Bongo Fury

Hi All

Probably due to not keeping it toped up with oil, the oil light came on briefly, n the engine overheated, got it towed, the mechanic said the gaskit's dead, the said theres a crack in the cylinder r somethin, so I need a new engine. I'm in Ireland, he reckoned about €2500
Does anyone have any ideas on where I might find one affordably? I've only just thought of looking here, and searching online. It might be worth getting abroad and shipped in?
At the moment I'm not even sure of the spec's of the engine, except 2.5L turbo diesal, mazda bongo.

Any ideas'd much appreciated, as its happpened at a pretty bad time financially.

Cheers

Patrick

I should have said its a 1996 model,
Is the mazda b2500 engine the exact same? most people aint heard of bongos

check for breakers and specialist engine furbisher's Bell hill and Bongo Bits are a good place to start

Also, if you have not already, join the club there is a fact sheet on replacing the engine bleeding the system etc you can show a mechanic to save them time.

If its just the head its not as bad as it seems.

If you have the noddle & source yor own parts it comes down to about £300 - £500.

I had mine done at a local garage & paid £1100 but that was including a fully built up head, new cams, waterpump (which caused the problem in the first place) & all done sameday with a 12 month warranty.

A 2nd hand engine is an option for around £600+ but you could be entering a minefield.


I stuck with the devil I know.

Peace of mind is priceless.

join the club there is a fact sheet on replacing the engine bleeding the system etc you can show a mechanic to save them time.

Thanks good idea. I didn't find anything in bongo bits or bell hill tho

Iezura on ebay have an engine for just over €1000 or £800
http://cgi.ebay.ie/MAZDA-BONGO-FRIENDEE ... dZViewItem

they say they refund you most of the postage if they collect an exchange unit.

A 2nd hand engine is an option for around £600+ but you could be entering a minefield.

I'd be much happier with £600. What kinda mindfield...
Guessin it'd b crap to find it's not goin well, n even with a 6 month warenty, not a fun job hasselin with a company abroad as a short warenty expires...
Gota do somethin tho, as I'm lookin at €2500 otherwise. It's not just the head

It's basically (not quite exactly) the same engine as the Mazda B2500 pick-up which is sold by Ford as the Ranger. As the Ranger came out in 1998 it's is possible that the engine might be the same as later Bongos I've never seen a definitive answer as to how interchangeable they are, but as the Ranger is probably commoner in Ireland than the Bongo it could be worth investigating that avenue.

Did I read that the Bongo engine is a modified Ranger engine with higher compression? Maybe best stick with a Bongo engine if poss. Hmmm - the logistics to Ireland are tricky. Can you find out exactly what happened and update us. It's v unusual to run an engine out of oil (unless there was a major leak or it not been looked at in yonks). If however it was an engine overheat then, as Mr Munkey said, a head replacement might be the required fix and that's a lot less complex than a full engine change.

mikeonb4c wrote:Did I read that the Bongo engine is a modified Ranger engine with higher compression? Maybe best stick with a Bongo engine if poss. Hmmm - the logistics to Ireland are tricky. Can you find out exactly what happened and update us. It's v unusual to run an engine out of oil (unless there was a major leak or it not been looked at in yonks). If however it was an engine overheat then, as Mr Munkey said, a head replacement might be the required fix and that's a lot less complex than a full engine change.

He said he has been told it's the block, but I'd get a second opinion.

Sorry, should have made it clearer. He mentions being told 'crack in the cylinder r something' but it's not clear to me whether he didn't fully get what the garage was saying. They may well have been saying 'crack in the cylinder head'. Putting that together with the rarity of running an engine out of oil (which you'd think might seize it without necessarily causing a coolant overheat) makes me wonder if they were saying the cylinder head was cracked. Oil light coming on is odd though - hmmm

Patrick - sorry to read of your problems. Have a look at some comments, including mine on this thread:

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... onditioned

I would not have thought that low oil pressure would lead to overheating, but if the bearings (or any moving part) was starved of lubrication, then rapid wear & possible seizure would occur. If that were the case, then replacing the head & gasket would be pointless.

The price you mentioned is about £1980 which if that included fitting & a warranty would not be a bad price.

I hope you get it sorted soon

I believe that the block of the diesel bongo is the same as on a ranger, but the cylinder head differs...Quite possibly because most bongo's are auto's, which use a different cam profile than manuals. Hope you get sorted pat....

Ranger engine has a lower horsepower

try mdkl motors,good luck neil...

bongomaan wrote:try mdkl motors,good luck neil...

Yes they seem quite good, to find out more click here................

http://tinyurl.com/5rghkd

hope it helps, I have not used them

Hi All

Apperently it was a problem with the coolent causing the engine to overheat. Its a crack in the cylinder head, but the whole thing got quite hot, so I think it's best to try and replace the whole thing rather than stick parts together. That link has engines for £825, with less than 30 000 miles appently, and given what seems like a good amount of tests. The mechanic I know said he'd put one in for around €300. So if all went smoothly that wouldn't be that bad