Bongo Fury

New to this. I'm (well my Bngo is) experiencing rapid coolant drop in the expansion tank. One day it is on full and the next on low. There is no discernible leak and I had it checked out when it was serviced and nowt found. Any ideas please? Having it pressure checked on Friday. Anyone know a Bongo friendly garage in or around Solihull West Mids?

Welcome Colin - there's a HUGE amount about it in the search facility, incluning an on going thread. A pressure test would be the best first move

Thanks. I have read a lot and got back to my original supplier of the van who was very helpful. Just hope it is a small leak somewhere although I do blow white smoke when starting at times. See how the pressure test goes.

Hi Colin, and welcome... sorry to hear the begining of your bongo ownership has started badly

Its just possible that you have a pin prick hole somewhere,that only manifests itself at a certain heat/presssure..these can be difficult to trace as sometimes the leak is vapourised somewhat before it contacts anything,in other words, you may not have a puddle,or trickle mark to work from.

I hope its nothing too serious...Keep us posted on how you get on?

Ta. Had the van for just over a year now and this is the first 'problem' with it. Hopefully the pressure test will reveal. I'm wondering if when I had it undersealed the sealant covered any small leak and as you say it only manifests itself when hot and under pressure.

HI

It's worth trying to take a look at your water pump....I say trying because it's a bitch to see properly. I had a similar situation and couldn't detect where the coolant loss was coming from, turns out the water pump was leaking through it's little weep hole. Very difficult to see, ideally you need a small mirror tied to a stick and a torch, then lift the passenger side engine cover and try to find the water pump on front face of engine and see if there's any signs of water coming out...like rusty stains on it or similar. You wouldn't notice a drip on tickover or stains on your drive because it just drips into the plastic under shield which has absorbant stuff inside it. You may want to remove the plastic undershield to get a better view, then run the engine on tickover and look up at the pump with a torch to se if all is well.

If it's the pump....it's a fairly straightforward job, although access is difficult....there's a factsheet in the members section.

Good luck...........Rob

PS: you need to diagnosis this problem correctly soon as! Don't let the engine overheat or head gasket and cracked head and other general nasty expensive stuff follow!

I have just had to have a new water pump on mine.Remember a water pump usually only leaks when cold,hoses usually leak when hot.

Dabs

Could this be the reason that I was able to drive large distances in the heat of the south of France with no coolant loss, yet I leave the Bongo standing on my drive in Bucks in this supposed summer and the coolant drops?

Simon,
Yes correct it seems a classic sign of waterpump leak is a tell tale coolant puddle or drip underneath the Bongo on a morning or colder spell I was convinced My recent leak was from the bleed hose which I had replaced,the drip did not stop so after a further inspection it was discovered that it was the pump that had developed a leak.Since the new pump no more loss,so sorted.

As another observation My belts had developed a hissing noise which I find out later is a sign of damp getting on them.The water pump of course being close to them it all adds up.

Dabs

Oh dear - problem with the head gasket that I hope the garage I took it to this morning for a pressure test will do for me. At least I haven't been overheating but the white smoke is indicative of water laying on the pistons and got rid of on start up. Will not be driving it until I can get it back to the garage hopefully next week. Thanks for all the comments though.

Try and find a garage that knows it's bongos. This could save you loads of hassel and possibly money

Posted a request on the chat forum for a bongo friendly garage in the Solihull area. No reply! The one nearest me in Coventry no longer 'does' bongo's

i had a head gasket go on my toyota landcruiser and used a product called K-SEAL, recommended on a toyota forum . it works a treat , my toyota had even got to the hydrolic lock stage . tipped this stuff in and 5minute run later no more water loss , lumpy starting or white smoke at about 12 quid a bottle it could be worth a go