garage central scotland coolant/engine problems

[ailishl]

Hi, I am looking for a recommendation to try to save our bongo.
We are in Coatbridge, and our Bongo recently had a full service but it is still running very uneven when starting, and sends out lots of white smoke but after a few monutes it si OK. We were planning on putting it in a bongo specialist but 2 days ago the temp gauge went right up as we arrived home, we tried it yesterday and the gauge went up straight away and the coolant seems very low and it did seem to bubble. So we are planning to get the rescue service to tow us somewhere tomorrow, and wondered where would be best. Edinburgh, Glasgow or anywhere between would do. We used Calder motors before but they are a real pain to get to by public transport. We saw Logan's garage on the factsheet- anyone used them?
Would really appreciate any help as we want to keep our bongo going but know we need someone who knows what they are doing to help out.
thanks
Ailish

[dandywarhol]

GBL Motors in Duff St Lane, Dalry, Edinburgh know their stuff.

[ailishl]

Hi, our bongo is getting a piggy back through to GBL at the moment, thanks, Ailish

[buddyh42]

how did things go with your bongo? have you got it back yet? and were GBL good or what has happened?

[ailishl]

It has been stripped down and the gasket needs replaced and they are skimming the cylinder head- feel free to correct me if I have got any of that wrong. No major engine problem which is good news. If no other problems we should get it back at the end of the week, so can't really comment anymore. Initial quote seems a lot more reasonable that when we used Calder Motors once before.

[ailishl]

Unfortunately not many happy campers here.
Hubby went to collect the bongo tonight and drove for 3 miles before it majorly overheated, it is 3 hours later and he still hasn't been recovered as the europe assist people sent a massive tow truck that couldn't tow a 4 wheel drive, and then forgot to send another, then didn't have one available!!
Hoping to get it back to GBL tonite but not sure what happens now.
Any suggestions???
thanks
Ailish

[missfixit70]

Get them to pressure test the head with it warm, make sure a new genuine mazda thermostat is fitted & get them to check rad, heater matrixes etc are all clear,the block may need decking too.

[Mountain]

Did you get your 'full service' done by a Bongo friendly garage?

My 10 weeks of woe are pretty much down to the previous owner doing a 'full service'. This included topping up with any old antifreeze and not bleeding the system.

To be honest, you might be better off replacing anything in the cooling system that is slightly suspect. I wish I'd had the funds to do it all in one go.....hoses, stat, rad....could have replaced them twice for the cost of a head gasket replacement

[ailishl]

Hi,
to be honest we had been getting it serviced by a local garage but felt we should have been trying to find a bongo friendly garage to do it, but there is one anywhere near!
Still waiting to hear back from this one as to what the problem is, and if running yesterday has created another one!
Ailish

[Mountain]

If it's any consolation, the same happened to me. A couple of miles down the road after gasket had been changed and the temp shot up.

I pulled over immediately and stuck the heater on 'hot'. It was cold! This means you have an airlock.
I let it cool and heard a burp. Topped up and got back to the garage for a re-bleed.
Even experienced Bongo mechanics can sometimes miss that last airlock i suppose

The good news is you maybe OK if you pulled over in time. Mine was ok....ran very well for a couple of weeks until the hoses started springing leaks one at a time....then the heater matrix clogged up....

The other thing to bear in mind is garages will sometimes look no further than the immediate fix.
i.e. if 'a hose' has a hole in it they'll replace 'a hose'. However, changing all the main hoses prevents future problems and only takes a little longer. So the labour cost for let's say the 5 larger hoses will pretty much be the same as one.

Anyway, hope you get it sorted...I've been there myself.
Whoopee, head gasket done and you think you're sorted. 3 miles down the road and it's back to despair!

[ailishl]

Hi, unfortunately it definitely overheated yesterday- Hubby heard the noise or running water and stopped the car, the engine was hot and hot water was running out the overflow pipe and when the top was taken of it was spitting hot water. Now the thing is when I asked the garage today if they would need to check the cylinder head again because it overheated last night- they said no- but it seems like it could well have cracked last night.
They were only trying to find the cause of the leak.
Should I be insisting they check the cylinder head again.
If they don't and it has cracked- while it just overheat again very quickly?
thanks
Ailish

[Mountain]

Oh no!
Mine boiled and the head didn't crack(first time). I thought I'd got away with it.....then the gasket blew and the head warped.

Aside from the overflow pipe did you see any leakage?

If there wasn't an actual leak, I expect it hadn't been bled properly.....and surely the garage is at fault there!
If there was a leak they also should have spotted it. After doing a head gasket they should have pressure tested the cooling system and checked for leaks.

The garage that did mine pressure tested it and put in some UV dye and checked for leaks with a UV light.

So are they just intending to track down the leak...if there is one...and top up and re-bleed?
They wont want to remove the head but I would have though it will need to be checked out as there is a good potential for damage or warping. Being boiled up twice isn't going to do it any good.
Might be best to cut your losses and get a new or reconditioned head...you'll have to see what the garage comes up with! Even then the cooling system needs sorting else it will keep happening.

Anyway, I'm just a 'layman' speaking from my own experience. There are much better informed people on here who will offer some advice.

Maybe you need a post in the techie section to get it viewed by more people?


(PS....don't want to lecture but taking the header cap off isn't a good idea when you have pressurised boiling coolant ready to gush out....tempting as it is )

[missfixit70]

Hi, unfortunately it definitely overheated yesterday- Hubby heard the noise or running water and stopped the car, the engine was hot and hot water was running out the overflow pipe and when the top was taken of it was spitting hot water. Now the thing is when I asked the garage today if they would need to check the cylinder head again because it overheated last night- they said no- but it seems like it could well have cracked last night.
They were only trying to find the cause of the leak.
Should I be insisting they check the cylinder head again.
If they don't and it has cracked- while it just overheat again very quickly?
thanks
Ailish

Get them to pressure test the coolant system, that'll find the leaks, if they try & fill it & run it to find the leaks, it'll just cause more problems. Personally i don't see how they can have checked it properly if it happened thet quickly. Even if they say they've sorted it, go on a test drive with one of them with you to make sure it's ok.

[ailishl]

HI, this is the update on our bongo.
After having it transported back to our house, we thought we had a mechanic who would look at it, but he never did!!!
I phoned around looking for another engine / garage and spoke to Simon at API engines who was very helpful and inspired confidence. So we had the bongo transported down to him, and he checked it over, it needed a new radiator, the cylinder head was destroyed and binned, and it needed a new gasket and some other parts. He had it ready to go in 10 days, and we got it back 10 days ago and used it to tow our caravan on holiday the following day. It is driving very nicely and our engine temp gauge is not going above 95 even when towing uphill.
We are happy!!
Thanks again to everyone who helped us out,
Ailish

[dunslair]

Glad it's all sorted and back on the road. Where are API engines located about?