Another '96 4x4 Diesel - rolling rustoration :-/

[Donnie]

So, finally got a bongo a couple of weeks ago almost exactly the one i wanted, only compromise is that previous owner did a homemade rear conversion sacrificing the rear gullwing seats which I Ideally want, however I will leave it as is for now

However, I thought I would look at a few things such as why the front fogs arent working and why the rear one is intermittent. Even decided to get the drivers door internal card off as was going to see if I could see why the door mirror that sides not folding in and it looks like someones already had a go at the loom here. I even put a new loom in the shopping basket (after taking ians time up emailing re the discount code) BUT.........

Do I buy the bongo owner manual or the service manual???

I've put ALL the niggle list to one side as I realise Im procrastinating and need to look at the running of the Bongo and ensuring nothing needs doing as Im planning a trip to the Outer Hebrides in January!!

To that end I am now looking to focus on coolant - planning to buy a self bleed kit this weekend to get that fitted and then flush the old coolant out and put in new coolant. Also, I have an ebay coolant alarm that came with the Bongo so will also look at fitting that. It already has a Hayden Temperature monitor fitted.

I want to check things like the atf and oil levels etc and have taken some photos which are below that Im a little worried about and wonder if some of this is normal ie the oil on the block?

So Im not going for the wiring harness yet, niggly things I can live with, I cant live with the van breaking down.

Photos of issues I have are below but initially Im worried about the oil photos, the fact there seems to be a missing belt and I don't know what its supposed to do or if it needs to be there and then theres a spare multiplug on the passenger side which seems odd but could be just for an optional extra not fitted to mine?

driverside by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

missingbelt by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

multiplug by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

oil01 by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

oil02 by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

oil03 by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

oil04 by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

passengerside by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

[g8dhe]

You might want to think carefully about "selfbleed kits" whilst they may well work on the 2l petrol where Mazda themselves designed it in, you may want to ask yourself why did they NOT use the method on the diesel and V6, the facilities and port on the de-gassing tank are all there, but sealed off.

When the coolant flow is not optimum in an older engine it is much easier for air to get trapped inside the engine itself - see Steve's brilliant efforts viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35902 and several other similar long discussions and investigations.
At which point there is a need to provide extra forcing to get the air to move, the "selfbleed kits" don't provide this! You either need to provide the forcing externally or tilt the engine or other similar process's just hoping the air will come out and take the short-cut via the self-bleed route isn't always going to work!

There are several unused electrical connectors, they are for Optional items, front fogs, ABS, test equipment connectors and similar.

[Donnie]

Hmmm thanks for the heads up Geoff, I was under the impression the self bleed kits were good for all models

[g8dhe]

The selfbleed kit can be added to all models, all it does is replicate the 2l petrol pipe from the top of the engine to the de-gassing tank pipe 15-383 below
http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsm ... 1of02.html

However the 2l petrol is a differently shaped engine and quite a bit smaller with less internal cooling galleries than the V6 or diesel for air to get trapped in, remember its not actually the air directly that does the harm, its when the section of engine around the air which gets hot is then cooled rapidly by the air moving on, this hot metal is then hit by cold coolant and Crack! If you look on the de-gassing tank you all ready have the port at the top is sealed they open it on the 2l for the pipe.

[Donnie]

Cheers Plonkatronix I will certainly be doing so, just been fitting the ebay coolant sensor today (2 screw type) and already cocked up by drilling the bottom screw in the wrong place!

Going to have to seal that up - thinking rubber tap washer, metal washer on top and then selftapper screw, thinking of putting a bit of sealant first though cant decide which type

[Donnie]

So, what with life / studies etc Ive not really done anything except decide to have a go at sorting the mythical banjo filter. I've successfully found it leak2 by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

However while exploring I also found a slight leak from the hose labelled as for reference and a close up below.

leak1 by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

You cant see but there is also a drip of coolant on the rubber hose too, initially i noted the green fluid on the engine block, just a small amount and traced it upward to the hose

Now, Im waiting on a self bleed kit to arrive so I'm not going to do anything until that arrives this weekend and then will start into it. I'll possibly get it up on my wheel ramps and inspect all the hoses underneath too today.

Has anyone got any tips when it comes to inspecting hoses / taking them off and cleaning the joints and resealing etc?

[Donnie]

Yes, Im in the middle of sorting the starter battery / tray / securing bars etc but am hoping it will be a simple, remove, cleanup and reseat.