Bongo Fury

flippa wrote:hope you get it sorted plum i went through the same overheating woes ......its running fine now after a new thermostat ....a new water pump and a new set of hoses ...whether the hoses had any leaks or not mine are at least 11 years old and were well well due a change.....i do not need a coolant loss alarm as the bongo has enough ....BLEEPS of its own ....my bongo had a leak on the under cover too which was traced to the water pump....get it sorted and start enjoying your bongo again .....good luck

I do hope it is the same sort of thing or less, I haven't heard back yet, fingers crossed !

Plum

Harry wrote:Please....wots a belly tank

The missus recons its a description of me

Yours curiously

H

The lovely man at AVA used the phrase, referring to the big black covering unit underneath, in the middle.

Plum

That sounds like the belly pan, I have never heard it referred to as a tank (it isn't one).

My Bongo is now fixed !
It had a very small leak coming from the waterpump that was anything but obvious. It was discovered whilst my fan belts and A/C belt were being changed.
So now I have new belts, new pump, new air filter, just need 4 new tyres ...................

It could well be I got the belly pan /tank name wrong. I am good like that !

Plum

Good news - now enjoy it Plum

great news plum!!!

Glad to hear its sorted... i bet that's a relief eh?

bigdaddycain wrote:Glad to hear its sorted... i bet that's a relief eh?

Indeed and now I have some confidence back in the beast and have stopped driving like a girl I am enjoying driving him again.

Plum

Anyone who notices a overheating problem with their bongo, I put a temp gauge on the radiator top hose, and if you turn on your front heater to 32 you do get a drop in temp, and if you turn on the rear heater matrix you get an even bigger drop in temp.. Useful to know if you are getting close to overheating...

dandywarhol wrote:Running with the heating on full won't make any difference on the Bongo system. There's something in the factsheet about that too but it's rubbish. The Bongo (and most modern vehicles) heating system is always circulating - it's just the air that blows over the matrix which is regulated for hot or cold.
Older cars had an actual heater control valve which would stop the coolant flow to the heater matrix - they had to have the heater on to purge any air in the system.

Also worth checking the pressure cap is ok - have it tested at a garage or fit a new one if in doubt.

I had a small coolant loss but could not find it
what I did was let the engine cool then connect
one of those small compressors one that you
can set the pressure on to the expansion tank
overflow pipe leave the top in place set pressure
to 10 psi and let it pressurise the system as its
cold the water wont evaporate and after a few min
you should be able to pin point any small leak.
I used one of the adaptors that come with such
devices for blowing up foot balls and things just
shove it in the end of the rubber overflow pipe,
you could use a hand or foot pump.

It worked for me but don't over pressurise the
system your mileage may vary and all that.

I had water loss probs earlier this year. Put some stuff in to seal it but last week overheated big time . took it to garage cracked cylinder head.total cost £900 please be careful with your bongo.i love mine but it`s a costly mistake when you don`t check things out

I have never had my bongo overheat. (so far pray pray) Temp guage stays deteminedly down at the "C" end but just occasionally I have noticed that the seats and bolts that are on the seat uprights (where the driver's legs (calves) are) get very hot - you can literally feel the heat coming into the cab area from below the drivers and passengers seats. I know a lot of the workings are under the seats having had to search about to find out where the oil goes, does this mean it is overheating and the temp guage does not work... need I be worried? my local garage is a Japanese Vehicle Specialist and I have to go in soon as my dside wing mirror is loose and blows about in the wind so was going to mention this to them, should I go sooner rather than later - advice appreciated. Also I have noticed that on very cold mornings I turn the ignition key and wait for the diesel glow light to go out, turn her over, she starts fine, then the glow light comes back on just for a few seconds, is this normal?

I don't think it is normal for the glow light to come back on once the engine has started. The glow plugs do come on again on a Bongo but unless you put another bulb in the relay circuit you would not be aware of this.
The temp guage on a Bongo is pretty useless and stays at the 11 o'clock position untill things start to get seriouserly hot. I would suggest if you want to improve this fit a "Mason" alarm., or a TM2 http://www.sig.itel.net
I would suggest the next time you go for a decent long run that as soon as you stop you feel your bottom hose. If it is just warm to the touch you are more than likley o.k. If it is hot and you cannot hold it tight co's of the heat than you may well have a problem.
You could also fit a coolant loss alarm for peace of mind.

Do a search for 'scavenger fan' BDDDV and investigate (or get the garage to) based on that. Also, I assume your engine compartment cover has got good condition rubber seals and the insulation on engine compartment side is in good nick. But even with all that I find the Bongo engine compartment makes the car nice and cosy in winter with its warming effect.