Bongo Fury

I was coming down the motorway at 6.15 this morning half a sleep after 11 day of work and suddenly realized the temp gauge was at the max I quickly pulled over and steam is bellowing out from under the van has been tow and left it at a friend’s garage who said he will look at around lunch time.

I know nothing about cars but am I right in thinking that it’s going to be ££££££ with a wedding in June and a baby on the way this is the last thing I need.


just thought i would add the van still moves as it was driven on and off the tow truck if that makes any difference.

you need first of all to bleed it following the instructions in the members area

you should get it pressure tested to see if the coolant system has a leak

You also need to find out why it overheated be it thermostat,water pump, bownhose etc

Now to help further where about in the country are you? and is it a diesel

Not all overheats cause major damage but you need to sort it

you might get away with a new hose and a refill and bleed

get the mate to watch u tube video on bleeding

whilst it could cause more damage to head etc

mines let go several times with no long term harm

just the expense of new coolant and the hose pipe that had let go

finger crossed i hope its nothing major i need my car for work but i cant afford it to be hundreds let alone thousands

im just south of birmingham in rubery

and thanks for saying about the videos im going to pop back down and show him just hope he dosent feel like time trying to teach him to suck eggs

Hi Nathan keep us updated mate im only local if i can be of any help evenings only as im back at work tomorrow

all the best Barrington,,

V. sorry to hear of your bad luck.

Was the overheat due to coolant loss? If so and if you are lucky enough to have got away without damaging the engine, and if you don't already have a low coolant alarm fitted, then I'd fit one. For quite a small outlay, you ought to get greatly increased peace of mind.

Well keep our fingers crossed for you

xxchefxx wrote:I was coming down the motorway at 6.15 this morning half a sleep after 11 day of work and suddenly realized the temp gauge was at the max I quickly pulled over and steam is bellowing out from under the van has been tow and left it at a friend’s garage who said he will look at around lunch time.

I know nothing about cars but am I right in thinking that it’s going to be ££££££ with a wedding in June and a baby on the way this is the last thing I need.


just thought i would add the van still moves as it was driven on and off the tow truck if that makes any difference.

If steam was coming out from under the drivers door when you stopped, it may be just the top hose leaking??

I wish you all the best with the Bongo, wedding & new addition to yer family..!

ok have just been to the garage on my bike ( nearly killed me lol) i have been told its the top hose that has blown so im over the moon if thats all it is

next question is what is the name of the part in need to get the best way i can describe it is if you lift the drives seat up its on the right hand side at the top?

and finaly anyone know anywhere round birmingham that i can get it today or next day delivery

pm sent,

xxchefxx wrote:ok have just been to the garage on my bike ( nearly killed me lol) i have been told its the top hose that has blown so im over the moon if thats all it is

next question is what is the name of the part in need to get the best way i can describe it is if you lift the drives seat up its on the right hand side at the top?

and finaly anyone know anywhere round birmingham that i can get it today or next day delivery

any mazda dealership can source you this part.70003894/top hose
mazda part number mwl 0115186d £21.10 ish.
suggest that you fit a gen mazda thermostat while you are in the cooling system.

suggest if you have not touched it then at least get the hose goes over starter motor to as they alllways go

xxchefxx wrote:ok have just been to the garage on my bike ( nearly killed me lol) i have been told its the top hose that has blown so im over the moon if thats all it is

next question is what is the name of the part in need to get the best way i can describe it is if you lift the drives seat up its on the right hand side at the top?

and finaly anyone know anywhere round birmingham that i can get it today or next day delivery

If the temp gauge has been over to max a long time before you saw steam coming from the top hose, you may still have done damage, so be aware. However, with luck, you will have got away with it (others have). But you should think very seriously about fitting a low coolant alarm if you don't have one as next time you may not be so lucky. I'm monitoring my top hose as it looks a wee bit swollen ( no smutty remarks please guys ) but with the reassurance of the LCA, I'm enjoying seeing just how quickly it isn't deteriorating (4 yrs so far and no major change).

Good point about the hose over the starter motor - it can get chafed if it's protective sleeve is not in place. Same goes for the bleed hose, which will chafe on the alternator if the clips holding it out of the way have let go.

Good luck

Hopefully you have got away with it and a new top hose plus a proper flush/bleed will get things running again.

As others have said, this is also a good time to fit a new genuine thermostat and there is also an arguement for fitting a new water pump at the same time (I've just done all of these and the Bongo run's cooler as a result, isn't loosing coolant and I have a little more piece of mind).

Coolant alarms are also highly recommended, in your case the alarm would have gone off as soon as you started to lose coolant which could have given you a few more vital seconds to stop before the temperature get's critical. I'm only in Bromsgrove and while I'm not as technical as some on here, I would happily help you fit a coolant alarm.

Hope it all goes well (I'm also getting married next month and understand the stresses!).

update!

i have managed to get the hose and fit it with a little help from a friend, so i was over the moon untill i noticed the thermostat is still of the scale after a small drive any ideas what i have done wrong i have followed the video on youtube about the coolant. could i have missed something or is it another problem?

did you flush it all out