New radiator(pre assembled with fans checked)
4 brand new water pump ,new thermostat
5 major hoses (top/bottom rad,top/bottom engine,over starter hose,)
6 8litres of concentrate antifreeze (50/50 mix)
7 brand new ngk glowplugs
8 new cambelt
9 all labour,cleaning materials,sealants,clips,refacing.

BASIC PROCEDURE
On removal of cylinder head we do full inspection of engine block,inspecting cylinder bores,block face,water jackets,core plugs,etc.
Cooling system fully checked hoses,water pipes,sealing gaskets,etc.
ASSEMBLE
Block face refaced,all tapings cleaned,all galleries cleaned, etc.
All parts assembled using manufacturies tolerances(torque settings).
Cooling system replemished and bleeding done.

The procedure above is only a basic description of the work we actually do.
You are welcome to watch us do work and we will explain what we have done as we work
CYLINDER HEAD WARRANTIED FOR 12MONTHS/12K MILES.
Collected and supply and fit for £1350.00

[mikeonb4c]

Sorry to hear of this really sad news. I went tbrough this pain a year ago, albeit after 9 years of ownership. Its almost always the case that a new head needs fitting (8 out of 10 were my Bongo mechanics words). Did the Bongo overheat due to loss of coolant and/or did it have a low coolant alarm fitted?

That quote sounds good for what looks a thorough job. I think Simon is a well known quality mechanic but maybe others can confirm. For ehat its wort mine needed a new radiator a few years back - its not uncommon on agring Bongos. Similarly thermostat and waterpump often need doing, as does cambelt. So at least for one lanour charge uou get several other lanour costing jobs done. But an 18 year old Bongo is always going to need a maintenance and repair budget. Rust/welding is an obvious area. How thoroughly did uou inspect the Bongo before purchasing?

We'll help with advice as much as we can, and they are a great camper/MPV once sorted, cheaper to buy and run generally than a similarly aged VW, and a better drive most say.

[char]

Hi Mike,
Well it did have a coolant alarm, but the alarm only went off when the incident occurred (i.e. temperature off the scale and engine sounding like it was combusting!) That's not a working coolant alarm surely?! But yes there was minimal liquid. I filled it up (with LOTS) of water the following day to drive it to the garage and it was absolutely fine... temperature gauge level stayed low.
Did I do something wrong?
I just can't believe it. It really is the worse luck ever. So sad.

[mikeonb4c]

Hi Mike,
Well it did have a coolant alarm, but the alarm only went off when the incident occurred (i.e. temperature off the scale and engine sounding like it was combusting!) That's not a working coolant alarm surely?! But yes there was minimal liquid. I filled it up (with LOTS) of water the following day to drive it to the garage and it was absolutely fine... temperature gauge level stayed low.
Did I do something wrong?
I just can't believe it. It really is the worse luck ever. So sad.

Hmmm, if the temp gauge was on hot before the alarm went off it doesn't sound like coolant loss was the problem - at a guess it pressurised due to head problem and that blew coolant out thus setting off the alarm. But its only a guess. Had it been at all lumpy to start and or steamy from the exhaust in the days running up to the incident?

[char]

No not at all (well not that I'd noticed anyway, but I'm a novice so could have easily overlooked something subtle).
No idea if the coolant alarm was actually working though? I never tested it when I bought it...

[Bob]

If its one of the quality coolant alarms they 'Self Test' every time you start the engine, just a Peep for a second or two when you turn the key to heat the glow plugs.

There are some cheap ones out there which don't.

Unfortunately once coolant has been lost topping up won't do on a Bongo, the reason for the loss must be addressed and the system bled. Driving after the loss may be the cause of the head/gasket issue.

[Ian]

Simon Rowbotham from Contract Mechanics is a well respected Bongo expert who will get your Bongo back on the road. He's been a mobile mechanic for many years.

As to whether you got ripped off or not, it depends whether the previous owner knew about the overheating problem or not. I suspect you will never know. Assuming it's an 8 seater Bongo (no kitchen units) then you probably paid slightly over the odds at £4,500. But assuming the body work is OK, once you have the cylinder head replaced you will have a quality vehicle that will last you for many years.

[char]

Hi Ian.
It has the back seats taken out and camper in back, as well as roof that goes up (there's a lot of mouldy mildew stuff in the roof though).

Shall I go with Simon then? And get everything done?

I just spoke to a mechanic friend who is telling me that the cylinder might not be broken so why get everything done if not necessarily needed? But Simon only does everything....

yes the bodywork of the car seems fine to me overall... some scratches...

[wonkanoby]

ive had hoses let go and rad spring a leak etc

must be 10 times over the years

ive just fixed the leak and bleed it each time

it leaked some were,pipe hose pump rad you nered to trace it

[Bob]

I'm with Ian. There's so much labour involved that the bit extra to have all new is worth it.

Once appart you may well pay to send the head off for testing, and wait some days while its done, only to find it needs replacing anyway.

Cambelt is a service item anyway, also coolant change and other parts so if you offset the cost of things you would need doing anyway it won't seem so bad.

As the Boss says, you will have a good value camper which will last for years.