Bongo Fury

A neighbour of mine suffered an overheating incident just three weeks after he bought his Bongo back in early June (he didn't, the Bongo did). After some time battling with the garage who sold it to him for a contribution to repairs he has had the head replaced at the garage down the road from us (not a Bongo garage, but given the number of Bongos round here his can't have been the first they've had in (and I must add that it wasn't a Bongo dealer he bought it from either, but a "normal" dealer who had received it as a trade in).

Before it overheated I had filled him with all the horror stories I read on here, and lent him my service manual and he promised to take it to Allan's for a once over, but it overheated before he had the chance. After it went into the garage I spoke to him and said he MUST ensure that the mechanic bleeds it properly and I directed him towards the vids. He wasn't going to speak to him about it because he was embarrassed to tell him how to do his job, so I said I'd go down there for him and tell said mechanic which soon changed his mind. Apparently the mechanic told him he had worked on Ford Rangers before and they are "also funny".

My neighbour got his Bongo (Freda, in fact) back yesterday after three months off the road and I asked if the mechanic had bled it properly. He tells me that the mechanic had bought himself a special bit of kit which removes all air from the system so it has been done properly.

Should he be worried?

For some reason I am concerned, and although it's not really any of my business although I should hate for that family to go through it all again. Their excitement at getting their Bongo back yesterday was very obvious indeed.

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=22830

at a guess its a vacuum bleeder

Thanks for directing me to that thread. I had done a search but as I didn't really know what I was searching for I didn't find it.

Looks like I can keep my nose out of their business now, and share their delight in having their Freda returned to them functioning as it should.

Nowt wrong with Vacuum Bleeders, in fact most garages who turn over loads of motors use them.... as they do industrial type Pela pumps for Oil Changes....

this sort of modern technology is brilliant in the right hands, but we have heard on here many times the famous phrase, ive just got it back from the garage and it went 2 miles down the road and spat the coolant out, sometimes this kit isnt enough to do the job right. its an aid, not a replacement for skill/knowledge.
in the method used in the youtube videos the coolant does not just get put into the system, the method actually checks for certain things to happen, as do some other methods.
the front and rear heaters are checked for heat, the stat is checked for opening, (with accuracy if you have a proper temp gauge fitted). and lastly the fan switch is tested to see if it brings on the fans at the correct time and brings the coolant system back to the stat controlling zone.
if any problem is found during this it can be addressed before it hits the road.
i personally think alison has reason to be concerned for her friend, the only thing this kind of filling can confirm is that the system holds a vac, it cannot find blockages, because if one engine/rad pipe is blocked the coolant just fills via another route, the vac system does not test the system under pressure(its normal running condition) so in my eyes it just stops you getting your shoes wet, and saves the garage the most precious thing of all------time.
as the cause of the head going in the first place could be anything from a bad stat, to a blocked/restricted heater circuit or a faulty cap/fan switch, the cause could still be lurking.
if your friend is worried your initial thoughts still stand alison, get him to take it somewhere that knows bongos, just to be sure.