Bongo Fury

Hi everyone,havn't posted for a while as i have been away.
Having a few problems with the bongo, 2.5 auto,havn't had it that long so not had much time to sort everything out what with work and whatnot. Iwill list the problems and hope somebody might shed some light on them (hopefully).
1) Trouble starting ie.. turns over quite a bit before firing up,or it runs battery down before it even starts.Ihave had new glowplugs fitted and the battery is fairly new. Got a feeling something could be runing batttery down.
2.) If i drive away without letting it tick over for at least 10/15 minutes it will not come out of fisrt until i have been driving for a while, then it works fine. very frustrating.
3.) Runs very flat, when driving on a a road / dual carriageway with even a slight incline it really struggles, and turbo does not kick in when i put my foot down, seems to go ok on flat roads.

As i am the first owner in uk i dont know its history so i thought i would start with people in the know, would it be a good idea to replace all the filters. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I know it sounds all doom and gloom but we have had some fun with her already and cant wait till she is running sweeet.

Your bongo could be starved of air or fuel -- a good first step would be to change all the filters. Don't know that this will sort out not coming out of 1st gear, but you could also change the ATF and clean the filter too. Then at least you have the cheapest, easiest possibilities tested...

Cheers nfn i will try that first.

Hi I agree the 'flat' running is likely to be an air or fuel issue. Try a few free checks before spending any money. I had a similar problem when I suspected the turbo had a problem, but it turned out to be a loose hose connection. Lift the drivers seat and you'll see at the extreme right hand side and back a bit, a big black plastic hose which links with a curved metal junction piece which meets the inlet manifold. Make sure the black hose is firmly joined. If you hear a sucking noise on acceleration this is very likely to be the problem. If it's not, trace the air system from the filter around the back of the engine, to the turbo, then from the turbo around to the front of the van to the intercooler then up to the junction as mentioned before. Check all the joints on the way.

Generally I think it's fair to say, any lack of integrity in the air supply is likely to be acoompanied by sucky type noises if you listen around the system on tickover.

Also worth draining the crap/water out of the fuel filter (under the drivers seat), there's a little plastic screw on the bottom of it....just drain until pure diesel comes out. I understand there's also a filter hidden somewhere on top of the fuel pump, which is worth cleaning...I've never looked for it myself but I'm sure someone on here would provide detailed guidance. If there is any black smoke coming from the exhaust, this would be indicative of a fuel (or egr) rather than air problem.

I'm not sure how to go about diagnosing turbo issues.

Re the gearbox problem....many owners find that the van takes a while before it will change into top esp in cold weather...but yours is an extreme example, I think....definitely change the atf and clean the filter asap...there's lots of recent post by people doing this job so just do a search for atf.

Just an aside...if you haven't had your van for long.....is there no possibilty of addressing these issues with the supplying dealer?

Rob

Thanks robnkathryn i will definitely try these things although i dont really have a clue about cars, and as for going back to the seller, they have reimbursed me a small amount to get things sorted, not enough to cover everything but i suppose i will just have to get on with it.

If you are having to use more throttle than normal because of the lack of power then the gearbox will stay in a low gear until it "feels" the time is right to change up. I also agree with RK about changing the autobox fluid and cleaning the filter as well.

Kevo, sorry to harp on about this, but it seems a bit of an odd situation to me; if the seller has reimbursed you some money to sort out this problem,that suggests that they are accepting some responsibility for the situation. Did you get a warranty when you bought the van or not? If you did then rather than them give you money to sort out the problem...you should give them the van for them to sort out the problem. It may be something very simple but on the other hand you may have 3 seperate quite major problems....starting/power/gearbox. I don't want to worry you....It just concerns me that if you start doing stuff yourself then the seller could use that as a way to wriggle out of any responsibility they have. Remeber that even if the seller doesn't give a warranty, he still has to comply with the Sale of Goods Act, assuming he is a trader. So if he sells you a vehicle and you can't drive it because of problems that were in the van when he sold it........he should sort it out at his cost.

It shouldn't be a problem to check all the air connections and drain the fuel filter though, so I'd take a look at these if I were you.

I hope you get it sorted soon.....

PS: notice you haven't received any input re the electrics/battery/starting problem..........it may be worth starting a seperate thread metioning the specific problem in the title, to attract the people who know about auto electrics.....there are plenty on the forum.

Thanks again RK, wont bore you with the details about myself and the seller, we have had it out and looks like im on my own now.
Lets hope it is nothing serious and i can get it sorted. cheers.

Kevo might be worth the sheckles just to have her serviced by someone who knows about bongos, the gear changing could be due to low levels of fluid, worth a check first but if there is anyone in or near your area it might be well worth doing and could save you a lot of trouble in the future. Hope it gets sorted quick, happy motoring.