Bongo Fury

Muzorewa wrote:On ours it was the gearbox pipes that were leaking, it was only when prodding the water pipe it was obvious it was in poor shape too.

I think the opinion of the guy who fitted our replacements (Ady) was that they're installed early on in the process by Mazda, not expecting them to ever come out again. On the bright side, the water pipe on the other side of the engine is even more inaccessible

That would make a lot of sense if rumours of a 10 year designed service life are true.

This is the piece that is concerning me with mine and a friend of mines Bongo, they look rusty - and as they can go from within as well its a worry.

I was thinking of a complete solution to this issue, has anyone ever thought of, or considered a flexible pipe that'll replace the lot or a more robust stainless steel, fit and forget solution. I've not seen the whole pipe - so just wondering.

I have a feeling the bongo will be around a long time, be nice to have something more robust as we all know how fussy the bleeding is on a Bongo, so even a pinhole that low down in cooling system will be game over.

Spencer54 wrote:This is the piece that is concerning me with mine and a friend of mines Bongo, they look rusty - and as they can go from within as well its a worry.

I was thinking of a complete solution to this issue, has anyone ever thought of, or considered a flexible pipe that'll replace the lot or a more robust stainless steel, fit and forget solution. I've not seen the whole pipe - so just wondering.

I have a feeling the bongo will be around a long time, be nice to have something more robust as we all know how fussy the bleeding is on a Bongo, so even a pinhole that low down in cooling system will be game over.

The standard pipe is long and looked like it was bolted in place along its length. I could understand this especially on a diesel as it might suffer vibration induced fatigue if not. Stainless steel might be prohibitively expensive to manufacture though I could be wrong. Would it be more prone to fatigue failure? I''ve had nearly 20 years out of an uncared for mild steel one. I wonder if lagging it with oiled/waxoyled cloth on the vulnerable section might work, if the heat doesn't undo it?

I might do some research, there is a brilliant kit car place near me that makes all kinds of weird and wacky aluminium/stainless solutions for routing the coolant from engines that have been grafted into other things.

Thinking out-loud, maybe some king of plating or zinc coating of a mild steel part already in production would be an upgrade. Seems like its in a spot that's ideal to rot in the UK, not so in Japan.
They gritted down my way last night, so it wont take long for a mild steel one to be in the same state.
I'd rather fit something and know its better, plus resale of one with such peace of mind would be good for their value.

I remember clearly thinking the T2 would disappear completely, but its still going and worth how much?
I can see the Bongo going the same way.
Specially as it seems Surfers and wind surfers see the T5/T2 as poncy and trying to hard and that the Bongo is cooler because of that.

I've spoke to someone who has just replaced the whole lot with braded rubber hose
Well they left the rusty pipe in place and tie wrapped the
New rubber one to the old rusty one
Simple job

I just replaced the tee on mine
The inside of the pipe was still like new as far as I could see down inside it
Which it should be if the antifreeze is d upto date

Spencer54 wrote: They gritted down my way last night, so it wont take long for a mild steel one to be in the same state.

Really? I know it hadn't turned a bit colder but gritting already?! Money to waste obviously

mikeonb4c wrote: ... I wonder if lagging it with oiled/waxoyled cloth on the vulnerable section might work, if the heat doesn't undo it?

Sounds like a good idea for protection in advance of corrosion setting in, Mike. I wondered about spraying with the aerosol grease that some £1 shops sell.

I would be tempted to mummify any iffy looking section with layers of self-amalgamating tape onto the pipe, then a widing of fabric tape to give strength, followed by further layers of self-amalgamating tape. I cured a power steering pipe leak and a top hose leak on my Toyota Space Cruiser to my complete satisfaction, never needing to proceed with replacing either.

Probably wouldn't fix a brake pipe that way without putting a cut piece of hose and a jubilee clip over the repair for extra peace of mind!


Frank

Diplomat wrote:

mikeonb4c wrote: ... I wonder if lagging it with oiled/waxoyled cloth on the vulnerable section might work, if the heat doesn't undo it?

Sounds like a good idea for protection in advance of corrosion setting in, Mike. I wondered about spraying with the aerosol grease that some £1 shops sell.

I would be tempted to mummify any iffy looking section with layers of self-amalgamating tape onto the pipe, then a widing of fabric tape to give strength, followed by further layers of self-amalgamating tape. I cured a power steering pipe leak and a top hose leak on my Toyota Space Cruiser to my complete satisfaction, never needing to proceed with replacing either.

Probably wouldn't fix a brake pipe that way without putting a cut piece of hose and a jubilee clip over the repair for extra peace of mind!


Frank

Self amalgamating tape sounds an excellent idea Frank, it's made for hot pipes too. Think I'll opt for that.

If you gonna wrap them in something
Wrap them in denso tape

Gasy wrote:If you gonna wrap them in something
Wrap them in denso tape

Sounds good. I'm looking at item 400146706091on eBay. Would that be it? Guess it could usefully lag the autobox pipes as well if I clean them up as I'm guessing the denso tape can resist a bit of pressure also?

A friend of mine gave me some Denso tape. He works for the water company so that is probably a good endorsement of its quality.

I found it to be very good for many applications but I wouldn't trust its adhesive component to stay sticky for ever. It also doesn't wrap all that well on small pipes. What's it like on gas pipes? It was brilliant for repairing a rip in tent fabric, one strip outside and another inside.

Self-amalgamating tape becomes inseparable, layer on layer, in a very short time and unless exposed to UV doesn't seem to degrade. I use it over outdoor RF connections but overlay it with cheap insulating tape to keep the sun off. No such problem under a car!


Frank

Nice it has inspired some solutions and ideas that maybe handy fo other pipes etc., good call I would be interested to know how it goes (self amalgamating/denso repairs waxoyl etc.). That water could get to 98C is rubber pipe going to be ok with that ? Do you know what pressures that water is under as well?

I imagine the main protection would come from a few coatings during the winter months. That would surely assist as long as the pipe is not so far gone that a wire brush creates a pin hole when trying to remove the rust. I really wish they put a copper one/s on.

I think we have all been there with cars... fit a load of preventative parts, do some good servicing and then some £200.00 part goes a week later Or MOT throws a load of bits up.

BongoBongo123 wrote:Nice it has inspired some solutions and ideas that maybe handy fo other pipes etc., good call I would be interested to know how it goes (self amalgamating/denso repairs waxoyl etc.). That water could get to 98C is rubber pipe going to be ok with that ? Do you know what pressures that water is under as well?

I imagine the main protection would come from a few coatings during the winter months. That would surely assist as long as the pipe is not so far gone that a wire brush creates a pin hole when trying to remove the rust. I really wish they put a copper one/s on.

I think we have all been there with cars... fit a load of preventative parts, do some good servicing and then some £200.00 part goes a week later Or MOT throws a load of bits up.

You're right. It's easy to get upset about a Bongo throwing a bill and then forget that any (old) car can. Trouble with a Bongo is you don't so readily throw it away when it does

Anyway, I decided on trying amalgamating tape in the end - will see how it goes - update you in 20 years

roosmith wrote:

Spencer54 wrote: They gritted down my way last night, so it wont take long for a mild steel one to be in the same state.

Really? I know it hadn't turned a bit colder but gritting already?! Money to waste obviously

That was wrong, turns out that something had crashed and the fire brigade had drowned the road in sand

My worry about wrapping in any type of tape is that unless 100% sealed, you will trap water between the tape & the pipe, being trapped it'll eveporate more slowly, thus accelerating the corrosion