Bongo running hot! Help please.

[francophile1947]

I've never tried K Seal, but I've used Radweld and Bars Leaks with no problems - not for many years though. They certainly didn't block anything apart from the leak they were supposed to. If memory serves me correctly, they shouldn't set unless exposed to the open air.

I guess its one of these tricky areas. Were the pipes on the ones you tried it on in better nick (no furring) or maybe of bigger bore (older technology) than this particular Bongo. Who knows. But clearly the stuff can't be causing bad side effects on a regular basis or it'd be a banned substance

Defo older technology Mike, but not much I put some Bars Leaks in a J reg Fiat Uno 1.7 diesel, that developed a slight crack where the top pipe was welded into the radiator, whilst on the way to Dover. It was intended as a temporary fix, so that I didn't miss the ferry to France - 3 years and over 40,000 miles later (with the help of a blob of Plastic Padding ) it still didn't leak when the car was traded in

[mikelamb]

Just a quick update for you. I ran the van for a while to get it up to temp and the bottom hose got quite hot after a while.

Would this be what you would expect to find ?

Mike.

[francophile1947]

Yep - hose would get hot when thermostat opens.
Bottom hose rarely gets hot when running normally - I think the heater rads do most of the work.

[mikeonb4c]

Yep - hose would get hot when thermostat opens.
Bottom hose rarely gets hot when running normally - I think the heater rads do most of the work.

Interesting isn't it. Does that suggest that the thermostat is working OK (i.e. opening and allowing stuff to circulate) but that the radiator and/or water pump are not doing their job properly, causing the bottom hose to be hot when normally it takes a lot to get it more than warm?

[francophile1947]

Yep - hose would get hot when thermostat opens.
Bottom hose rarely gets hot when running normally - I think the heater rads do most of the work.

Interesting isn't it. Does that suggest that the thermostat is working OK (i.e. opening and allowing stuff to circulate) but that the radiator and/or water pump are not doing their job properly, causing the bottom hose to be hot when normally it takes a lot to get it more than warm?

I assumed that he had run it up to temperature on his drive, so no forced air flow

[mikelamb]

Just to help on the last couple of comments.
I let the bongo tick over outside for about 10 to 15 min.
I had been home for about an hour before doing this so she was still quite warm before starting. When I checked the hose it was fairly hot and not just luke warm.
Does that sound right to you?

[The Great Pretender]

A word of warning about using a leak sealer, apart from the possibility of blocking part of the rad core or other parts of the system they can also contain soluble oil. A 2% concentration will raise the cylinder head deck temp by around 10%, not recomended on a Bongo.............

[bongomaan]

and if you are feeling heat in the cockpit are your scavenger fans working properly ? i think there is a way of checking it...i think i disconnected the senser near the handbrake then shorted it out (although i am not sure this is the way to do it!) and they kicked in,not that im saying this is your problem but we dont want your handbrake lever to melt...

[Aethelric]

I thought my fans were fine. I could hear then switching off and on. But I still thought I was running hot so I bought a new radiator. When I removed the old one I found a knackered fan. The entire blade assembly had detached itself from the motor, but the motor was still running.

There are two fans. One was quite sufficient to control the temperature at tickover or slow moving traffic, but on steep hills it struggled. Both are needed.

Dave