Bongo Fury

After my head was changed, I nearly had an over-temp but I caught it. It appears that it was just an air lock, but if I had not been vigilant it could have needed another head just 6 hours after the new one had been fitted. Years of running large aircraft engines and monitoring their many information systems has led to me having a knack to spot when gauges don't 'look right' out of the corner of my eye.

In my case, a Mason alarm would have alerted me and as such I have now fitted one.

hi Cheekie charlie
had all the same problems unfortunately for me it was found that my block had cracked. symptoms were temp guage would shoot from cold to hot in a very short time & water would bubble in the expantion tank and when cap taken off cold water would gush out at you (not hot). so i gave up and bought a replacement engine, after a new head thermostat radiator and waterpump .
hope you are sorted soon.

dandywarhol wrote:Cheeky - It's imperative that a genuine Mazda head gasket is used even though it's a costly one - otherwise the problems seem to reccur.

It would be interesting if anyone out there has used a spurious gasket successfully.....................

I bought one from the club, im hoping it will be ok. I didnt look at it properly i left it in the packaging and gave it to mechanic. I would have thought that the club ones were gen mazda part not sure.

Hiya Bongonaughts,
To answer previous questions:
Yes the mechanic did look carefully at the bleeding method.. he has also worked on several Bongos before and bled them successfully.

The Gaskett set & bolts were sourced from the club, recon head via Ava leisure. Both reputable Bongo sources.

Greeting Bongo (slave) fans.
Another update: The recon cylinder head was taken back off and tested.. it was found to be o.k (hurray!)
Back on it went (another gaskett and bolt set) then suddenly and miraculously all appears to be well again.. So after 12weeks off road (bar 3 days in the middle) I've the van back. Have to say that having never really got to the root of the problem, Its going to take some time to gain confidence in reliability.
Whilst every morning I'm checking the expansion tank coolant level, the next step has to be one of the early warning coolant loss systems now being mentioned... so my next question is.. which one is best to buy?

I feel that the Mason alarm is the one you should go for first. When I had my near miss with an overheat, the expansion tank was over the full mark (due to an airlock), but the temp gauge had just started to climb. A mason alarm would have gone off but Haydn alarm would not have.

So, if you are prepared to physically check your coolant level on a regular basis, then a level warning is not so important.

What I do like about Haydn's system though is that it will warn you of a potential problem before an overheat takes place. It warns you of a cause rather than a symptom. Unfortunatley by doing this it cannot cover every eventuality.

Of course, if you want to go belt and braces then buy both. They are both great pieces of kit which are easy to fit.

Oh and a word of advice; although your coolant system is bled now, for the next couple of weeks, whilst the engine is still hot (but not totally redders) carefully remove the expansion tank lid a few more times and give the big fat rubber pipe under the bonnet a good squeeze. I did this and was still getting some small bubbles rising up to the expansion tank for a little while.

I am just starting to get my confidence back with the van now, but I will always check the coolant level regularly now.

Good luck.

Ok, am always ready to listen to advice. The mason alarm.. I guess the question is how much and where might I obtain one.. I've scanned (quickly) the "how to fit thread" but couldn't see any obvious source unless "Dave Mason" ?

Hi,
I fitted one yesterday, its a great piece of kit and gives you piece of mind knowing that you will get a signal if your engine is about to overheat. Nice and easy to fit, well worth the outlay of £27.00. Not sure if this is going to work as a link (dont know how to do that!) but heres the site address for you : http://www.townace.com/ie/ietemga2.htm
Regards,
Mike.

Thanks for that, the url worked and have placed order.

Of course, if you want to go belt and braces then buy both. They are both great pieces of kit which are easy to fit.[/quote]

There is also the TM2 Engine Watchdog http://www.sig.itel.net/ from Aus which measures the actual cyclinder head temperature. I have this plus haydns coolant level alarm. I am considering the Mason Alarm but think that I may be becoming a bit obsessive

Mike

well... I was wondering if there's an early warning sensor to measure driver temperature caused by over wining of the rear brat group?

Cheekie Charlie wrote:well... I was wondering if there's an early warning sensor to measure driver temperature caused by over wining of the rear brat group?

........in English please.......

Cheekie Charlie wrote:well... I was wondering if there's an early warning sensor to measure driver temperature caused by over wining of the rear brat group?

I think I know what your on about.
If so then I have the same infliction, when war breaks out in the back.

Ah - thanks for the translation Brora - I was having difficulty with that one