Bongo Fury

My Bongo has been overheating sporadically since June
During service last week they found that the thermostat was functioning properly so had a new one installed yesterday
Drove a few miles today and the temp guage was on 3/4 no alarm had gone off
Went back to garage
They have tested and ruled out head Gasket
they recon it must be a block somewhere in radiator or ones of the pipes
So they are now looking at that
Any input /commiserations welcome
Was on my way to Festival where I am organising the Healing area
Hope it will be sorted by tomorrow otherwise I will have to sleep in a tent at the festival

Are they a bongo savvy garage? How did they rule out the head/head gasket? most conventional means of testing do not work with the bongo. Are they sure they bled it properly? Did the heater blow hot when they bled it (ie full flow through the matrix)? have they pressure tested the coolant system to check for leaks? Did they flush the system? Did they fit a genuine Mazda stat?
It may well be the rad is blocked & needs replacing, if they do, make sure the rad does not have a vent pipe under the pressure cap, shouldn't have one on the bongo, all venting takes place at the plastic header/expansion tank through the 1.1bar cap.

Do you have a MASON alarm fitted ??

I have a Mason alarm and one I got from Hadyn
Are they a bongo savvy garage? Yes They sell them and repair them
How did they rule out the head/head gasket? Did some sort of chemical and pressure test
Are they sure they bled it properly? Don't know
Did the heater blow hot when they bled it (ie full flow through the matrix)? They tested Heater inside van
have they pressure tested the coolant system to check for leaks? I think so as they have looked at it several times on the last month In June they replaced some sort of sensor at the base of the engine
Did they flush the system? Don't know
Did they fit a genuine Mazda stat? Again I would think so I will ask

If it went to 3/4 with the Mason fitted, it's not overheated, depends where the alarm is set as to when it'll go off, most seem to be somewhere between the 4 - 4.5 mark on the Mason scale. The Mason modified temp gauge should be able to go up to just before the top white line, where the rad fans should switch in (@ 96 degrees on top hose) & bring the temp down again.
Where did it used to sit/operate? was the old stat jammed open or drilled out or "modified" in any way?
First suspect is an airlock/incorrectly bled if it went up to that sort of temp that quickly, get them to recheck that & take it up to fan operating temp to check the fans switch in ok & bring the temp down, the fan switch is the 2 pin one above the starter motor on the drivers side of the block.

Influshing the rad It sprung a leak so new radiator for me
Praying thats the end of the expense for a while

Fingers crossed that's your problem sorted

Sounds like your sorted Joy just picked up the message, we had been out most of the afternoon, despite the weather! Hope the radiator replacement sorts it for you.

Me2