Bongo Fury

My bongo is currently with the supplier having a second hand gearbox fitted after I noticed that I had no drive to the front wheels a few days out of warranty.

I've just phoned to enquire how things were going and been told that I'd had a very narrow escape due to an incorrectly fitted Mason alarm which had caused the engine to overheat by causing the fan not to cut in, evidenced by a high reading on the temperature gauge after just running it for a few miles. He also explained that the only alarm worth having was a coolant level alarm.

I understood that a Masons Alarm expands the scale of the temperature gauge reading, and since fitting it "normal" appeared to be about 1 o'clock rather than the original 11 o'clock and I have since done about 3000 miles in a variety of conditions with no problems.

My b*llsh*t alarm has been triggered by this conversation, should I be worried?

and as a supplementary question - if the transfer box is shot, do I need an entire new gearbox?

Dunno about the gearbox but I reckon you're right about your b*llsh*t alarm

All sounds distinctly fishy!

I think that the Mason alarm simply makes the guage more sensitive, so that you see the change in temperature faster - should have no effect on when sensors cut cooling fans in.

If the transfer box/ viscous coupling is shot then I guess it MIGHT be easier to source an entire new gearbox (not convinced on that). Otherwise I can't see a reason to change the gearbox.

Rhod

the radiator fans will work regardless of what your temperature gauge reads,the work by way of a switch that has nothing to do with your gauge,the mason alrm does give a higher reading and can sometimes be misleading,but i can assure you it has definetly nothing to do with the operation of the radiator fans.
i bought my bongo with a known head gasket problem,the gauge was reading zero and the fans would work,also they would work when the gauge was giving a reading,have had a mason alarm fitted for a while now and have never had cause for concern.
head gasket has been fixed about 8 months with no problems and gauge normally reads between 1/2 and 3/4.

Jeez the crap that some mechanics come out with! The purpose of the Mason alarm is to overcome the 'dead' spot on most Japanese home market vehicles making more use of the actual guage and give you a better indication of the changing temperature of the coolant in the engine. It does this by bridging the terminals across the back of the temp gauge with an electronic gizmo (technical term) that increases the range of the gauge. But it does just that - it modifies the gauge nothing else. So how can it be fitted incorrectly? Connect the wires to the wrong terminal and the gauge wouldn't work, it wouldn't stop anything from running and certainly wouldn't make the engine overheat.

Oh and the transfer box - you need a new 3-speed wriggling stick. Oops sorry, lapsed into garage speak. I'm no expert but no reason to assume it requires a new autobox, just an overhaul of the transfer box to replace any damaged components.