Bongo Fury

I had a bit of a panic thinking my head gasket was gone but the good news is i know it hasn't as my brother in law got it checked out for me, but i went ahead and done a coolant change as i have done when i changed some hoses before , but i cant get the bottom hose to heat up the fan behind the radiator comes on and the water in the header tank seems to be very hot but bottom hose still not heating up , could it be the stat, blocked radiator, the cold weather or something else i dont know about ?

cheers jim

Is the belt to the waterpump okay?

did you have the heating on full blast back and front. that helps when your bleeding and trying to get the stat to open.
but it does sound like the thermostat, the bottom hose does not get as hot as the top hose.

daveblueozzie wrote:did you have the heating on full blast back and front. that helps when your bleeding and trying to get the stat to open.
but it does sound like the thermostat, the bottom hose does not get as hot as the top hose.

i had the heating on full in the front but not the back.
i cant feel any heat in the bottom hose at all .

mister munkey wrote:Is the belt to the waterpump okay?

i will have a look at the belt in the morn when thers more light .

cheers jim

the bottom hose just gets luke warm....... not as hot as the top hose......see this thread.... http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=36433
The way the system works....in lay terms.. having the 2 heater rads cooling all the time means that the the coolant at the bottom of the radiator will always be quite a bit cooler than a "normal" engines cooling system...
The suggestions of the pump is one to consider, but if the heaters are hot, the cap is on the expansion tank and it aint overheating... all seems okay.... when I bleed.......I have a 2 mile run I use........2 miles out and 2 back....it is a route that is out of town into the countryside, stop and check the system & feel the bottom hose....and 2 miles back.... my route has town and quiet road running...... this usually gets some heat at the bottom hose...

daveblueozzie wrote:did you have the heating on full blast back and front. that helps when your bleeding and trying to get the stat to open.
but it does sound like the thermostat, the bottom hose does not get as hot as the top hose.

Sorry to disagree Dave, but by putting the heaters on, all you are doing is dissipating the heat quicker via the matrixes acting like radiators, therefore it'll take longer to get up to opertating temp & the stat open & the bottom hose warm. The only reason the heaters should be turned on is to check they are heating up ok & there aren't any airlocks.

Jim, if the bottom hose isn't getting warm at all, then the stat isn't opening, could be you're not getting it up to temperature (I guess it will take a bit longer in colder weather), could well be a stat fault, I guess it could be blocked rad. Have you modified the temp gauge at all either by using a Mason alarm - http://www.townace.plus.com/ie/ietemga2.htm or Haydn's modification to the gauge? At least then you'll be able to see what's happening with engine temp a bit better, or fit a temp gauge or TM2 etc (also available from Haydn - http://enginesaver.com.au/Bongo.html ).
If you take it for a short run to warm it up, leave it running when you stop & the stat should open after a few minutes & the bottom hose should get warm if it's up to temp.