Bongo Fury

So can some-one tie up the loose ends here?

What amount of gas is needed for a dual system, which is the normal system for an unconverted 8 seater Bongo? 800 or 1100 gms.

Has anyone used one of the DIY canister air-con recharge cans successfully?

Thanks

the recharfable cans are not recomended,as you will need 2 cans for a dual air con system,so would be cheaper to get it fully regassed at kwik fit,or somewhere else

Got it done today in a local garage ( Cool Wheels,Parr, St Helens) did the usual checks for leaks etc, then 800g of refrigerant, cost £50, very happy.

RobinS wrote:The amounts are on the members factsheet - but since they have already been posted here anyway, the factsheet says 700g for front only, 1150g for the dual system.

Talking about a front only system, where has the 800gm come from? Looking through the thread Mike said 800 'from memory' and Dandy agreed with him. Then Robin S posted the figures from the fact sheet.

(Mine was regassed yesterday with 700gm at a garage close to Wellhouse where they deal with loads of Bongos.)

People here are still talking about 800gm... does it actually matter 700 or 800?
Will mine not be as cold with 700gm?
Can you damage the system if you put too much in?

Do we need to get the fact sheet updated?

The members fact sheet acknowledgements BTW: Many thanks to Larry of Motatec (Doncaster) for the technical info, CoolCar of Birmingham for the background information, Derek (Loughborough) for instructions on changing the belt, and contributors to the Bongo Forum who gave some Bongo specific answers to queries raised.

It is one of the dangers isnt it Trev. On investigation, it is not clear how authoritative the original figure was, but we all hang on to it cos someone more apparently more knowledgable than us said so!

I didnt advise the garage what to put in, when I picked up the van I was asking a few questions and he told me 800g.

I bought my first Bongo yesterday, having been told the air-con had never worked. Driving home (about 75 miles) I got to like the bongo very much, but the aircon was totally kaput.

Last night I found this thread and decided to risk Kwik-Fit. Phoned Leominster Kwik-Fit today and got quoted £29.95 for a regas! It only took them about 45 mins and the air con now works, so I am pretty pleased with Leominster Kwik-Fit (I agree with other posters' reservations, but credit where it's due).

Apparently the system was completely dry, so they put 650g of gas in, and advised me to come back in a couple of months to have it topped up again.
Every time I stop and look under the Bongo, I notice a puddle of fluid. I know this could be condensation, but how could I tell if it's the aircon coolant leaking? I'm worried that the pipes might have corroded after being empty for a while.

I've certainly read on BF that people have been alarmed by fluid underneath the Bongo only to discover that it was condensation from the aircon. Keep a v close eye on the coolant header tank level just in case, but it is quite likely the aircon (as long as it is water of course!). My Bongo had faulty aircon when I was buying it. The regas attempt failed cos it had a corroded section of pipe (in my case it was a section v close to the bonnet catch (to the right of it as viewed from the front). The vendor impressed me by calling a favour from a local garage who made up (rather than try and get a Mazda piece at £££s and time to order/deliver) a new piece, and then regassed successfully. He got all this done between 4.0ppm the day before I went over to buy it, It was fixed by 12.00 noon on the day I arrived. I bought it. Yippee!

Thnaks, mikeonb4c. The coolant levels are fine (though I've only had it for less than 48 hours haha). The temperature dial stays rock solid at about 11 o'clock, even when stuck in traffic on the motorway yesterday.

It's just occurred to me that it's called 'regassing' the air-con because it's a gas. Sorry to be so slow on the uptake! I presume this means if the air-con leaks, it will evaporate rather than puddle underneath?

Blingo wrote:It's just occurred to me that it's called 'regassing' the air-con because it's a gas. Sorry to be so slow on the uptake! I presume this means if the air-con leaks, it will evaporate rather than puddle underneath?

You got it mate

well took me bongo to kwick fit today for a regas (knowing full well it leaks)............anyway he fixed it up to the machine and the geezer says..

sorry mate we cant help ya, thes no presher in ya systam.

so i says........what does that mean? (playing a bit thick)

he replies well theirs no presher, so that means you have a leak

i replies well i thought if you cant fix it then i dont pay?

he say no ya dont.

i replies well you havent tried to fix it yet.

he says we dont do that we only do regas.


i says so why put that you do on the posters then?

he replies i dint mate, i dont do the posters i just work here



well at least my window still works

Hi to all in this thread,
I'd like to ask a favour......... could those who had their air con regassed, look at their paperwork & let me know how much PAG oil was used & what grade?
I've recently had mine done by my local Kwikfit & they used 5ml of PAG 100 oil, but I've got a niggling feeling it's not enough.
Thanks very much,
Linusface.

Hi,
My twin air con system was completely empty due to a hole in one of the pipes. I found this out after visiting Kwik Fit, who were actualy very good.

After trolling around a bit I found a local radiator and air-con firm.
They fixed my leaky pipe, agreed 1150 was the correct weight (looked similar to some other mazda with front and rear evaporators)

So what he filled my system with was;
1100g refrigerant
2 Oz PAG oil (don't know why he mixed his units!)
and 1/4 Oz of U.V. dye.
I was charged £11.75 for repairing the pipe (which I removed and refitted)
and £45 for the re-gas, apparently they have to price match Kwik-Fit, which is nice!

Hope this helps Linusface

Help im really confused i have rung my local kwik fit and they wont touch mine never heard of the vans. i have a fan button for the rear 96 model and one button for the a/c on the dash,only got manual knobs to, so have i got rear or just front to be re- filled as i have got none in mine to tell if that makes sence

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Now all I've got to do is get my maths head on.


2 oz = 57grams (easy bit)

pag oil has a specific gravity of 0.9 (give or take)

So thats about 60ml of oil.

They only used 5ml in mine, but suggested that was quite normal

Back to the drawing board

Any other help would be gratefully received .......... PLEASE