Bongo Fury

for some reason I can only get 50mph up hill while towing my caravan, the caravan only weighs 750kg and I have seen people tow much bigger vans than that with bongo's. my bongo is a 2.5 td 4wd anyone got any ideas what could be wrong or is this normal

What's wrong with that, are you after a towing landspeed record

my first call would be fuel filter/banjo filter, and air filter.

Northern Bongolow wrote:my first call would be fuel filter/banjo filter, and air filter.

Agreed Also, how steep a hill are we talking about?

I have a new fuel filter in there only been in a week or two, I have a k&n air filter and that's all fine. not checked the banjo filter, not sure how to. its seems to be most hills big or small, the power just seems to fall off even with the foot to the floor some times it drops below 50mph nearer to 45mph

Loads on here about cleaning the banjo filter - just do a quick search and you'll be reading for hours Mine blocked, not long after a new fuel filter was fitted, and caused a serious loss of power.

Hi
Apart from what weight the caravan stands at, what are you loading into the Bongo PLUS what are you loading into the caravan....as already asked, what sort of incline are you tackling, and how far had you been driving ?
When your Bongo is under normal load, does it cope with similar hills adequately?
IF you are on a bit of a trek, I suggest that the addition of a transmission cooler would be the way to go if you are really hauling, as the transmission gets a bit warm and slows everything down.
From personal experience, I towed a lightweight caravan (1100 Kg), plus you don't want to know how much was inside...about 400 / 500 Kg at a guess ...PLUS the Bongo had the middle seats pushed all the way forward, and the rear seats up, two of us and 2 large dogs, and the rear of the Bongo laden so that I only had 8" to see out of the rear...all up weight over the 85% mark ...In France it REALLY struggled to gain hills, and the Swiss mountains it was a bit better, as it was cooler, and the Greek/ Bulgarian mountains it was better still (cold)....In the warm, I was stopping every couple of hours to let the transmission cool, and off we went....The transmission slowed us to a crawl...I had seen similar warnings on the Forum relating to this before we went.
The above is an indication of what can be towed....CAUTIOUSLY...but a trans cooler may have really helped!.....
I suggest you ask / PM Alacrity for his valued opinion...he might even supply a kit, if that turns out to be your problem....I was lucky not to fry the autobox ...and the Bongo does everything it should normally
Cheers
Helen

I towed a 6 berth 1300kg unladen shed to Silverstone and back no probs..... 60 mph on the Mway and up the Leicestershire hills through the north of the county with no probs

Towed a 1250 kg caravan in Norfolk uphill and down dale seemed like 57mph was the sweet spot for the engine. Only managed this on the A47 once on the back roads it was slower but the Bongo really pulls well.

I must admit 50mph towing 750kg seems quite slow, i pull a 1200kg boat and 4 wheel trailer combo with mine with no issues.
Presuming all the obvious bits on the Bongo are ok, filters, plugs, pump etc....and she is fine when not towing, have you looked at the caravan? are the brakes binding on it, are the tyre pressures ok, did you leave the handbrake on..lol...etc...?

the handbreak is off I checked that the tyres are all good, the only thing I have not checked is the wheel bearing but the van is real easy to push around by hand, so I think they are ok but i'll check them. the bongo pulls really well when not towing loads of power. but it really drinks when towing I think it worked out to about 11mpg. we did not take a lot of other thing with us no more than normal.

You really have got some issues with the Bongo ~ive towed a 1000KG (approx) caravan for the last 18 months,Bongo's (like any other vehicles) have their little niggles but there a brilliant towcar~i usually keep my speed to around 60mph but theres some more left.

I was towing last year M1 south & saw a few lorries in the slow lane (up a slight incline) so pulled out to pass & the Bongo hit 70MPH as i was passing them,obviously on a long incline it does drop down a couple of gears but still pulls well.

Did this start after you did the filters? Check that the fuel filter was fitted right, I've seen people fit the o-ring, that is supposed to go on the bottom for the sediment alarm/drain, on the top, where there is already a seal. could also be the top seal is rucked up if it wasn't smeared with some diesel as it was fitted, or just not tightened up properly.
The other thing to check is the small hose going from the air inlet elbow to the fuel pump. Also check there is nothing obstructing the air inlet.
Could also be any of the usual suspects - fuel filler cap, fuel tank pick up getting obstructed, fuel lines leaking, fuel pump leaking, etc.
Has there been any work on the bongo recenly such as the cambelt ? could be a tooth out?

Just had the uphill prob a few weeks ago and mine was the banjo filter it had lil bits in, not wuch but enough to effect it, blew it out with a compresser and bobs your uncle, it was like a new engine again.

has the fuel pump got a leak at the side seals,the pressure increases on these seals as you accelerate, so may be leaking under load only.