Bongo Fury

Having recently returned from a trip abroad Im happy to report that Mango performed brilliantly, except for one rather odd leak.

I fitted some silicon hoses about 2500 km ago. Towards the end of our trip having driven approx 30km from a cold start we parked up and walked into the town. It wasnt a hot day and everything was as it should. On returning to Mango about 2 hours later there was water dripping from the under engine tray

On closer inspection water was dripping from the Top hose as it joins to the engine above the fuel injector pump. It was seeping out where the hose slips over the metal pipe. The jubilee clip was tight and I could not tighten it any more. Checking the level in the header tank obviously released the remaining pressure in the system and the leak stopped. The header tank was completely empty. I refilled,every thing was fine and it has not happened again.
Has anyone else had this sort of problem?

Yep was one of the first to fit. At first I thaught that the coolant alrm was a bit pricey but I have no doubt that its worth it weight in gold and I would not be without it now. The leak obviously did not start untill the vehicle stopped and started to cool. If it had been raining or I simply had not noticed the drip then without the alarm I could of driven off with dangerously low water.

There is a case of a owner who does take his maintainance seriously and has fitted new hoses. There are those who say the alarm in those circumstances should be left in the drawer...I rest my case!!

Sounds like the metal pipe may be partially corroded, only removal & inspection will be able to tell what is going on with it I would guess.

missfixit70 wrote:Sounds like the metal pipe may be partially corroded, only removal & inspection will be able to tell what is going on with it I would guess.

No checked that when replaced the hoses. Absolutely perfect.

Think I might put two jubilee clips on the hoses just to be sure.

From my experience with silicone hoses (at work on RF induction hardening machines) they are very prone to shearing at the point of clamping if you don't use the correct type of clamp. They are great in terms of their heat resistance (and for us their electrical insulating properties) but when used with any clips that have any sort of edge on the clamping surface they do tend to shear/split where the clip bites into the hose. We now use nylon cord to make a 'whipped' connection but even that can still shear if you get it wrong.
Having rambled on about my problems with silicone I guess what I am trying to say is;
1. If you use silicone hose ask the supplier for appropriate clamps (I would suggest not jubilee) they should be able to supply.
2. Reinforced rubber hose has lasted anywhere up to 10 years (maybe more) on most Bongos, so consider, in future, using this well proven robust solution with fewer complications.
(ps this is Greg, Jacqui's husband)

Hi Harpo,
you have chosen not to contact me over this , so rather than pm you ,i will have to ask you these questions here

did you fit the hoses yourself?
what type of hose clamp did you use?
what size clip did you use for this hose?
did you clean any crud off of the outlet before fitting?
did you check all the hose clamps for tightness a few days after fitting ?
in your opinion do the hoses fit?
are you 100% certain you never got even a smidgeon of a turn on that clip?
does any of your other hoses leak?
does this hose leak now?

I have had no problems at all with the silicone coolant hoses which Wheelquick fitted for me in January. Bigdaddycain sourced the hose clamps for me at Manflex in Warrington.

Hi Just to say....I fitted a full set of silicone hoses from Flippa around 6 months ago, and took great care prepairing the metal hose corroded up ends as some are difficult to get at ( taping up with emery tape etc ) and as to date not one drop of of coolant has leaked past one hose ! ...touch wood ??? clips used were proper jublee clips look for the kite mark (£14 a box) these will take some real tweaking up not like ching chong copys ........... I would not be without my blue hoses, ps off to southern spain with freda in 2 weeks ! I "THINK ITS A MAJOR BREAK THROUGH IN BONGO COOLANT SAFETY" he ..he ...ha ..ha thanks Flippa regards Rich

haydn callow wrote:There is a case of a owner who does take his maintainance seriously and has fitted new hoses. There are those who say the alarm in those circumstances should be left in the drawer...I rest my case!!

Bugger haven't fitted mine yet still in the drawer note to self must fit very soon

maxheadroom wrote:

haydn callow wrote:There is a case of a owner who does take his maintainance seriously and has fitted new hoses. There are those who say the alarm in those circumstances should be left in the drawer...I rest my case!!

Bugger haven't fitted mine yet still in the drawer note to self must fit very soon

Na don't bother give them to me instead i'll fit em to mine max saves you the effort, i get some of flips nice hoses eveyones a winner



But having said that maybe if i read the whole post correctly

flippa wrote:Hi Harpo,
you have chosen not to contact me over this , so rather than pm you ,i will have to ask you these questions here

did you fit the hoses yourself?
what type of hose clamp did you use?
what size clip did you use for this hose?
did you clean any crud off of the outlet before fitting?
did you check all the hose clamps for tightness a few days after fitting ?
in your opinion do the hoses fit?
are you 100% certain you never got even a smidgeon of a turn on that clip?
does any of your other hoses leak?
does this hose leak now?

Sorry flippa guess I should have come to you first

Yes I did fit the hoses myself
Cant remeber exactly the size of the clamp but it was the right size ie a slideing fit over the hose so there was no distortion as it was tightened.
No crud on the steel pipes as in very good nick. However, yes I still made sure that all was clean.
I did check all clamps for tightness severall times.
The hoses fit perfectly no problem
I dont think that I did manged to tighten the clip as the screw head was starting to round off. Previously I had tightened them all with a spanner so they were "tight" I did not have a spanner with me only a screwdriver that wasnt really the right size.
I did have a much worse problem when I first fitted them on the bottom hose as it attached to the engine. After it had been fitted, filled, tested with no problems the next day after it had cooled and was used again the hose (or where it joined on) leaked badly, very badly. I released the pressure and it stopped after about two hours and it cooled no leak. I retightened all of the clamps this time with a spanner and just to be sure double clamped th bottom hose. Since then not a drop of a leak.

The bongo has done low milage (60,000) and the cooling system is in very good order, there is no corrosion in or on the ends of the steel pipes so I have no problem that there it was a poor or bad fit.

This was a one off problem and i have no idea why it happened.

Once again very sorry that I did not PM you. On reflection it WOULD of been a courtesy to ask you first, but I am so used to reading posts on the forum about various problems that members are haveing that I naturally posted here first, never crossed my mind once to PM you.

Out of interest, what is the general opinion of using any form of sealing compound when re-fitting hoses? When I used to first tinker with engines, I always used Hylomar or Hermatite on all every single hose & gasket. Never had a problem with a leak, but it was a bugger to get it apart cleanly again.

The only places I've used any Hylomar on the Bongo is on the fuel pipe where I fitted a T-piece for an Eberspacher heater, and on the sump plug to provide a good seal without having to over-tighten it.

The best tool for tighening Jubilee clips is the proper pipe clip socket driver. It has a reversible 7mm / 8mm socket & a flexible shaft that allows you to access clips from a slight angle. The one I have is made by Laser Tools & cost a few pounds, but is well worth it in my opinion.

Hi Simon
Never used sealant....i use nut drivers or one of my small socket sets for tightening the little blighters.....having stuck a screwdriver in my hand once ....being lazy doesn't always pay off
Cheers
Helen

How tight should the jubilee clips on silicone hoses be? If the screw head was rounding off Harpo's hose clip, then surely it must have been tightened down quite hard. Too tight?