Bongo Fury

Hello,

I was driving down the the motorway yesterday with a full load doing about 75 when i noticed the temp gauge went up,i think this was because i was pushing her a bit hard
so i slowed down and the temp went back to normal, i went into service station to check fluids and all coolant was still in system
my question is what effect would the minor over heat have on my front heater? it now only seems to kick out hot air if i put the temp to 30..
its the digital type of heater and i have a 2.5 derv.

Thanks

drive it till its warm and feel the 2 heater hoses on bulkhead

are both hot... both should be same temp

water flows through heater rad all the time

wether it gives heat inside is down to the deflectors in the big lump central below dash which divert air through it

i would suggest you have the coolant system checked as soon as poss. and dont drive it untill you have.
the fact that the gauge moved to high suggests that it has got very hot. this could be because of a leaking hose/rad or waterpump,this may allow air into the system.
the fact that the fluid level is still high suggests that the air lock has lodged in the front heater and is restricting heat output and flow.

i find it strange how the heat does come through but not until i crank it up to 28+
it used to start blowing heat at around 17, although i guess that depends on cabin temps.

i think i have aged about 10 years in the 17 months i have had my bongo..

dangaran wrote:i find it strange how the heat does come through but not until i crank it up to 28+
it used to start blowing heat at around 17, although i guess that depends on cabin temps.

i think i have aged about 10 years in the 17 months i have had my bongo..

If you haven't got your aircon on the cabin could easily be at 25 especially if your engine is running hot and your temperature sensor could be out of calibration. But that is not worth worrying about at the moment. Doing 75 on a motorway should not cause an unmodified guage to move even if its a 5mile 1 in 8

Eric once bitten Sullivan

Doesn't all this suggest that your Bongo may have congestive cooling system failure (i.e. clogged up system)? Could be the rad., or improperly opening thermostat, or fans not coming on when they should, or any combination of these. As with unfit humans, the problem generally shows up when the subject is put until raised stress/workload. I'd get it checked over ASAP, and the std temp gauge doesn't move until temp had already got v. high, so it is of v. limited help in warning you of dangerously rising temps.

The gauge moved about 1 cm.. as soon as i noticed i slowed down to 65-70 and gauge went back to normal.
the back of the van was full with "holiday stuff" that must have weighed a bit as i noticed the rear was lower than usual,
now, when i took her for a service in march the chap said that my newish looking cylinder head had a two way water outlet instead of a three,
he said that was common on a ford ranger an he was due to change it in october.
As i am down devon i do not know what to do, i drove 60 miles yesterday and the temp gauge did not show higher than 11 oclock.
i suppose i could drive to allan's or wait till i get home..

thanks for replies...

it sounds like something has caused it to get hot,ive found that when the engine is run over temp this dislodges all the rust flakes and crud around the system, this usually gathers in the rear heater matrix because it is the systems lowest point.as this is connected directly to the front heater (in the same loop) the flow is also restricted and poor heat may be felt.
check the heat output on the rear heater, this may give a clue as to whats going on.
personally i wouldnt run it, get it checked out first by someone who knows.

As has already been said, the temp gauge - unless modified - WILL NOT move from the 11 0clock position once it's warmed up, until it's too late, ie over 100 degrees, it is dumbed down so as not to scare people, it tells you NOTHING useful.
Relying on it at this point could well result in big issues I'm afraid, or you may be lucky, but it's a gamble.
Not sure whereabouts in Devon you are, but I'd recommend giving Allans in Plymouth a shout to check it over if he can.
May well be blocked rad or lazy stat if it's not cooling properly at those sort of speeds.

The rear heater is pumping out lots of heat, the front does still blow pretty hot air out but like i said only when i set it to 28+..

so many conflicting possibilities i do not know what to do..i dont want to use up a day of my holiday if i dont have to but i dont want a melted lump under my seat..
it seems OK, do you think i can just take it easy till i get home and take to Bell Hill.?

Nobody can tell you that, it may be ok, it may not. Personally I'd check it out or get it checked out.

dangaran wrote:The gauge moved about 1 cm.. as soon as i noticed i slowed down to 65-70 and gauge went back to normal.
the back of the van was full with "holiday stuff" that must have weighed a bit as i noticed the rear was lower than usual,
now, when i took her for a service in march the chap said that my newish looking cylinder head had a two way water outlet instead of a three,
he said that was common on a ford ranger an he was due to change it in october.
As i am down devon i do not know what to do, i drove 60 miles yesterday and the temp gauge did not show higher than 11 oclock.
i suppose i could drive to allan's or wait till i get home..

thanks for replies...

Can anyone suggest a quick way of getting the rad. fans to run all the time (while the ignition is on)? That might help reduce the problem, by way of a bodge.

Also, as you say, keep engine workload (and thus heat generation) down by sticking to sensible road speeds etc. and avoiding hilly or twisting routes where autobox may change down and raise revs. Yes, that increases pump induced coolant flow (good) but also causes more heat generation (bad), and I'd plump for poor cooling as your problem and not poor pump performance. Keeping on the move at low engine revs and with good airflow over the rad is my best guess for keeping the temp down. Heaters on will help too, if you can stand it.

pulling the plug on the 2 pin temp sensor above the starter motor under the drivers seat will put the rad fans on, but it won't do much good if there's little or restricted flow through the rad due to silting/blockage or stat not opening properly or it's airlocked.
Putting the heaters on may cause more of an issue as it'll be removing heat from that part of the circuit & thus potentially telling the stat to stay shut longer when it needs to be open to divert full flow around the large bore hoses & through the rad. Without any reliable way of monitoring temp it's a risky proposition IMO with an unknown issue & wouldn't want to recommend anyone to try it TBH, Best bet IMO is to get relayed home if you've got breakdown cover, if you haven't, consider getting it now (check the time restrictions on taking it out & then being able to use it)

Can anyone suggest a quick way of getting the rad. fans to run all the time (while the ignition is on)? That might help reduce the problem, by way of a bodge [/quote]

push the aircon on button.

if you are able to do this, try it, with the engine stonecold, and the expansion cap off the tank try to remove the clip on the front heater hose, its mounted under the front fan unit under the bonnet, it doesnt really matter which of the 2 you remove,but try to do the highest then pull one of the pipes to the end of the PLASTIC stub to let the captured air out,make sure the expansion tank stays at the correct level by topping up, when water comes out push the hose and clip back on.
welome your now a bleeder.
put the cap back on and give that a try, you should now have front heat, and proper flow round that part of the system. repeat if nessesary.
if this works you have leak,and it must be sorted soon.

Using the ac button doesn't keep the fans on though does it? only puts then on when compressor loads up I think.