Horrendous first week with my Bongo.

[Mountain]

Well, if the first week is anything to go by, the Bongo will end up getting sold!
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Overheated due to the idiot mechanic that 'serviced ' the engine putting the header and rad caps on the wrong way around. The header cap obviously didn't seal properly on the radiator..so.....loss of coolant=overheating.
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So, tonight I find the bleed tube has been cut in half and blanked. Holding it as high as possible with funnel inserted does not seem to have been high enough to bleed the air out of the front heater.
BTW how high up is the front heater matrix?
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What concerns me is the possibility of an airlock in the heating system moving into the head Now that I do not want.
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After an hour of bleeding as per the funnel procedure-chosen due to shortened hose-still no real heat.
Can't believe I've had so much bad luck
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However, It runs fine now, temp is not going up, but the heater is either cold or slightly warm sio I'm still worried.
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On the plus side, when it overheated, I noticed the temp rise and it doesn't appear to have harmed anything.

[MountainGoat]

A few members are breaking Bongos at the moment so you could PM them to see if they still have an intact Bleed Tube available. If not then I believe that Bongobits will sell you a new one.

Tony

[Mountain]

Must have written that post when I'd realised the tube wasn't quite long enough to bleed all of the air out....after a good hour of bleeding. Wasn't a happy man at the time LOL...over-reaction
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I've put a post up about the hose
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BTW I've inadvertently stolen half of your name! I do appologise
My 'Mountain' handle was the result of two Japanese girls mispronouncing my name, Martin(long story!). Got overheard by a friend and it stuck. I'm also quite sturdy so it seemed fitting

[dandywarhol]

All we need now is a new member called Goat....................

[Mountain]

All we need now is a new member called Goat....................

Temp gauge not shifting from 11 'o' clock, heater blows warm rather than hot so I suspect small airlock still there. Will re bleed again tonight and hopefully shift that last bubble

[missfixit70]

As I said to you before I think, the temp gauge is dumbed down, so it won't give a true indication of what's going on, by the time it moves it'll be too late.
You can modify it like this - http://www.enginesaver.com.au/Tempgauge.pdf (worth a read anyway)
or fit a Mason alarm - http://www.townace.plus.com/ie/ietemga2.htm
or fit an add on temp gauge, Haydn Callow sells all sorts of montioring devices, including a Low coolant alarm - http://www.coolantalarm.co.uk/

[MountainGoat]

All we need now is a new member called Goat....................

Trust you Alan...........


Tony

[Mountain]

As I said to you before I think, the temp gauge is dumbed down, so it won't give a true indication of what's going on, by the time it moves it'll be too late.
You can modify it like this - http://www.enginesaver.com.au/Tempgauge.pdf (worth a read anyway)
or fit a Mason alarm - http://www.townace.plus.com/ie/ietemga2.htm
or fit an add on temp gauge, Haydn Callow sells all sorts of montioring devices, including a Low coolant alarm - http://www.coolantalarm.co.uk/

All in hand now
Got my hands on a digital temp gauge & sender and will buy a new silicone top hose & fit a T section in it to take the sender. If I play my cards right I may 'liberate' a digital display with an alarm setting. I use stuff like temperature loggers and digital temp alarms at work....
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Will steal a zener diode and 100 OHM resistor from work for the temp gauge mod.....2 temp gauges staring me in the face should be enough.
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Luckily I work with some engineers who mostly maintain & fix all the hospital medical equipment. These guys are electrical geniuses. Anyway, I'm getting a low coolant alarm made up for free. Beeper and flashing led in a switch blank. (Sorry to Haydn ).
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Does this mean I'm an actual bone fide Bongonaut now I have developed a coolant fixation

[Mountain]

Right! Over one more hour of bleeding and a gallon of diesel.
Bigger funnel taking the bleeding height to around the height of the headrest.
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Level in funnel higher or lower depending on revs but no great variation.
Only very few tiny bubbles.
Once hot temp gauge at 11 'o' clock without even a waver.
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After over one hour of following the rev cycle, heater is still cold. Any ideas?
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I'm inclined to think I do not have any airlocks, rather I have a blocked heater matrix-possibly due to the radweld I stuck in as a precaution!
Or, is the heater dependent on a thermostat opening? Could this be the culprit?
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My intentions are to......
Check coolant twice a day as I have been doing.
Add UV dye to coolant and use UV torch to confirm there are no leaks.
Fit all temp monitoring stuff.
Get a 'new' heater matrix, flush cooling system, change coolant, change main hoses and go through the bleedathon again.........in the Autumn!!! So I'm all set for winter. AC works fine for summer

[missfixit70]

As the heater circuit is the controlling factor in the cooling system (it's flow basically controls the stat), if you don't get it sorted, you could go badly wrong. If you suspect the matrix, bypass it.

[missfixit70]

Check to see if the fan flaps are moving as they should, this FAQ should point you in the right direction - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 43&t=28727

May be worth pressure testing the system to see if you got any leaks - http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=38823

These threads may help you understand the cooling system
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=35902
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=36433

[dreamwarrioruk]

id be happy to come and help you with this, im only in york so not far away if thats any help. ill have a look but i might have a spare bleed pipe in the shed.

i hear you used radweld, that can spell problems in a bongo with a 13 yr old rad it can easily get blocked by that gunge.
suggest a chemical flush and complete change of the coolant from all orrifes, have you put in a new gen stat from mazda as the compatable ones can cause probs. refit and bleed.

sooner rather than later or it can get expensive for a new head

[haydn callow]

You do not need a zenner diode to do the temp gauge mod......you just need a 100ohm resistor.
Would be interested in the volts/current your hospital made coolant alarm is putting into your coolant.

[Mountain]

missfixit70
Thanks again!

Check to see if the fan flaps are moving as they should, this FAQ should point you in the right direction

Now that is a thought
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May be worth pressure testing the system to see if you got any leaks
Yep, can do this as my dad has the kit.
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As the heater circuit is the controlling factor in the cooling system (it's flow basically controls the stat), if you don't get it sorted, you could go badly wrong. If you suspect the matrix, bypass it.

So the heating system needs to operate correctly for the stat to open? Ah, that changes things...damn.
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dreamwarrioruk

i hear you used radweld, that can spell problems in a bongo with a 13 yr old rad it can easily get blocked by that gunge

Well, it was a bit of a panic measure. It may well have blocked the heater matrix if not gunked up the rad.
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id be happy to come and help you with this, im only in york so not far away if thats any help. ill have a look but i might have a spare bleed pipe in the shed.

That would be really helpful. Very kind of you
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suggest a chemical flush and complete change of the coolant from all orrifes, have you put in a new gen stat from mazda as the compatable ones can cause probs. refit and bleed

OK. I will get all the stuff ordered....I take it you are up to speed with all this? To be honest I feel a bit out of my depth at the moment as I'm not familiar enough with the Bongo yet
If I get all the parts your help will be very much appreciated. Will PM you!
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haydn callow

You do not need a zenner diode to do the temp gauge mod

Yep, I realised that as soon as I re-read the factsheet.
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Would be interested in the volts/current your hospital made coolant alarm is putting into your coolant.

I will let you know. I think the idea was using the conductivity of the coolant to complete a circuit...a drop in coolant would break the circuit and trigger an alarm. Otherwise it's a wait and see situation. My dad has some header tank floats that trigger a switch stashed away too.
I would be more than happy to shell out for a ready made one, but I'm practically penniless for the next few weeks due to having no income after a car crash
Never rains eh?

[missfixit70]

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Would be interested in the volts/current your hospital made coolant alarm is putting into your coolant.

I will let you know. I think the idea was using the conductivity of the coolant to complete a circuit...a drop in coolant would break the circuit and trigger an alarm. Otherwise it's a wait and see situation. My dad has some header tank floats that trigger a switch stashed away too.
I would be more than happy to shell out for a ready made one, but I'm practically penniless for the next few weeks due to having no income after a car crash
Never rains eh?

That's how Haydn's Low coolant Alarm works (with very small currents), but you need to be very careful about putting too much current into the coolant or you'll get electrolysis which has the potential to cause all sorts of corrosion type issues internally, cheap options can end up expensive if you're not carefull