Bongo Fury

playnotwork wrote:know its been a while!
finally got the vras of the bottom end, no play in bearings, removed shells on 3 and 2 to compare (look good as new), no adnormalities.
Only smalll thing is that the conrod on piston 3 is all the way to the right of the gudgeon pin, whereas on the rest the pistons they can be seen to rest in the middle.
Decided to pull the head(again!)
when removing injector 3 noticed it was wet.
now struggling to remove 2 of the awkward studs in the exhaust.
Anyway thtas where i am up too

Good luck.
Was it diesel wet or water wet?

dont wanna count my chickens, but finally got head back off.
turnec engine over until piston 2 at tdc and piston 3 is about 4mm still in the hole. this should explain the low compression and misfire.
going to remove the piston to check the conrod. anything i need to check before i do this. dont want to make any more mistakes.
where should i get a conrod from. new or second hand.
cheers martin

Well done m8, tenacity thats the thing.
May be worth sticking a set of end shells in while you there. You may not see any difference as in the bend once the rods out but 4mm drop is significant.
Bongo Spares for the rod? You may want to change that piston too. Re use your old rings if good though.

Good luck.
P.s.post a pic of the rod if you can.

Just a thought, while you have the head off pour some partafin into the exh ports then the inlets and look for any leaks around the valves. If yes then lap those valves in else all good.

will do cheers

evening.
struggling to upload pictures.
Conrod is definitely bent. Like a bannana!
piston looks ok. small marks on bottom of piston and on the block, indicate that the piston was just bottoming out on the block and was causing the clicking noise.
looking for s/h conrod. bongo spares want £65 for conrod.
few on ebay, did all ford rangers have the wlt engine in, is the b2500 a wlt engine as well.
cheers martin

There are two types of engine the wl and the wlt.
The wlt has two balance shafts and a turbo ASFAIK. The Ranger had either fitted.
I believe the wlt was the only one fitted to the Bongo.
Somone may verify that or not.
You could phone an engine builder like Ivor Searles they are very helpful and may be able to answer your question.
Personally I would change piston along with the rod. Does the 65 quid come with the piston?

£85 piston rod and deliery
wlt conrod piston and rings £55 from ford ranger 2005 ( should be compatable? ) low mileage

playnotwork wrote:£85 piston rod and deliery
wlt conrod piston and rings £55 from ford ranger 2005 ( should be compatable? ) low mileage

I would give Ivor Searles a ring on the compatibility question if you go that route.
You need to ensure its the same size piston too, likely its standard. You can use the rings from the original pistons so long as they are OK.
Personally I would go for the bongo one.

Been a while!
Finally got around to fitting the conrod. Head back on and sump all sealed up.
Very nervous on first turn over, started and she runs and sounds ok.
Got to bleed properly, but now getting ready fit M.O.T.
Link rods will need doing.
Basically think that on one dark night I overfilled the expansion tank. Drove a short distance and forgot to relieve the pressure in the header tank. This then has pushed water, though a small crack between the valves, into cylinder 3. In the morning when I have turned the engine over it has hydraulic locked. The started motor and twin batteries have had enough power to bend the conrod. The bend has been just enough to reduce compression to occasionally misfire and the loud noise is the piston just catching the block when fully down. I should have checked the piston height when I first pulled the head, but you live and learn.
All in all 4 months off the rd and £500 quid for putting to much water in.
Looking at the old head don't think that the k seal had caused any problems
Cheers for now and thanks for the help.

You've made it sound so simple!

Agreed, well done and thanks for the update.

Well done. Piston heights, its an easy mistake to make, been there done it! You only do it once though.
Glad it has turned out OK and in time for the nice weather.

If you have not done it , would probably be advisable to fit a New header tank cap. This is the systems PRV.


Good Luck

insured taxed and MOT'd.
Been back on the road a week. All ok. Only comment seems to be a lack of power when I put my footdown. Which is not very often.
Vacuum hoses to relays have perished and I have not replaced yet. Would this explain lack of power.