Bongo Fury

hi all,
when in wales fairly recently,we went up a series of VERY steep hills in the bongo,probably about half a mile of twisty turny,very very steep bits,and when we were nearing the top,i noticed a burning smell,which quickly went away when we levelled out.it was similar to a burning clutch,but does an automatic suffer in the same way?i haven`t checked the autobox fluid in a while,but when i did,it was a clear reddish colour.
any thoughts?
thankyou
jamie

You're not alone Jamie, have a squint at the first few of these - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... mit=Search

but when i did,it was a clear reddish colour

so was mine

but under the bit the dip stick reaches was a pool of grey sludge

and metal particles all around magnet in the base

dont go by dipstick colour

I find there's a rubbery smell after long steep ascents - usually the tyres getting hot and starting to wear

dandywarhol wrote:I find there's a rubbery smell after long steep ascents - usually the tyres getting hot and starting to wear

Ditto dandy.

wonkanoby wrote:but when i did,it was a clear reddish colour

so was mine

but under the bit the dip stick reaches was a pool of grey sludge

and metal particles all around magnet in the base

dont go by dipstick colour

Good point, if you haven't had the ATF changed Jamie (properly, ie drop the pan) then it's probably time to do it anyway, mine was a nice red colour when I changed it, but not so at the bottom - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=30096 . Possibly nowt to do with the smell, but it'll be a nicer drive

I wonder if the oil cooler for the autobox is functioning correctly? Hot oil smells!

bigdaddycain wrote:I wonder if the oil cooler for the autobox is functioning correctly? Hot oil smells!

Spose that could be the case if the ATF hasn't been changed for a while, they aren't big pipes up to the cooler in the bottom of the rad, don't know how easily they could block, partially or fully?

I suppose if the magnet in the pan is bunged up enough, i 'm guessing the pipes to the cooler could possibly be reduced in inner diameter slowing down the oil flow, hence reducing the efficiency of the rather small cooler.

Or I suppose if the rad is a bit sludged at the bottom it won't be cooling as well as it should, I'm veering more & more toward a decent external oil cooler for the ATF

I have noticed this when going up some steep passes in europe. I put it down to the spongy matting on the plastic undertray being contaminated by oil spills on it and getting hot then smelling.

hi,
thanks for the advice.i guess i really need to drop the bottom of the gearbox off and clean everything out.i`m a bit nervous about trying to get the cork gasket off in one piece and use it again,but i feel a sunday morning maintenance sessuion coming on!!
thanks again.
jamie

Just slacken off the bolts, tap it & the gasket should be stuck to the bottom pan, pretty sure it's not a cork gasket from memory & looking at the pics again on the link I posted on changing the ATF.

hi kirsty,
thanks for that,i will hopefully tackle it next weekend.
thanks
jamie

I used to get a rubbery burning smell on my V6 if i booted it a bit and it dropped down a gear, but since changing all the belts it doesn't do it any more, maybe the alt' or air con belts are slipping a bit?