Bongo Fury

It will be very differant to the Mason Alarm, It will have it's own sensor which is bolted to the head, It will be settable anywhere within a range of 95 to 115 degrees C...to set it ...drive around till you are up to normal running temp (say up a long hill so you are as high in temp as you are likely to get) adjust the alarm to sound at this temp and then turn the dial so in future it alarms about 3 or 4 degrees higher. When it alarms you will get a visual and audible warning. The whole thing works independantly of the normal Bongo sender/gauge. We will get everyone to bolt the sensor in the same place by providing a bolt of the correct size so we should get uniformity in performance. Anyone having to set his alarm significanty higher than the norm may well need to look at their cooling system. We belive this is a useful addition to the Low Coolant Alarm but it is not intended to replace it.

haydn callow wrote:It will be very differant to the Mason Alarm, It will have it's own sensor which is bolted to the head, It will be settable anywhere within a range of 95 to 115 degrees C...to set it ...drive around till you are up to normal running temp (say up a long hill so you are as high in temp as you are likely to get) adjust the alarm to sound at this temp and then turn the dial so in future it alarms about 3 or 4 degrees higher. When it alarms you will get a visual and audible warning. The whole thing works independantly of the normal Bongo sender/gauge. We will get everyone to bolt the sensor in the same place by providing a bolt of the correct size so we should get uniformity in performance. Anyone having to set his alarm significanty higher than the norm may well need to look at their cooling system. We belive this is a useful addition to the Low Coolant Alarm but it is not intended to replace it.

Really good idea, well implemented I think. Standardising the installation and gathering data is what will add real value to the device.

The Mason alarm works in the same way - you set the alarm buzzer to a setting a tad higher than when the engine is working at its hottest ( I heat up the engine on mine when stationary until the fans cut in then set the alarm 0.5 increments higher) - the same as you recommend on yours Haydn.

As there doesn't appear to be anything actually wrong with the original Mazda sender I can't see a lot of sense adding something else to possibly go wrong when they both basically do the same thing.............

Does the Mason Alarm not just monitor the coolant Temp which depends on the sender being immersed in coolant ?

It does Haydn - and will warn as soon as the sensor is deprived of the stuff. Horses for courses but I like to keep things simple

There must come a time when theres so many auditory and visual devices in the cab, ranging from leisure battery displays/dash gauges/radios/buzzers/digital readouts/indoor/outdoor temperature recorders/ice alerts/inclinometers/furry dice/and dashboard model Bongos that the actual driving part of the journey takes a dangerous second place

dandywarhol wrote:There must come a time when theres so many auditory and visual devices in the cab, ranging from leisure battery displays/dash gauges/radios/buzzers/digital readouts/indoor/outdoor temperature recorders/ice alerts/inclinometers/furry dice/and dashboard model Bongos that the actual driving part of the journey takes a dangerous second place

Made me laugh that did

Two rules for glider pilots come to mind in this respect:

1) No loose objects in the cockpit
2) Spend more time looking out the window, and less time looking at the instruments

haydn callow wrote:Why do peeps assume everyone else is daft..Before any cleaning up is done it stands to reason that all oilways/coolantways cylinder bores are well protected from the ingress of crud....the "flat plate" was a old one from the REME stores...(you can do that sort of thing in the mob if you have mates)

Well this 'peep' assumes that even a mechanical muppet would attemp to protect all the orfice's from ingress of abrasive so no need to think you were daft, inept maybe if you think that you could keep 100% of abrasive out of the engine. In engineering the only place to do surfacing is in the workshop and then deep cleaning.
A surface plate is a precision piece of kit supplied with an accuracy certificate, pity that you have so little regard for quality equipment.

As I said above...the flat plate was a old unserviceable one from the stores.....I agree that it is best to do this job in a workshop on a bench but this is not always possible so it's a case somtimes of "needs must"

dandywarhol wrote:
There must come a time when theres so many auditory and visual devices in the cab, ranging from leisure battery displays/dash gauges/radios/buzzers/digital readouts/indoor/outdoor temperature recorders/ice alerts/inclinometers/furry dice/and dashboard model Bongos that the actual driving part of the journey takes a dangerous second place

I can strongly recommend 'decking the block' as a vital step in re-fitting the head & gasket, especially after skimming. I didn't do it first time, so I got pressure in the coolant as soon I started it up, therefore it all had to come apart again.

Yes, you will get grit into the cylinder bores & water jacket holes. Personally, I used a load of gaffer tape inside the bores & on top of the pistons, but done in such a way that the sticky side was upwards to attract most of the dust. Once removed, I used a powerful vacuum cleaner to suck up any thing that was left & finished off with thinners to wipe of any remaining film of dust. For the coolant channels, I sucked some out with the vacuum (it was a wet & dry type) & then gave the whole lot a thorough flush when it was re-assembled. The oil & filter was changed after the first few hours of use.

This is the technique recommended to me by Bellhill Garage & they always prepare the surface of the block before fitting a new head. Like I say it worked for me, but I'm sure there are plenty of folk who have not done this & suffered no problems as a result. They also advised me to use Wellseal gasket sealant which then forms a pressure-tight seal between all the mating surfaces. Approx 5000 miles later & its still trouble-free.

The only other way I can see to do it would be to remove the engine, strip the block, have it machined on a mill & then put it thru a solvent or water-based parts washer. That was not an option available to me.

Well the wife picked up the beast from fromar garage today, all seems fine, (Except my wallet!) anyway she spoke to the mechanics wife today and they own a silver bongolow, so hopefully we've found a garage we can rely on, just want to say thanks to all who replied on this post and keep your fingers crossed,
Nigel & Ginny

nigelginny wrote:Well the wife picked up the beast from fromar garage today, all seems fine, (Except my wallet!) anyway she spoke to the mechanics wife today and they own a silver bongolow, so hopefully we've found a garage we can rely on, just want to say thanks to all who replied on this post and keep your fingers crossed,
Nigel & Ginny

Great news (we hope - though sorry about Fat Wallet getting flattened). As you say, its a good sign the mechanic has a Bongo as he'll be sympathetic, caring and diligent etc. What work did they have to do in the end? Can't remember if you have already, but is a low coolant alarm fitted?

Fingers crossed guys, hopefully that'll be another garage on the recommended list if it's all ok

In the end we had a new head, head set, coolant switch, £1498 in all, we got the garage from the recommended list posted on here, we didnt want to trust someone who hadn't dealt with a bongo before, we purchased a low level alarm just after the van overheated, better late than never

Nigel - glad you've got it all sorted now. Further to my last post, I've found a few pictures of when I did the head on mine which may be of interest.

This shows the tape in the bores to catch most of the mess from 'decking the block'


The finished job shows the nice clean smooth face of the block:


Cylinder head after skimming:


...& close up of the machined surface: