Bongo Fury

Do you have brake down cover
AA or the like

Yep - but it is still at the garage.

Get them to transport it to a bongo garage
Might have to pretend you just broke down there and then

But there isn't a bongo garage in about an hours radius!

Is there anyone in Cambridge who can recommend a garage?

Thanks

Vicky

Check your policy
I don't think that is a problem
I know If I brake down they will take me home or to a garage of my choice

They say it went up to 25 psi? That's 1.7 bar and the cap on the header tank is rated at 1.1 so I would expect you would have coolant peeing out which doesn't seem to match the symptoms you describe. Personally, I would get it to a Bongo friendly garage for a second (and possibly more informed) opinion.

There is also a mobile mechanic who advertises on the forum who is highly recommended and may at least give you some free advice over the phone even if he is a bit out of your area.

Between everything that has been said on the forum, what I have seen and what a mechanic friend has told my OH on the phone and how the garage was acting - I think they were either trying to pull a fast one - or are wrong in the diagnosis.

I'm going to sleep on it and decide my course of action in the morning - anymore advice gratefully received!

Thanks for your advice, particularly Roo.

Vicky

Often it isn't someone trying to 'Pull a fast one' but that most dangerous of things, the things we don' t know that we don't know.

All to common with garages and Bongos.

If the nearest BF garage is 5 hours away it will be less hassle than 20 local garages who 'Learn' at your expense

I will again suggest BF might know.

A little knowledge can be very dangerous with a Bongo. As well as a diagnosis the coolant has to be bled after a head replacement and further damage can be caused by an airlock. Any garage considering steel seal is not to be recommended. It does a lot of damage and while it can be used to patch up an old car for a bit more life, it is not for what was probably an expensively purchased camper.

Every bongo garage has stories of Bongos being towed in with a diagnosis of head gone where it is a far less serious problem. If there is no Bongo garage in your area, is there a Mazda one who might be familiar with the beast? They might have the knowledge to give you a correct diagnosis.

Find your nearest rated Bongo seller and give them a ring to see if they can recommend anyone. If all else fails find your nearest Bongo specialist, check that they can handle a V6, sign up for relay and go and brake down. Ask to be relayed there.

When I first had my Bongo V6s were incredibly rare and my local Bongo garage, a Mazda specialist did not want to touch it. I took it instead to a classic car specialist who understood old designs of V6 engines. This might be another possibility.

Have you spoken to Andys Imports about who he would use for mechanical work? You mention you went to see him when you were looking for a Bongo as he was not too far from you.

It's a diesel not a V6.....according to the original post.

they could have got 25 psi readings if they removed the cap and pressurized it through this point. or fit a pressure gauge here and let the bongo go up to this point during testing this is how i do it,
but not that high as the system isnt designed to stand that pressure.

try contacting member -mikexgough- he has a garage buisness and a bongo of his own, he maybe able to help.

Apologies all. What confused me was the how many heads question. A V6 has two so I assumed it had to be that for anyone to consider it an issue. The keep clear of steel seal still applies.

mikexgough sounds a good bet for your next move. He is somewhere near you.

Wonder where the got the adaptor to pressure test - I have been looking for one`for a year for my sykes pickevant kit.
A block test (test for level of hydrocarbons in the coolant) wouldn't be a bad idea. But I would seriously listen to the advice being given and use an experienced Bongo dealer no matter how far away.

get a expansion tank flat cap with no spring in it, or cut the seal out, then inflate up the expansion tank overflow pipe with a foot pump that has a pressure gauge in line.