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Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:55 am
by barclay
Morning folks
Was having a nice lie down on the road yesterday and noticed a damp water pipe under the Bongo - I think it must be something to do with the rear heater?
Anyway, it looks a bit damp at the junction. Should I replace it?
cheers
Simon

Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 11:36 am
by missfixit70
Get that orrible rust sorted out

yup, you should worry, if you lose water from there, you lose water from the whole coolant system, get it sorted asap & if you haven't already, may be worth considering a low coolant alarm, mason alarm or something to tell you what's going on, cos with rusty pipes like that I reckon you may have more issues on the way if you're not careful.
Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 11:42 am
by cabte
I wouldn't attempt to do this yourself unless you know what ye doing,
I would take it to a rep dealer that's quite competent that they know what they are doing,
They could make matters worse if not done correctly.
good luck
Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 11:53 am
by haydn callow
you could "bypass" the rear heater....just disconnect the two pipes and join them. It would then need the cooling system bleeding and this must be done properly by someone who knows the correct method
Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:31 pm
by barclay
missfixit70 wrote:Get that orrible rust sorted out

yup, you should worry, if you lose water from there, you lose water from the whole coolant system, get it sorted asap & if you haven't already, may be worth considering a low coolant alarm, mason alarm or something to tell you what's going on, cos with rusty pipes like that I reckon you may have more issues on the way if you're not careful.
I'd be suprised if there wasn't any rust on a 15 year old vehicle with 225,000km on the clock! I'm all coolant alarmed-up already.
Looking at the diagram of the heating system linked in from the coolant system page on the Bongo shop, it seems to be part reference 612D1, which isn't offered for sale on the site. Could any of you kindly people verify if I'm correct with my part reference analysis? And if I am correct, where do I find such a pipe?
Adios
Simon
Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 2:04 pm
by Aunt Trumpet
I can't quite tell from the pic but is it the metal pipe that runs from the front of the car..(actually from the front matrix) and to the rear matrix? If it is its called an "offside coolant rail" and you can get one from Bongobits. I did mine last year as it was weeping like yours, its definitely worth doing and to be honest its not too difficult....just a bit of wiggling involved getting the old one out and the new one in...Good Luck.
Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:42 pm
by madmile
Try Bongobits for the part - pretty sure they stock them as they had one there last month when I called in. I seem to recall they were cheaper than I expected as well.
Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:28 pm
by barclay
Thought you would all appreciate news of a happy ending!
First stage - up on the ramps. Tried replacing the jubilee clip, but there was still a minor leak under pressure.
Second stage- cut out offending t-piece
Third stage - examine offending t-piece and ascertain minor hole situation is code red. Enlarge minor hole with screwdriver for dramatic effect.
Fourth stage - install secondhand t-piece and connect.
All done without draining the coolant (thanks to clamping on pipes), and for the princely sum of forty quid. Thanks once more to Discount Trucks - the Gods of the Bongo world.
Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:53 pm
by missfixit70
Nice one

cheap simple fixes are always good

Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 10:24 am
by barclay
Thanks Kirsty. Off to the Lakes this weekend and then Scotland the following one, so we will see how it holds under sustained periods of sitting on the M6!
Re: Minor leak - should I worry?
Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:12 am
by mikeonb4c
Great result there barclay - good old Discount Trucks
