Bongo Fury

john14.6 wrote: Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:15 pm Thank "thelongroad" not sure i like that, i had a brakedown truck once that use to do that to me on long uphills, thinking 2.5d going to look at one this friday, bit far away though but looks like a good one. Fingers crossed

If you can source a suitably rust free/welded early diesel (up to about 1999 i think), their engine features a simpler turbo and fuel pump i think. This makes them marginally less powerful but they are still great, and there's a little less to play up mechanically. For all the issues, I dont think you can beat the diesel for hassle free relaxed load lugging and - short of fitting an LPG conversion to petrol - mpg (2wd best on that and less mechanical complexity though cant get you out of a muddy field like 4wd). Was talking to someone recently whose diesel Bongo has now done 450k miles with no breakdowns.....on the original engine (not even the alternator has been changed).

Don't forget that winter tyres make a lot of difference not just on snow but also on wet grassy fields. I carry a pair of these as a just in case the going gets really bad https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pair-Wheel-Tra ... 138&sr=8-1

TheLongRoad wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:51 pm Don't forget that winter tyres make a lot of difference not just on snow but also on wet grassy fields. I carry a pair of these as a just in case the going gets really bad https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pair-Wheel-Tra ... 138&sr=8-1

Same here with my 2wd. I have excellent Maxxis all season tyres and a pair of grip strips on board in case and they should help a lot. Mind you, I shared a muddy field once with several 4wd Bongos - absolutely no comparison when it came to driving around it with ease. My grip strips had to come out on that occasion

Top tip. Lash the grip boards to a length of cord and tie onto tow loop. Once you’re moving don’t stop until you reach firm ground. Then stop and un hook the grips that you’ve towed behind you.

Really good tip.

Thanks for all the advice guys,, The one we are going to look at is from this forum, its 2000 2.5d 4x4 unconverted and all the electrics have been done, but it is a 3 hour drive away [ with a 2 year old and a 13 week old]
Rust is second on my mind [as i welded my transit over xmas, pretty much the whole inner sill and front wheel arch, apart from not been great at forming the steel to shape and room to move/work it was a dodle, next time i would buy the sill as one length and borrow/buy larger axle stands]
My number one is a sound engine/gearbox,

on mot advisories, Anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush worn rear nearside, rear offside and rear nearside lower, i guess this is something i can do and not very expensive

thanks again for all your help so far
hope this is the one

Kind regards

john14.6 wrote: Wed Jun 26, 2019 6:14 pm on mot advisories, Anti-roll bar linkage pin or bush worn rear nearside, rear offside and rear nearside lower, i guess this is something i can do and not very expensive

These bushes seem to wear quickly; our 2001 van was the same when we bought it, it manifested as a dull clonking from under the rear floor over bumps. Replacement anti-roll bar drop links are readily available, there is some advice around suggesting genuine Mazda parts are longer lasting than the pattern bits, but we bought the cheap(er) pattern parts and they've been fine so far. Easy to fit too.

All the best with your purchase.

Hi. Thanks to everyone who helped me see sence and buy an unconverted bongo, thank you very much,, We picked up our new[ to us] bongo yesterday, so far we are over the moon with it, but was wondering has anyone used these before?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5mm-ISOFIX-M ... 0008.m2219

or any other option other than replacing seats, i can weld but not sure how easy it is to strip the seats down to the metal frame

any advice welcome

thanks