Bongo Fury

Posted on behalf of Claire in Bradford (Peter; you are near Claire I think?):

"I have been having a lot of problems with my bongo & I am at my wits end. My head gasket went (head cracked). Paid out ?1600 out & still losing water. Been in touch with consumer advise , & they have advised I get a second opinion, but as I have forked out so much money so far can`t afford to pay any thing more. Any help would be appreciated as I feel I`m up stream without a paddle."

Well Claire, the first thing you MUST do is return to the garage that did the original repair and inform them you are not happy and that the problem is still there and that you want it put right., Any repair has to be guaranteed even it is only for 6 months. If they do not rectify the problem then you should inform them that you will take them to the small claims court and ask the court for the cost of your original repair plus damages and the cost of any subsequent work to put it right. You could mention the fact that this will also generate bad press for them and that you have been advised via this course of action by the trading standards dept. If this does not work then visit your local mags court and they will explain the small claims procedure to you, it is simple and cheap some defendants(the bad guys) don't even turn up to contest the matter. I would also suggest an appointment with a solicitor for advice, phone them first a lot of em give a free interview when they will tell you if you have a case or not. Do not give up, again a lot of places rely on stalling so much, that the people will give up and go elsewhere. If you have a local paper phone them sometimes a story like this and a phone call from a reporter works wonder. Also check your insurance, do you have free legal cover.Good luck, Happy motoring.

Clare so sorry to hear about your problems, David has given you some very sound advice We had our Cylinder head crack, we did not replace it, our mechanic did not want to add new to old, so we got a secondhand engine (?900 ---24,000 miles) I assume you have replaced the head, we were quoted ?1400 plus fitting for the head , I wonder if you are loosing coolant elsewhere.Is the engine running o.k. no water in the oil or white smoke from exhaust? if not the water loss could be from the radiator, or from radiator cap, any of the hoses , check all these thing or get a mechanic to do it, let us know how you get on, I really feel for you, keep positive

Claire

My garage had a similar experience and blamed a faulty head gasket. They fitted a Mazda/Ford one and bled it properly and all is now fine. I dont know whether the gasket was faulty or wrongly fitted but they have been a diligent garage and I dont think the problem was of their making.

I would obtain the translated section of the official Mazda manual which covers replacing coolant and give that to the garage, there are over 20 steps to do it properly.

Chin up, sure it will be fine in the end.

Tom

There seems to be much mention of the 'downloaded 20 important steps to bleeding the water system' - is there a member out there who has a list of the correct steps willing to spend a few moments and share them. This is such an important area and one which causes the most concern, it would be brilliant for this information to be freely and clearly available to members.
If it already is then forgive my ignorance, but I have not seen it...

madmile wrote:There seems to be much mention of the 'downloaded 20 important steps to bleeding the water system' - is there a member out there who has a list of the correct steps willing to spend a few moments and share them. This is such an important area and one which causes the most concern, it would be brilliant for this information to be freely and clearly available to members.
If it already is then forgive my ignorance, but I have not seen it...

Not as simple as it sounds I'm afraid. The manual translation is done by a NZ firm on a commercial basis, indeed they are in the process of translating the whole manual which will be of great use to Bongo owners. The list can be purchased cheaply as a pdf download which is virtually instantaneous and will provide the information sought.

Under tech section you will find a reference to the manual, Bongomaster has taken deposits from members looking to buy the whole manual, there should be a reference there to the source, some parts are available now, the priority seems to be those urgently needed and the cooling system was one such topic.

Tom

Workshop manual info here

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/workshop.htm

Cooling information download here

http://www.repairmanual.co.nz/afawcs011 ... ction.html

Tom

If you want to take the legal route check your home insurance. If it is a good policy ( RBS) then you may have family legal cover which offers legal advice and possibly the services of a lawyer.I used this to sue the arse of a furniture company which tried to pull a fast one. The local trading standards folk were overjoyed ( they apparently bought cream cakes to celebrate when they heard) as most folk in the past had just given up when this company simply refused to discuss problems. We won with all expenses. Result!

Thanks everyone 4 your replies i have given the garage 2 chances to put it right but they carnt find the leak , they kept my van for a week & i insisted on a curtesy car & told them i was not paying out any more money till the fault was corrected . it is still losing a small amout of water tho , some days no top up & others 2 pints . i am getting white smoke on ignition but soon clears but never had this b4 . think my next step is to state to the garage section 13 of supply of goods and services act 1982 & take it from there i will keep you informed on how i get on. Thanks again everyone nice to be back in the club after 2 months of logging on problems

white smoke could indicate water getting into head, when our cylinderhead cracked, we got white smoke

yes i know ! & i suggested that the gasket may be faulty but it was a genine mazda one fitted with a new head , they said there was a leak in the matrix was causing loss of water & repaired it , addmitted not losing as much water now but feel i sould not be loosing any , had a couple of hoses also replaced ( mazda genuine ) asked them also too do a pressure check too they say thats fine too . bang bang my head hurts

sunflowerhapphippychick wrote:yes i know ! & i suggested that the gasket may be faulty but it was a genine mazda one fitted with a new head , they said there was a leak in the matrix was causing loss of water & repaired it , addmitted not losing as much water now but feel i sould not be loosing any , had a couple of hoses also replaced ( mazda genuine ) asked them also too do a pressure check too they say thats fine too . bang bang my head hurts

I am afraid this has a familiar ring to it. I also had white smoke. Your Bongo should not lose ANY water, mine doesn't now, so there is still something wrong and the garage will know that too. In my case, the garage was great, they removed the head and refitted it with a new gasket and patiently bled it and it is now fine.

By the way check if they renewed the head studs, they should have done.

Persevere, it is fixable but it can be dispiriting.

Tom