Bongo Fury

Just got back from 5 days away touring south wales up to north wales, Last two days occasionally we were hearing a LOUD clunk when the suspension would compress. Almost like a pot hole sound, very harsh.
When we got home the passanger side rear wheel looks closer to the top of the wheel arch than driver side. I can put three fingers between tyre and arch on driver side and only two on passenger side.... Does this sound like shocks have gone ?

ta.

Not shocks.

Rear wishbone perhaps, not too sure meself.

Help will be along shortly, hang on. . . . .

Hi
As mr. M. says...not shocks...perhaps he is right on the wishbone...we had a similar noise when we broke the anti-rollbar on our Type 2, but it could be anything.
Cheers
Helen

Should be quite easy for someone with knowledge of car mechanics to diagnose. Did you have any incidents that might have upset it (went through large pothole etc.)?

will get it booked in tomorrow, serious DH mtbing trip to wales planned at end of april so its got to be fit by then !

No serious events that should have caused it...

mayk19 wrote:will get it booked in tomorrow, serious DH mtbing trip to wales planned at end of april so its got to be fit by then !

No serious events that should have caused it...

Best thing -good luck - keep us posted

We developed a"dunking" noise especially when you went over a bump or turned sharply

Most embarassing

Turned out to be "Anti Roll Bar Bracket" under vantowards the back easy to look for no covers or pipes to hide behind

They look like "U" shaped brackets with a rubber like padding on the inside, they basicaly hold the roll bar under the van in place and bang like buggery when they snap.

did not cost much to replace and with my limited mechanical knowledge appeared to be 2 bolts and the U bracket.

replaced both even though only one had gone been fine for the last 3 years.



Can;t put any value on the accuracy of my descriptons or English but I hope it helps

regards mr Pips

Check anti roll bar brackets/bushes & droplinks first, all reasonably easy & cheap to sort, hopefully nothing more serious than that

thanks all.

Check that the bumpstop hasn't been disturbed too, its the last line of defense if the suspension bottoms out,it stops the axle making actual contact with the chassis,which can cause serious damage...

Mine fell off the last time i bottomed out, luckily i spotted it, repaired and re-fitted before i bottomed out again....

Took my Bongo to wheel quick yesterday and got a nice shiny set of alloys Talked through the issue with the clunk sound with them and they have got it sussed.
It appears my Bongo has been lowered ! The springs on are blue and the distance from Centre of Wheel to arch is 15", on the Bongo's they had in stock the distance was 17". Furthermore, the rubber bump stop has been removed from the place direcly above the axle, on the standard Bongos there was a 4" long rubber stop.

So, the questions are,
1, Should I go back to Normal springs ? (The ones on the Bongo are currently Blue - what colour are standards ?
2, Did Wellhouse, who converted the BOngo, changed them ?
3, If I keep these springs on, how can I stop it bottoming out ? I've heard of spring assisters ?

thanks for your help.

another thought struck me.... Maybe its just the weight of the conversion making it lower... but the front was lower also.

I fitted some spring assisters last night and took the Bongo for a spin... I still get he same bottoming noise... But the handling is better around corners.
Took some pics of the springs, Do these look normal to people ?

I'm puzzled. If the vehicle was bought recently from Wellhouse (maybe it wasn't?) who are a quality supplier, shouldn't they be rectifying this?

Also I'm trying to remember but I think my springs (the front ones at least) have a protective gaiter on them so are not on view. Anyone else able to input on that. is it because the shock absorber unit is situated within the spring on the front and needs protecting?

Finally, I get nervous about spring stiffeners leading to spring failure over time as they prevent the whole spring from operating and concentrate stress in sections of the spring adjacent to the stiffener. Anyone able to comment on that?

The only warrenty from Wellhouse is the AA warrenty, that covers failure of items but doesnt appear to cover an issue like this..