Bongo Fury

Hi

It seems my Bongo was imported around 3 years ago and had no underbody sealing or waxoyl.
If looks pretty clean underneath, and no obvious signs of wheel arch problems.
Is it worthwhile getting it done at this late stage - or is it too late to make a difference?
Would value your opinion(s).
Cheers

yes yes yes they tend to rot from the inside arches etc,so when you see it on the outside its fire fighting after that,all you can try to do is slow it down.give it a good dowsing on the inside of the panels,dont forget the good tip by doby,that i didnt read until to late,if you do the inside panels pull out the setbelts first,as you will blather them in the stuff if left on the reel.

I would, peace of mind then, cheaper in the long run.

No you haven't left it too late. Our Bongo hasn't been done, but has started to rust as we left it a bit too long. Al will have to do a bit of chopping and welding before he waxoyls it to help to protect it. The pickup has also never been waxoyled but it is pretty rust free, so he'll do that one at the same time. The sooner you get it sealed, the sooner the metal is protected.

ok, stupid question here probably, but how do you tell if it's been wax oiled and undersealed, are these things two different things that should be done?

They're more or less the same thing really.
There are several different underseal products. (They are used to help to protect the underbody, chassis etc against stone chips, rusting etc.)
One of the products is called Waxoyl.
If your vehicle has been undersealed with any product, it will have a coating on the metal... there won't be bare metal (unless the underseal has worn off.) Waxoyl leaves a either a clear or black waxy coating.

Doone wrote:They're more or less the same thing really.
There are several different underseal products. (They are used to help to protect the underbody, chassis etc against stone chips, rusting etc.)
One of the products is called Waxoyl.
If your vehicle has been undersealed with any product, it will have a coating on the metal... there won't be bare metal (unless the underseal has worn off.) Waxoyl leaves a either a clear or black waxy coating.

Thanks, I'll go and check we have this. I think I remember the place we bought it off saying it was undersealed, but I'll check in case. Does this need to be done regularly?

I've read that this is a do once and forget job, but I disagree. The previous owner of our Bongo claimed the underside had been waxoyled, but I could see no evidence of it until the underside tray was removed. Clearly it had worn off in the exposed areas. Perhaps this was due to a poor application in the first place, but it's worth keeping an eye on the state of the undersealing. Our rear wheel arches are sufferring and will shortly need chopping out and new ones welded to repair/remove the rust damage.

It will need to be re-applied eventually. Provided the underseal is applied correctly it does last quite a long time, but 'wear and tear' will wear it away eventually. You could remember to check it annually, by having a look when it's up on the ramp during an annual service. But most applications last longer than a year.

I'm all geared up to get this done if my Bongo ever ends it's cruise from Japan - going to get Allans to do it despite the longish journey plus cam belt within couple weeks of arrival as otherwise I know it's going to end up as one of those 'tomorrow' jobs that never get done until too late ... so poor Allan it looks like 3 dirty jobs lined up soon !!

Luckily he's happy when he's dirty, he's used to it.

My bongo was unprotected from early 2004 till mid 2007. But she was put into winter hibernation each year and never turned a wheel on the road when the gritters had been out.

I've had her re-waxoiled each year since, always after the MOT (testers think you are hiding something if they see fresh underseal/waxoil on the floorpan) She's due a "re-do" anytime now actually. Definitely worth doing! No trace of rust on mine except for a stonechip on the windscreen pillar, (barely surface rust) . And there was a small (and i do mean small) rust deposit on the bottom of the passenger door lip, right on the corner where the door must have been opened onto a tall kerb at some point, all remedied now.

bigdaddycain wrote: I've had her re-waxoiled each year since,

Is this a job you can easily do yourself or is it best to have it done by someone? If yourself, what do you buy, how much does it cost and how do you apply it please?

If you get a garage to do it then how much should you expect to pay?

...and does anyone know anyone in SE London / NW Kent that will do it? Mine's looking quite rusty and according to the MOT history on the Directgov website had a lot of welding done for the last MOT.

Cheers,

Chris

Well, i have mine done each year along with a service etc at a local "bongo garage" nearby. it's hard to gauge exactly how much it costs as i get a combined bill. I think it's around a £100 or so.

Of course the price would vary greatly depending which garage took the job on.

Plenty of folk on here have done the job themselves at home, i chose the easy option of paying somebody else to get covered in the filth, and my new driveway remains clean! (worth paying out just to keep the missus off my back)

chrisvb wrote:

bigdaddycain wrote: I've had her re-waxoiled each year since,

Is this a job you can easily do yourself or is it best to have it done by someone? If yourself, what do you buy, how much does it cost and how do you apply it please?

If you get a garage to do it then how much should you expect to pay?

...and does anyone know anyone in SE London / NW Kent that will do it? Mine's looking quite rusty and according to the MOT history on the Directgov website had a lot of welding done for the last MOT.

Cheers,

Chris

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