Bongo Fury

lizard wrote:Yes, strange that you mention the bike Mr Great Pretender, must pump up the tires, and sort out the rusty gear cable , the wobbly wheel and the brakes.

I have also had a new water pump last week and have to take Mr leaky back to the garage as there is a leak from the top rad hose (metal tube)end. Must get the drop links sorted, pads, and rear exhaust box done.

Have installed a Haydn alarm but cannot see the level in the expansion tank as it is a dark cloudy colour. I am a bit paranoid as I check it each time I drive it and stop some times just to make sure. Must get a mason alarm now

How corroded do the rear disks have to be before they fail MOT or are dangerous.


Found rust on the N/S wheel arch now, bugger.

This is just a part of the rich tappestry of happy motoring.

Yep life is a bitch. And Mot depends on............well you cant bribe a politician can you

Hi Guys

Latest theory is that the Alternator shaft broke, throwing the pulley on to the belly-pan.

Lack of tension in the belt stopped the water pump operating. I then had a 2.5 litre turbo-kettle!

I was trying to work out what the 'clunk' had been, and why the sediment light had come on (the charging light didn't come on which is weird) when I noticed the temp gauge going ballistic and stopped ASAP.

The coolant alarm never had a chance to work (though it beeps like a b####r now it's empty...) before it had dumped the water out the overflow.

They were going to do a pressure test first, then a new alternator (ouch...) then run it up to see if it survived.

It's such a fab vehicle to drive I'm really torn between getting it sorted and pushing it off a cliff - not for the insurance, just for revenge

Thanks for all the replies - I posted here in frustration really but a lot of you have been through this.

Truth is, I'm doing 20K (+) miles a year in the Bongo and need something else to do the hard miles.

I'll keep you informed.

Jon

Tricky one John. Hope you get your mind settled one way or the other. Its a sobering reminder too that the coolant alarm does not cover all eventualities. Must get a temp. alarm fitted before too long

djunjon... thanks for that explanition of your mishap...lets hope the damage is confined to the alternator and nothing worse.
The coolant loss alarm is just that "a coolant loss alarm" No coolant was lost during the event, the coolant just stopped circulating and of course overheating would have happened very quickly indeed. If anything the coolant in the header tank would have gone up in the first instance.
A Mason alarm may well have given you enough time to stop.
A bit of a one off event really. There will always be some event you cannot "Alarm" against.
Let us know how you get on and best of luck.

Haydn I agree with you I remember when our bongo was overheating, the header tank was constantly overflowing, I reckon a more accurate temp sensor is a good option to work alongside the coolant loss alarm. Plus a regular visual check of the coolant system and regular maintenance

The problem with the Bongo temp sensor in the cylinder head is, that it has to be immersed in coolant to work. When a head or head gasket blows the coolant can be forced away from the sensor and back to the header tank. This makes the temp gauge useless.(and anything dependant on it)
The only way to know whats going on in this case is a cylinder head temp sensor such as the TM2 Watchdog. Only from Oz and around £90+ by the time you get it delivered.
I fitted one of these when I was developing the Coolant Loss Alarm so I would understand a little better what was going on when I simulated burst hoses.
What I did learn was that you can never be 100% sure how the cooling system would react to various induced faults.
I'm afraid it's a case of "you pays yer money and takes yer chance" You can never be sure you have covered all the bases.

Posted twice for some reason...deleted

This is a TM2 Temp gauge and Alarm. You can also wire it so it Alarms when the oil warning light comes on.

Hi Folks

Well, it's been back a week with just a new Alternator and belt - everything that will cross IS crossed... So far so good.

These things are generally high maintenance so, having spent 10 days trundling round in my 245000 mile land rover, I've bitten the bullet and bought another vehicle for everyday use with the intention that the Bongo does drum carrying, people carrying and holidays - probably only 5-10K miles a year.

I still rate the coolant alarm as I've had a leaky hose cause me some grief in the past - as mentioned above, there's not much that could prevent or warn of this sort of mechanical breakdown.

Cheers all.

Jon