Bongo Fury

Hi I would be most grateful if someone could tell me ( Is it normal for a bongo to have a relatively cold bottom rad hose ) After reading all the nightmares of the bongo cooling system I checked mine out to find I had a huge temp differetial in top and bottom hoses the like of I have never seen before. So I rad flushed the system (Radiator No Blockages ) I refilled the system and bled system with a homemade clear water trap attached to vent hose (works fantastic and you don't need assistance and you can see even the smallest air bubbles escaping through the trap) It doesn't overheat or loose coolant but there is just such a huge temp diffrential . If this isn't normal has anyone had water pump problems (Not loosing coolant but maybe an inpeller fault ) Not circulating the coolant as it should. The bottom hose is still cool even if stationary for half an hour on tickover.

been loads of discussion on this in the past... the bongo engine seems to do most of its cooling through the various hoses without opening the thermostat .... put in thermostat and run a search .... this will get you started. http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... thermostat

It is perfectly normal for the top hose to be very hot and the bottom one cool . Your thermostat will be open once the engine is up to temp (11 o'clock on the gauge) It all means your radiator is doing it's job. No Worries !!! If your bottom hose was hot under normal driving that will be the time to worry.

Remove the thermostat.

Refit the thermostat making absolutely sure it is located properly and central in its location groove/ring.

I have a hunch that the themostat can be fitted off central if you are not careful and this could cause it to be jammed shut.

I came to this conclusion after a lot of trial and error just because I was not not happy that the coolant wasn't circulating - the bottom hose never got hot, which in my mind was wrong. After reading all the woes of the overheating Bongos I didn't want this to happen to me.

I did as you have done, thouroughly flushed the system, checked all hoses, checked for leaks.
I flushed my radiator by plugging the bottom hose outlet and filling it with cheap coca cola and leaving it overnight, you should have seen the gunge that came out! After reassembly , filling and bleeding the coolant still did not circulate??? So I removed the thermostat and tested it, it was OK.

I left the thermostat off the Bongo for a day or two and the water was circulating but of course the engine never got to its correct working temp.

I replaced the thermostat. Working from above you can only feel the location of the thermostat and its difficult at that unless you have rubber arms but there is a definite recess for the thermostat to sit in and as you push the two halves of the thermostat housing together its would be very easy to knock it and dislodge it from its seating ring which may cause it not to open correctly. So take great care and try to locate it correctly and tighten the two retaining bolts up evenly.

This worked for me and still does work - I am probably one of a minority who has a circulating cooling system on a Bongo. (Tempting Fate - Fingers Crossed and all that.)

Thank you for your reasuring aswers perhaps now I can stop sqeazing the bottom hose every time I stop but i think I'M addicted.
Thanks again Hugh

Ouote ...I am probably one of a minority who has a circulating cooling system on a Bongo.
Don't go along with that at all. I would say 99% of Bongos have perfectly good cooling systems working properly.
Bottom hose warmish!! top hose hot = good
Leave your themostat well alone ..it's working

Sorry mate but if you had ever had one running correctly then you would know what a bottom hose would feel like if the thermostat was open, and it aint 'warmish'.

each to his own.

If you look at your own Topic...IS YOUR BOTTOM HOSE COLD.....which included a poll....84% had cool bottom hose....what are you now saying???
I say
Top hose hot...bottom hose cold...all is well and rad doing it's job and stat is open.

Thats why you run with a low coolant level warning buzzer and light and I run with confidence.

If the top hose is hot and the bottom return hose is warm then the coolant is circulating as it should, if the bottom return hose is always cold and the top hose is hot then expect trouble.
This heat has to be dissipated somewhere - yes the heater matrixes will help to a certain extent but I am pretty sure that before the engine gets overheated the thermostat should open and allow the coolant to pass through the radiator - thats what it is there for.

Even if the coolant is circulating correctly the radiator will not cool it to 'cold' and return it to the engine as such, the difference in temp would cause problems within the crankcase and head etc and possibly cause distortion or cracking, thats why you never top a hot engine up with cold water.
What the radiator should do is to cool the coolant and return it to the engine in a warm state, therefore you should be able to feel the bottom return hose is warm and definitely not cold. This is how it is with cars and vans and lorries that are powered by internal combustion engines and I don't see why it should be any different for a Bongo.

So I say to any one bothered about overheating, 'go and see if your thermostats are correctly located in their housings', it could make a supreme difference to your Bongo motoring experience.

I think you misunderstood.. The topic started ...my bottom hose dosn't get hot... I said don't worry it shouldn't get hot. Relative to the top hose the bottom hose will be warm at best if all is ok.
Hope your system dosn't drip away one dark night.

I will say this only once.

The bottom return hose should get hot - not as hot as the top hose - you should be able to feel a noticable difference in the temperatures, the top one almost too hot to keep your hand on and the bottom hose hot to the touch.

Not cold, not cool, not warm at best - if it is then you have a problem - get yourself a well known low level coolant warning device fitted ASAP and carry a selection of replacement rubber hoses with you at all times or simply check your thermostat, radiator and pipework as mentioned previously. You know it makes sense.

I rest my case and shall not say another word on this subject.

Thank g*d for that......if it ain't broke don't mend it.


Welcome to the madhouse Hugh


H

good!!

good!! 84% are wrong and you must be right. sums it up!!