Bongo Fury

Getting a little worried about smells from my bongo.. Only had it 3 weeks but after a shortish drive I'm noticing a burning rubber smell. Not pungent but noticable, checked coolant and its full but there is a horrible brown residue in the tank like its overheated b4. should I be worried or just chil out as its a 10 year old car after all ?

Personally, I would suggest you flush out the system thoroughly anyway, the brown sludge is the culprit that blocks the matrix of the rad and can lead to problems. I have to say I doubt if it is the source of the hot smell but it is worth doing for peace of mind and add antifreeze for the winter at the same time.

thanks for help. Will take a look at that. ta.

May, did you notice this smell when you put the air con on, if so it is common to all bongos and is due to harmless bacteria in the air con system, there are various ways to get rid of it like spraying a dettox or similar spray into the air intake with the air con switched on. Lots of people have put threads on here about it and I have no doubt further help will follow this suggestion. If it is not since you switched the air con on then why not ask the garage where you bought iy to have a look unless it was a private sale. Good luck. Happy motoring.

David Edwards wrote:May, did you notice this smell when you put the air con on, if so it is common to all bongos and is due to harmless bacteria in the air con system, there are various ways to get rid of it like spraying a dettox or similar spray into the air intake with the air con switched on. Lots of people have put threads on here about it and I have no doubt further help will follow this suggestion. If it is not since you switched the air con on then why not ask the garage where you bought iy to have a look unless it was a private sale. Good luck. Happy motoring.

David, is the aircon not a musty type smell rather than a burning rubber smell? I agree though if applicable, the garage would be a good first port of call

good point but its outside and not the aircon, as above aircon is musty.

ta.


BTW, there are no floaty bits in the water at all, its just the inside surface of the water tank that has the brown residue on.

mayk19 wrote:BTW, there are no floaty bits in the water at all, its just the inside surface of the water tank that has the brown residue on.

It may of course be fine but the floaty bits tend to congregate where they shouldn't so you may not see them in the header tank. I still think a good flush is a worthwhile precaution but it wont help the burning rubber smell.

Hi Mayk, it may be worth having a quick check of the tension of the fan belt,&the aircon belts... they could be overtaut,and be on the verge of snapping!

Failing that, if like me you always have the fan/heater/blower at position 1 (either hot or cold) its just possible that the resistor in the heater controls is in the process of burning out?

I cant think of anything else it could be... dont forget to check the drainage hole in the gulley under the windscreen (bonnet up) if that blocks, the heater cops for the overflow causing it to seize...

check your outer edge or the inner edges of the tyres (front) for scrubbing.Or go for a drive and feel the tyres to see if they are hot.

Mine did this but i put it down to the off road tyres that were on it.
Every time i turned the wheels it scrubbed even after a short journey i could smell burning rubber, and the tyres were red hot.

When the mot was due i had 2 new front tyres put on and the tracking done, that was nearly 12 months ago, my mot is due on the 30th august and i had a quick scan around the bongo and noticed that the tyres both need replacing as they are scrubbing again, but 1 tyre on the inner side and the other tyre on the outer side.

so i asked about the camber sorting at quick fit and 2 new tyres, he pointed me to a garage further up the road who do 4 wheel alignment, so went there he got it up on the ramps and had a look.

Got a phone call from the garage that the wishbone bushes (front and rear) were totally knackered, and there is loads of play in the front wheels. so i need them replacing before the camber and tyres get done.

so may be worth having a check as the bongos tyres do suffer from alot of scrubbing, and if its bad will cause a burning rubber smell if you go around a few corners.

regards Wayne.

intresting idea wayne,

Would wishbone bushes gone lead to unstable handling if I swerve at speed ?

mayk19 wrote:intresting idea wayne,

Would wishbone bushes gone lead to unstable handling if I swerve at speed ?

Yes indeed!!! If the bushes have gone, the wheels can move out of alignment every time you make any movement. It sounds, from your response, as if you have dodgy handling, so well worth getting them checked.

yup, Mrs was driving back from scotland and made a bit of a quick move into the outside lane, it swevered loads. Then same happend to me when I swerved to miss a kamakazi squirel.

could be onto something here.

mayk19 wrote:yup, Mrs was driving back from scotland and made a bit of a quick move into the outside lane, it swevered loads. Then same happend to me when I swerved to miss a kamakazi squirel.

could be onto something here.

Don't forget that a bongo is a tall, thin, heavy vehicle - it handles rather differently to a car even with perfect suspension and steering set up.

sounds like you have the same problem as me mayk19.

may be worth getting the bushes changed, the are £17 each for the front and the backs are £11 each, you need 2 of each. Thats from mazda, had to wait 5 days thoe.

mines in the garage as we speak, it will be hopefully finished by t time tomoz, i will let you know the outcome.

Interesting that you can get the bushes separately WC8........an earlier thread mentioned having to buy the complete wishbone at a ridiculous price