Bongo Fury

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:28 am**

Well, after much frustration, and leaving it with a mechanic who's well familiar with Bongo's, it looks like the problem has finally been discovered.

Coolant................. Or lack of it!

Mechanic who discovered it had it overnight and took it out for a run next morning when it was cold, seeing as the problem seemed to happen within a mile or so of leaving the house. Anyway, he noticed the temperature gauge go right up into the red just before it stalled and then dropped down equally as quickly. Can't say I've ever noticed it do that before but then I was probably busy panicking! Anyhow, he thought maybe it was a dodgy temp needle as he felt the engine and it was still cool. But the fan was on. "How very strange......" he thought. Which was when he noticed the coolant reservoir was bone dry! Not an easy thing to notice immediately as the reservoir is pretty mucky looking and it's quite difficult to tell where the level is. Hmmmmm............

So, back at the garage, he looked more carefully into it and discovered the water hoses appeared fairly new. Being familiar with the quirks of the bongo, he wondered if whoever replaced them prior to us taking ownership bled the system properly? Apparently you need to do it from two places...... or some such thing that a mechanic has working knowledge of - Please don't quote me on that!

Was there a huge airlock in the system or was there a leak? "Take it away and try it," he said "but keep an eye on the coolant."

So I did and the bongo has been practically purring along ever since with no hint of a stall in sight! Yay!

Until tonight .............. when I checked the coolant and it had dropped way down low below the low level. Doh! Big question now is............ Is it a leak or is it just "settling" of the new coolant he put in? And, if it is a leak................. Where from?

Could be pretty serious or could be simple. The next day or so will tell.

The good news is we now know where the problem is coming from. The bad news? I really don't want to even think about it. Words like cracked cylinder heads have been bandied about and I don't like it one little bit!

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:44 am**

take it to ian taylor just north of you, or the garage that are based in coventry(sorry cannot remember the name) but both are specialists with bongos.
they will sort it, if its a man fault not just a girly one

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:47 am**

how cool is that, i posted, it said i had posted and logged it on the thread, looked at the thread and the post wasnt there???.
so here goes again, take it to ian taylor just north of you, or the garage at coventry(sorry forgot their name), both are good bongo specialists.

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:11 am**

Mrs Miggins wrote:Well, it would appear to be one of those "Women's Problems" ............... you know the kind I mean......... The kind that only occur when us ladies drive!

Took it in last week to be looked at and apparently there was nothing to be found to cause the problem. The mechanics had it in for the day, they looked at everything that might be causing the trouble, they drove it around and around and around and did it stall/cut out on them? Absolutely not! They did find a badly cracked exhaust though and kind of suggested, tongue in cheek that it may be that causing the stalling problems. They don't seem very confident about it though.

Clearly I imagined it cutting out on me on a roundabout the other morning. It was all a figment of my imagination! Oh, did I tell you all that it cuts out in neutral as well as in gear? Well it does!

I have now adopted the craziest style of driving and think it should be recorded for posterity! Right foot on Accelerator, Left foot on brake, slip it into neutral at any possible sign of slowing down or stopping and use the brake to slow down or stop whilst giving the accelerator a little tickle to keep the revs up all the time. Driving by the seat of my pants takes on a whole new meaning. Smell it? I'm sitting in it for the entire journey!

So, just to recap the problem........... I'm driving along and when I come to a stop/have to slow down using the brakes the engine cuts out on me. Sometimes you hear the revs dropping and feel a bit of shuddering as it stalls and sometimes it does it silently - one minute it's driving, the next all the light on the dash have lit up! Doesn't matter if the van is in gear or neutral, it happens regardless. It doesn't always happen but it's very unpredictable. When I start it back up it takes a short while for the engine to catch. If any of you are bikers and you've not switched over to reserve in time before the bike engine cutting out you will understand that thing of having to turn the engine over a few times before it fires up again.

If anyone can shed some light on this then please do. I don't know where else to turn to.

Hi Mrs M,

Thinking ouside the box here..

Do you have an after-market immobilizer alarm fitted to your van..?

The other question thrown out to the lads.... Fuel cut off solenoid..???

I'm thinking random problem.. Could well just be electrical, dirty contact somewhere??

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:45 pm**

Northern Bongolow wrote:how cool is that, i posted, it said i had posted and logged it on the thread, looked at the thread and the post wasnt there???.
so here goes again, take it to ian taylor just north of you, or the garage at coventry(sorry forgot their name), both are good bongo specialists.

LPG imports?

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:47 pm**

What revs does the car normaly tick over at?

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2012 3:00 pm**

did you try running it without the fuel cap on ??.
if it was better this way it may be the fuel tank breather that is blocked.

Posted: **Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:39 pm**

I think this forum is suffering from too much excess following Christmas! The last update I put on, about women's problems, was ages ago (in November I think) but it didn't actually show up on here until the last few days when I put an update on to let you all know what's been happening! The latest post didn't show up but all of a sudden my previous post did! Weird or what?

My thanks for all the recent comments though. It's good to know there's a lot of help out there.

So, just to fill you in on the latest, as I'm sure you're all holding your breath with anticipation................. It appears that the problem has been discovered!

Coolant............... or lack of it!

Having taken it to someone locally, who couldn't fathom the problem out because it refused to stall on them, we finally decided to take it over to a mechanic the other side of Leominster last week. Would have used him far sooner but it's a hell of a distance to drive to see a mechanic, not to mention the cost in fuel along with the added problem of getting home if the bongo had to be kept in. But it was beginning to run like a bag of old nails so needs must and this bloke came highly recommended by close friends who trust him implicitly. Apparently, he likes a challenge!

He kept it overnight and took it for a spin next morning as it seemed to be at it's worst just as the engine warms up a mile or so into a journey. Whilst driving it, he noticed the temperature gauge had shot up suddenly and as he pulled over it did it's famous stall!

Then the needle came down pretty quickly and his first thought was a dodgy gauge, especially as the radiator was still cool to the touch. Can't say as I've noticed the temp gauge being high when it stalls or threatens to but then I am in a mad state of panic and my eyes have always been on the rev counter making sure it doesn't dip too low. I have looked at the temp gauge before when driving along though and it's never been up high.

Anyway, he noticed the fan was also on which he thought was a bit odd given the radiator was still cold. He looked at the coolant reservoir, managed to look through the murky container and discovered it was bone dry!

It's pretty difficult to see the coolant level so I can understand how it might have been missed before.

Back at the garage, his investigations led him to noticing that a couple of water hoses on the engine appeared pretty new. He wondered whether whoever put the new hoses on had bled the system properly and there was a huge airlock in the system as a result. Apparently there's 2 places to bleed it from - I really have no idea about mechanical things. Bleeding the system may be the wrong term but it was something like that. It all made sense when he was explaining it at the time!

So, he filled it all up, did the necessary bleeding or whatever, checked the system out and back came the bongo with firm instructions to keep a close eye on the coolant to make sure it stayed put!

What can I say? The difference is incredible. Runs along sweet as a nut with no hint of a stall!

It's a changed vehicle!

But.................... here comes problem No2! Our beloved bongo is not retaining the coolant. The level keeps dropping down and we've been having to top up after every short journey.

Had a chat with the mechanic and he was sucking through his teeth and using filthy words like cracked cylinder head!

He asked if it was visibly leaking but, as I've been working 12 hour shifts, I've been unable to say as it's always been dark.

However, I nipped out this morning to have a peak underneath and lo and behold there's a huge puddle of coolant on the road underneath the bongo! Apparently this is good news, according to the mechanic. He's now using less filthy words like hose connections being worn, seals not sealing any more and the water pump being bust. Doesn't exactly fill my heart with joy but far nicer to know in terms of cost!

This afternoon, I will be taking it on a very gentle trip back to the aforementioned mechanic armed with loads of water and coolant, teabags, milk and biscuits and a good book in preparation for making many stops en-route to allow her to cool and be topped up as necessary. The good thing about a bongo is you can pull up anywhere, relax and make tea! I intend to make full use of her facilities!

I'll keep you all posted!

Posted: **Tue Jan 17, 2012 5:36 pm**

Sounds good but get yourself a Low Coolant Alarm fitted!!! Speak to Haydn, on the forum, or see his web page http://www.coolantalarm.co.uk

Posted: **Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:12 pm**

I'd have expected a competent mechanic to make sure the cooling system WASN'T leaking before handing the vehicle back to you. That would mean carrying out a pressure test on the system and an extended road test.

He may come highly recommended but seems to have failed to carry out basic post repair checks IMO

Posted: **Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:21 pm**

dandywarhol wrote:I'd have expected a competent mechanic to make sure the cooling system WASN'T leaking before handing the vehicle back to you. That would mean carrying out a pressure test on the system and an extended road test.

He may come highly recommended but seems to have failed to carry out basic post repair checks IMO

He DID pressure test it before handing it back and he DID check for leaks! I fail to see what more he could have done when there was no obvious problem at the time of handing it back. It didn't start leaking until much later. The true cause of the leak is yet to be found as he's only had it back this afternoon. I think we should wait and see where the problem is before shooting the mechanic down in flames and giving the guy a bad name!

Posted: **Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:16 am**

Consider me shot down then - hope all works out......................

Posted: **Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:33 am**

Mrs Miggins wrote:
However, I nipped out this morning to have a peak underneath and lo and behold there's a huge puddle of coolant on the road underneath the bongo! Apparently this is good news, according to the mechanic. He's now using less filthy words like hose connections being worn, seals not sealing any more and the water pump being bust. Doesn't exactly fill my heart with joy but far nicer to know in terms of cost!

Puddle up the front end, somewhere between the two front wheels perchance.?

Posted: **Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:49 pm**

dandywarhol wrote:Consider me shot down then - hope all works out......................

Sorry............. Mechanic is actually a long standing friend of our friends which therefore makes him our friend too as we do see him socially on occasion. He's a decent bloke and not into ripping people off. Our friends have a lot of mechanical knowledge anyway but they tip their cap at this guy as he's the best they've ever come across. If they trust him, I trust him and therefore I'll stick up for him! Would be using him all the time for car and bongo if he wasn't so far away but, as he has a fair amount of experience with bongo's, I think we'll use him to work on ours, service it etc all the time from now on.

jaylee wrote:
Mrs Miggins wrote: However, I nipped out this morning to have a peak underneath and lo and behold there's a huge puddle of coolant on the road underneath the bongo! Apparently this is good news, according to the mechanic. He's now using less filthy words like hose connections being worn, seals not sealing any more and the water pump being bust. Doesn't exactly fill my heart with joy but far nicer to know in terms of cost!
Puddle up the front end, somewhere between the two front wheels perchance.?

Definitely towards front end. Maybe not quite between front wheels - dunno, cant remember now! But I do remember watching the coolant go from a steady drip to a pour when I started the engine! Probably not the best thing to have seen just before embarking on a journey (scared the life out of me!) but I got there in one piece having made a stop en-route to let it cool and top it up.

Posted: **Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:25 pm**

Water pump..............................

Bongo Fury

Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?

Re: Stalling when coming to a stop using the brakes?