Hello from new owner and Cooling system question

[WestyK]

Hi All

This my first post on the forum though I have been a member of Bongo Fury for about a month following the purchase of a great 1995 2WD Diesel AFT with rear conversion from a nice bloke in Wigan (no idea if he was a member).

Its generally in great condition with hardly any rust and has never been welded and from my work on it so far doesn’t seem like it will need any for a while either, which was the main thing for me as I don’t mind doing mechanical stuff but welding I cant do!

I have already been using the great info on this forum quite a bit as get some of the mechanical jobs sorted out so thought it time to introduce myself.

I have already replaced the front and rear Brake discs and pads, Rear drop links, replaced the glow plugs. Replaced the rusty Battery tray and fitted a better Leisure battery tray and tidied the wiring. Also some cosmetic stuff inside like replacing a couple of broken switches (window and blind) and some general tidying.
Next on the list is to fit a Towbar and to find out why the tailgate central locking doesn’t work and I am sure I will find some other stuff along the way. Lol.

As you can see I like to think I am fairly handy with the spanners and so far have actually loved working on the Bongo.

Ok so I do have a question (that’s why I am posting in Techie Stuff) that so far I haven’t been able to work out and it’s a little worrying as it’s to do with the cooling system.
On the left hand side of the cylinder head is a water outlet that has 3 outlets on it of different sizes. A small one seems to go to the turbo and the largest one does forward (to the water pump maybe haven’t properly traced it) and then I have the third one that just had about 18” of pipe on it going nowhere just bent back on its self with a hose clamp to seal it off (I have now made a better job of blanking it of).
But my question is, what is this for. Is it a non standard outlet or should it go somewhere?

I should add the cooling system seems to be working fine. Stays rock steady just under half on the gauge once warm (takes about 10 mins driving) and both heaters work well.

Any ideas? Just need to put my mind at rest lol.
Any other tips for a new Bongo owner that likes to tinker?

Cheers
Ian

[g8dhe]

Welcome on board!
If you haven't found these links already time to do a lot of perusing;
http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... =3&t=35902
http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... =3&t=39193
http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... =3&t=36433
http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... =3&t=48872

The 3 way splitter and the short pipe is used for bleeding the system, hence its sealed and tied out the way other than when you have refilled the cooling system and need to bleed the air out. On youtube you will find a series of 3 video's showing one method of bleeding the air out (you don't need 3 people)!
Part 1 here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRAKOSxgbKo

[WestyK]

Good Morning

Thanks for the reply.
Well that's a bit embarrassing! I had seen links to that video but not yet looked at them. Explains it in the first few mins

Very glad its meant to be there though, Think in a previous life its been botched a bit so will look to do something properly with now i know what its for.
I had read that the cooling system was a pain to bleed but as i wasn't planning on doing anything with it just yet hadn't really taken it in.

Think i do need to take the plunge at some point as its seems a bit week on the anti-freeze.

Many thanks again, I am sure I will have some more stupid questions. lol

Cheers
Ian

[rita]

Good Morning

Thanks for the reply.
Well that's a bit embarrassing! I had seen links to that video but not yet looked at them. Explains it in the first few mins

Very glad its meant to be there though, Think in a previous life its been botched a bit so will look to do something properly with now i know what its for.
I had read that the cooling system was a pain to bleed but as i wasn't planning on doing anything with it just yet hadn't really taken it in.

Think i do need to take the plunge at some point as its seems a bit week on the anti-freeze.

Many thanks again, I am sure I will have some more stupid questions. lol

Don't worry about it I am sure you will also get a lot of stupid answers.

Cheers
Ian

[Merlot man]

Hello ian and welcome to the forum !
I'm I'm the middle of gathering up the bits for a full coolant service , I started a tread on it and I think I got some really top class advice from members on here , it might be worth s read
http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... =3&t=73222
Ian at the bongo shop is a great source for all the bits you will need
Happy bongoing
Brian

[WestyK]

Thanks Guys

I don't mind stupid answered to stupid questions.

Merlot man. Thanks for that. I will take a look at as it's something I should probably tackle.
The Radiator looks good so has probably already been replaced at some point and the hoses I have looked at seem ok but you can never be too careful I guess.
The Bongo originally came from Wheel Quick back in 2008 which was when it was imported, They seem to have a good reputation and certainly some one has treated the underside well back when it was imported. Sadly I don't have very many receipts of any of the work that's been done which would have been nice but I do wonder if it had a cooling system service with hoses back then.

Out to look at the central looking on the tailgate now its stopped raining.

Cheers
Ian