V6 radiator blown - replacement tasks?

[ade33]

Update, and it's not all good.

Bled it tonight, successfully it would seem. Ran the engine for 45-50 minutes. Bottom hose nice and hot, front and rear heaters hot, temperature gauge stable, idle smooth. I think we got the burp as the thermostat opened, and it ran ok throughout. I topped up the gearbox fluid half a litre but couldn't really get a reliable reading on the dipstick.

Ok so far I thought, time for a cruise round town to see what happens.

I drove it a mile or so on local roads, turning in to our road I noticed 'something' in the headlights of the car behind. Pulled onto the drive - there's definitely something - is it smoke or steam?

Turns out there's oil on the exhaust where it passes under the sump. Not buckets, but enough. The sump joint and the front of the bellhousing have oil residue on. There's oil on the outside of the breather hose and the intake plumbing at the point where the breather hose attaches to it.

Any advice please would be very useful, thank you. Looks like it'll have to be recovered into the garage on Thursday. Gutted.

[g8dhe]

On the V6 the cam seals can leak at the front, and as the engine is slightly inclined it runs down the length of the engine (also over the alternator) and drips on the exhaust, this might be your problem. I got over replacing the seals for quite a long time by using Forte Oil seal conditioner http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... R&_sacat=0 I put it off for close on two years when the cam belt needed changing as well.

[ade33]

Hi Geoff, thanks for your reply. By the looks of it there is oil coming out of the joint twixt sump and engine, directly onto the exhaust. I guess it may be travelling backwards from the cam or crank seals, but there would have to be a fair bit coming out.

The fact that there is also oil on the top end of the crankcase breather is aldo a worry. The crankcase breather could be blocked, but I'm at the limit of my engine knowledge really - these things are just too complicated for me to start second-guessing it.

It's going into the garage as soon as I can organise it to be recovered over there. It might be something simple, but when was any Bongo problem caused by something simple?

[teenmal]

It would probably be worthwhile having a Very Close Inspection of the oil cooler connections and hoses , I have seen this happen before and the leak was a Very fine spray under pressure.

[ade33]

Thanks teenmal, I didn't know there was an engine oil cooler! It's over to the garage with it now though, I'm at the end of my tether. Potential engine problems were the one thing putting me off buying a Bongo, and here we are.

[teenmal]

Thanks teenmal, I didn't know there was an engine oil cooler! It's over to the garage with it now though, I'm at the end of my tether. Potential engine problems were the one thing putting me off buying a Bongo, and here we are.

In this case I was referring to the auto box fluid cooler.

[ade33]

Ok, I'm with you now. Thanks for the correction.

[ade33]

Update, of sorts.

Van is still in the garage; they're trying to figure out why there is a large amount of oil on the engine under-tray panel. The longer it stays there, the more I think this may turn out very expensive indeed.

[ade33]

Don't look now, I have a van. And it runs!

The garage recommended by Geoff (thanks again Geoff, I owe you a drink) have been great; they're busy boys so it's taken a little while but I collected the van last week - it seems not to be overheating and the oil is staying where it's needed most; inside the engine, and not covering the outside.

When I spoke to Alan at A&J Motors, Worthing, he said there was a large amount of oil on the undertray when they took it off. The carpet type material was completely soaked in oily dirt, so it looks as though it had been leaking for a good while. Unfortunately a number of the fasteners retaining the undertray sheared when they removed it, so at present it isn't on the van. I'll add that to the job list...

They found oil was coming out of the cam covers and running down the engine where it was exiting onto the exhaust and causing the 'cloud'. A thorough clean-up and they nipped up the cam cover bolts, some of which were pretty loose apparently.

They had a butchers round the rest of the engine, checked I'd bled the cooling system properly and Alan drove it back and forth to his home for a few days, which I thought was a great idea. They did an engine service while it was there, which I had planned to do anyway.

So I've got it back, and we may have got away with the head gasket(s). I'm still crossing my fingers, as she did get really jolly very warm.

I have a new rattly noise now, so it's going back in next week for some more surgery .

[g8dhe]

Glad to hear that they have done a good job! The always give me confidence that they know what there doing.

[g8dhe]

Oh and yes do remember if it is leaking oil from the seals, it will have also covered the alternator and will then set and block ventilation to the alternator causing it to overheat some time down line and then pop the diodes eventually! Caused me months of confusion, because when the alternator was cold/cool it would generate quite happily, but found that I was never getting a full charge to the LB, as the alternator warmed up the diodes started leaking and thus not charging the batteries rather just heating the alternator itself until it eventually popped the diodes.

[ade33]

Rattly noise turned out to be a loose exhaust system component. Undertray refitted. I have just dispatched my Mrs in the van (yes, on her own!) to take it home.

I'll be putting the LCA on over the weekend then... We don't need to go through the empty-cooling-system trauma again.

Have we got away with the hg's - only time will tell I guess.

edit: and they made it home! Ok, it's only 25 miles but it's 25 miles without it going wrong. No, I don't trust it - it's got to earn my trust.

[ade33]

Haydn LCA fitted yesterday. Picked up the power from fuse 8, top right fuse, it was a 10A iirc and I fused off the fused side of the fuseholder (lol - too many fuses!); and a local ground from a bracket under the dash. I was a bit twitchy drilling a flippin' HOLE in the header tank, but there seems to be no post-op leakage. LED fitted by the pilots right knee, where it will (hopefully never have to) get her attention. Horn is nice and loud, grateful for that.



I took the opportunity to paint in the coolant level marks on the header tank with a sharpie, it has made them much easier to see with the mahoosive LB back in.



edit: took out the Jap toll road card reader at the same time, along with the bundles of wiring and windscreen antenna - I can stop whacking my knee on it now

[8bitboy]

Hi , can angle direct me to the right place to post my own query? This thread seems the most likely for me. I have a Mazda bongo friendee 2.5 diesel manual . I was driving about 5 mins from cold. Suddenly the temp gauge shot up above 1/2 and the to 3/4 . I stopped the van straight away waited 30mins and the slowly took the van home whereby it didn't shoot up. Upon opening the bonnet I found water by the radiator cap? Frothing and resisting on the radiator I presume. I've not driven it since, I can post some pictures. Can anyone help? I'd love to get my beloved bongo back on the road and I'd like to find one local to Kent to fix it.

Regards.

Rob.

[Bob]

Hi Rob, and welcome to the Forum.

Sorry to hear of your problems.

You need to get it recovered to a Bongo Friendly garage and find out why the coolant has leaked out, then hope and pray that you haven't stuffed the head.

The cooling system on these motors requires a bit of TLC and whatver you do don't drive it until its been fixed.

Someone near you should be able to recommend a garage.

Edit: If you don't get a lot of response on here feel free to start a new thread in the Technical section, we're a friendly bunch and you won't get grief for posting in the 'Wrong' place.