Bongo Fury

OK. Bongo overheated. Called AA. AA man topped up coolant, said it was OK to drive but keep an eye on the coolant levels. 2 days later another massive overheat. Another AA man came. Did lots of tests first one didn't do. Said it was a suspect cracked cylinder head and not to drive it. Got "relayed" to garage. Cracked cylinder head - £1200ish.

My question. If we had stopped driving it when we first had the problem, would it not have been as bad? Should the first AA man have done what the second one did and told me under no circumstances to drive it? Do I have any claim against the AA for their duff advice?


Opinions, please?

First AA man was wrong to suggest to keep driving with an obvious fault. Whether the head was cracked anyway is impossible to tell.
No harm in trying for recourse.

I would think the damage was done at the first overheat. The AA man can only give his best advice and to say your head is cracked at the roadside is only a guess. It could be a head gasket.
How long have you had the Bongo, did you not notice the temp gauge starting to rise?
Keep us informed of progress.
Can you smell exaust in the header tank?

I would expect the AA man will be covered by smallprint because as with most professions some are more experienced than others and they can only give you the benefit of their knowledge as they see it. No harm in trying to make a complaint/claim though.

Maybe it needs to be on the recovery services computer systems that the bongo cooling system is "a bit special", & that just "topping it up" is not enough - it needs to be bled properly & if in the slightest doubt should not be driven any further after an overheat.
I would not trust the advice of any recovery mechanic I'm afraid, my friend was told just before he got on to the ferry at Dover that it would be fine to drive to Southern Spain on a 12 year old space saver that should not have been used in the first place, even in a usable condition, should only do a recommended maximum of 80km !:shock:
I would definitely try for some sort of restitution from the AA, they need to be made aware that their advice can have consequences.

Got to say, we are wth the RAC, when we overheated the guy that came out to us seemed to know about the cooling system on the bongo, this was before we joined BF and found out about the problems we could face if we drove ours without bleeding it correctly. He said under no circumstances risk driving it till we get it checked out, like whats been said before it depends on who you get whether it be RAC or AA. Hope you get it sorted.

this is the main reason why i will not have another one....all too common on a vehicle that is supposed to be used for long haul and distances... i got one done with all the bits for 700 quid ish... 360 for new cylinder head/gasket and parts, 300 fitting.... i just dont think i can trust them any more which is a pity as i really really like them a lot..

Hi curlew,



If you have AA legal cover, it would be interesting to see how far they would go to persue your claim on this one. . . .

So sorry to hear of your troubles, such a shame when this happens, and so common too.

Like one of the others said, whos with the R.A.C.. They are aware of the Bongo and its faults. My R.A.C guy who came to mine when the head went, diagnosed the problem spot on.

Hope you manage to get it sorted, keep us posted how you are getting on.

It wouldnt hurt trying to get some form of compensation from them.

the-bongo-mongo wrote:this is the main reason why i will not have another one....all too common on a vehicle that is supposed to be used for long haul and distances... i got one done with all the bits for 700 quid ish... 360 for new cylinder head/gasket and parts, 300 fitting.... i just dont think i can trust them any more which is a pity as i really really like them a lot..

Well makes you wonder

OK - update. Mechanic has just rung to say that when he stripped the engine down he found a lot of water in the turbo. He thinks the seals had gone. He has fitted a replacement, and the engine appears to have stopped overheating - he did a long test drive to check. Any comments/advice anyone?

Has your man got access to "sniffer test" equipment? That's a quite definitive way of telling if exhaust is getting into the coolant...

He says that the water in the turbo could produce the same symptoms. He is a Bongo expert - he's fitted 15 new cyilnder heads and two new engines so fat this year - and was expecting us to be either number 16 or number 3!

No one?

Hang on Curlew, an sane answer will be along soon. Sounds like a possible explanation to me but not one I've come across before.