Bongo Fury

Hi There,
First time on the forum for me. Can anyone help.....
My V6 has a leaking front oil seal on the crank shaft. Mazda have estimated an 18hour job (somewhere in the region of £1700) to replace it.
I have a new seal ready to put in but wanted to know if this time estimate seems reasonable. Anyone had the same part replaced?
My local garage are going to do the work but have asked if there are any diagrams of the V6 engine so they aren't working blind.
Anyone got a link where I can obtain one.
Many thanks in advance.

Hoxtonshot wrote:Hi There,
First time on the forum for me. Can anyone help.....
My V6 has a leaking front oil seal on the crank shaft. Mazda have estimated an 18hour job (somewhere in the region of £1700) to replace it.
I have a new seal ready to put in but wanted to know if this time estimate seems reasonable. Anyone had the same part replaced?
My local garage are going to do the work but have asked if there are any diagrams of the V6 engine so they aren't working blind.
Anyone got a link where I can obtain one.
Many thanks in advance.

Hi this should help them...

http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsm ... o=.html#18

rita wrote:

Hoxtonshot wrote:Hi There,
First time on the forum for me. Can anyone help.....
My V6 has a leaking front oil seal on the crank shaft. Mazda have estimated an 18hour job (somewhere in the region of £1700) to replace it.
I have a new seal ready to put in but wanted to know if this time estimate seems reasonable. Anyone had the same part replaced?
My local garage are going to do the work but have asked if there are any diagrams of the V6 engine so they aren't working blind.
Anyone got a link where I can obtain one.
Many thanks in advance.

Hi this should help them...

http://www.lushprojects.com/bongopartsm ... o=.html#18

I recall reading it can be very expensive on labour, but someone like Allans in Plymouth ought to be able to advise as I seem to recall theyve tackled this job once or twice before. If Allan doesn't reply on here then try PMing him.

The crankshaft oil seal appears to be a bit of a weakness on the V6.

Thanks for the diagram,
I've forwarded that on to the garage.
I will also try and contact Allan if I don't get a response on the forum.

Hi

I would seriously recomend fitting all new cam seals and the crank seal at the same time, as its fairly rare for the crank seal to have gone, more likely that its one of the inlet cam seals gone and the oil finding its way down the block and out of the crank area. You should fit a new cambelt at the same time.

17hrs is quite honestly having a laugh its an involved job but a decent mechanic should do it in a day or less.

We have previously charged £350 including 4 camseals and crank seal, you should be looking at paying something similar.

Paul

lpgimports wrote:Hi

I would seriously recomend fitting all new cam seals and the crank seal at the same time, as its fairly rare for the crank seal to have gone, more likely that its one of the inlet cam seals gone and the oil finding its way down the block and out of the crank area. You should fit a new cambelt at the same time.

17hrs is quite honestly having a laugh its an involved job but a decent mechanic should do it in a day or less.

We have previously charged £350 including 4 camseals and crank seal, you should be looking at paying something similar.

Paul

Thanks for inputting Paul. Interesting you think failure is 'rare'. I'm sure it is (just like head failure on diesels is rarer than you'd think from reading on here) , it's just that it is one of the (few) notable 'type weaknesses' that has come up on here in relation to the V6. And when it has, it has proved notably expensive (on labour) to fix. I guess (like other Bongo specialist jobs) it will be a lot quicker (and thus cheaper, and better) done by a garage that is familiar with the task than by one that is not?

Have a look at this thread http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=29471 - if we know where you are, we may well be able to advise a reliable garage nearby

£1700 you could get a replacement engine fitted for that

Also check out there's no blockage of the engine breather system - often the cause of seals leaking - change the seals without checking the breather and the problem will raise it's ugly head again............................

mikeonb4c wrote:

lpgimports wrote:Hi

Thanks for inputting Paul. Interesting you think failure is 'rare'. I'm sure it is (just like head failure on diesels is rarer than you'd think from reading on here) , it's just that it is one of the (few) notable 'type weaknesses' that has come up on here in relation to the V6. And when it has, it has proved notably expensive (on labour) to fix. I guess (like other Bongo specialist jobs) it will be a lot quicker (and thus cheaper, and better) done by a garage that is familiar with the task than by one that is not?

Good to hear or should I say read from you Mike. Good memory it was my crankshaft oil seal that blew rather than leaked. It was a week after a trip to Crete in Bongo and she waited until back in Sussex before bursting her seal. I had to wait 4-6 weeks for replacement seal. Allan got in a few I think but they could have gone.

If I bought another V6 I would change the crank oil seal or get breakdown cover ready to get down to Plymstock if need be.

Good luck Hoxtonshot.

Hoxtonshot wrote:Thanks for the diagram,
I've forwarded that on to the garage.
I will also try and contact Alan if I don't get a response on the forum.

To do the job properly, the garage needs more than the lushprojects diagram, which is mainly useful at that level for identifying part numbers, etc. Why not buy a copy of the petrol engine Bongos workshop manual (Volume 1/engine, £55) from the Bongo Shop? That way you'll know that they have the correct info for torque and gap settings, special tool requirements, and correct sequences of disassembly, re-assembly, timing and other settings/adjustments, and testing. Not cheap but I wouldn't let any garage do such major work on my engine, without that data, and without making sure they take notice of it.

Glenda wrote:

mikeonb4c wrote:

lpgimports wrote:Hi

Thanks for inputting Paul. Interesting you think failure is 'rare'. I'm sure it is (just like head failure on diesels is rarer than you'd think from reading on here) , it's just that it is one of the (few) notable 'type weaknesses' that has come up on here in relation to the V6. And when it has, it has proved notably expensive (on labour) to fix. I guess (like other Bongo specialist jobs) it will be a lot quicker (and thus cheaper, and better) done by a garage that is familiar with the task than by one that is not?

Good to hear or should I say read from you Mike. Good memory it was my crankshaft oil seal that blew rather than leaked. It was a week after a trip to Crete in Bongo and she waited until back in Sussex before bursting her seal. I had to wait 4-6 weeks for replacement seal. Allan got in a few I think but they could have gone.

If I bought another V6 I would change the crank oil seal or get breakdown cover ready to get down to Plymstock if need be.

Good luck Hoxtonshot.

Amazing - it was indeed your experience that had stuck in my memory Glenda (I think there have been one or two since, but yours was the first I can recall). Thanks for the welcome. I'm not sure how manic I will get about posting for a bit as I've a lot on my plate just now, but its good to be at least posting something

Discount Trucks at Newbury are probably your nearest Bongo Specialists and Fred does know his way round a V6. They did the same job for Apole on this forum, so would be up to speed on everything needed.

If I had this problem (fingers crossed not ) I would go for a specialist as a lot of Bongo garages are familiar only with the diesel. It is a major job and essential to get right.

New Forest Terrier wrote:Discount Trucks at Newbury are probably your nearest Bongo Specialists and Fred does know his way round a V6. They did the same job for Apole on this forum, so would be up to speed on everything needed.

If I had this problem (fingers crossed not ) I would go for a specialist as a lot of Bongo garages are familiar only with the diesel. It is a major job and essential to get right.

Ron Miel wrote:

Hoxtonshot wrote:Thanks for the diagram,
I've forwarded that on to the garage.
I will also try and contact Alan if I don't get a response on the forum.

To do the job properly, the garage needs more than the lushprojects diagram, which is mainly useful at that level for identifying part numbers, etc. Why not buy a copy of the petrol engine Bongos workshop manual (Volume 1/engine, £55) from the Bongo Shop? That way you'll know that they have the correct info for torque and gap settings, special tool requirements, and correct sequences of disassembly, re-assembly, timing and other settings/adjustments, and testing. Not cheap but I wouldn't let any garage do such major work on my engine, without that data, and without making sure they take notice of it.

..and Fred does have the workshop manual info above. I fed it to him piecemeal from my copy of the manual, via Andy (apole) when he had his work done there. From memory, Andy's root problem was leaking camshaft seals - as Paul says, a more common V6 problem than the crankshaft seal. However, Andy also had the cambelt itself and the crankshaft seal replaced at the same time, as it made sense to do so. It is a fairly major strip down job on the V6, also involving coolant drain, flush refill and bleed, to facilitate removal of the cambelt, crankshaft pulley, etc. before the seals can be accessed - and that's why the tech data is important. Otherwise, there's plenty of scope for error. A PM to apole for comment and advice might help you, especially re timing and costs - I don't think Fred was cheap but he did a good job.

I recommend that anybody with a V6 gets their own copy of the manual - it may save you money by helping you with diagnosis and DIY maintenance, and should also save you money by enabling you to deal with garages with some knowledge.

Cheers

David

dandywarhol wrote:Also check out there's no blockage of the engine breather system - often the cause of seals leaking - change the seals without checking the breather and the problem will raise it's ugly head again............................

Second that dandy i found horrors espec to the driverside head, i looked because i read a previous post of yours on that i also dropped the sump pan and took a butchers at the oil pick up. mmmmmmmmmm i fear it was a job worth doing and i fear a disaster was avoided in the long term.