Bongo Fury

Hi all,

Just bought my first Bongo and absolutely loving it. However, very concerned after reading the forums about the overheating issues.
My 2.5 V6 Bongo 2001's temperature gauge seems a little strange the way it works and I'd love someone just to put my mind at rest. Basically, when I start from cold the temperature gauge reads below the "C" marker and its stays in that position for about 20mins then it creeps up to just above the "C" marker! is this correct? Seems strange that it doesnt move for 20mins! Also, is it worth buying the Mason alarm or should I just attempt the resister trick I'm reading on this site or both?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Glen

bongovinners wrote:Hi all,

Just bought my first Bongo and absolutely loving it. However, very concerned after reading the forums about the overheating issues.
My 2.5 V6 Bongo 2001's temperature gauge seems a little strange the way it works and I'd love someone just to put my mind at rest. Basically, when I start from cold the temperature gauge reads below the "C" marker and its stays in that position for about 20mins then it creeps up to just above the "C" marker! is this correct? Seems strange that it doesnt move for 20mins! Also, is it worth buying the Mason alarm or should I just attempt the resister trick I'm reading on this site or both?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Glen

The guage is rigged so as not to cause alarm by normal fluctuations. It won't move until about 70 degrees and will sit at 11 o clock and not move unless the temperasture hits about 100 degrees or more which doesnt happen in normal use. there are loads of threads about it on here. It is pretty much useless as awarning guage but there is a mod you can do to improve it or fit a digital temp guage/alarm as I did Enginesaver TM2

Wow answer within 10 mins, fantastic..... Thanks.

I've had both diesel and V6 Bongos: they both run at about 11 o'clock during normal operation and you should get there within about 10 minutes of normal driving. The Mason alarm and other resistor/diode mods will increase the range such at it will be closer to 12 o'clock most of the time.

First priority should be to fit a coolant loss alarm. Fairly easy diy fit if you are a dab hand at electrics, or a quick job for an auto electrician. If you spring a gradual leak or suddenly blow a hose this will alert you before you do damage to the engine. It is the difference between £15 for a new hose or £1500 for a new cylinder head, if you are unlucky and drive for just a few minutes without noticing what has happened !

(NB. You will see references claiming this is not an issue on the V6. True, there may be less risk than the diesel, but part of this is that V6's are in general still younger, plus there are just less of them around. Alan's in Plymouth is currently re-building a V6 engine that lost a hose, so don't believe it doesn't happen. Ironically the owner had previously bought a coolant loss alarm kit but hadn't got round to fitting it!)

Of course there are some cooling problems that won't be picked up by the coolant loss alarm (radiator sludging up, water pump failure, thermostat valve not opening correctly etc). To detect these you would need the gauge mod or a Mason alarm to see that the engine is running hotter than ususal. However, I see this as a much lower priority depending on where you draw the line on risks. My guess is that over 90% of Bongos you see advertised with "new cyclinder head fitted" are because they lost their coolant from a 15 year old hose. Rubbers and seals just don't age that well and there are a lot of hoses on the Bongo !

Regarding the standard gauge, it should definitely reach the 11 o'clock position after a few minutes and then never move. Sounds like you have a fault somewhere. Have to get advice elsewhere as I am trying to fix my own gauge at the moment!

Hi,

Such a long delay followed by a stable reading just above C sounds very odd. Even with the modified guage, which does take longer to get a midpoint reading, 20 mins sounds excessive.

Before fitting any temp gauge mods (mason or resistor) you need a normally working guage. It's pretty easy to take the instrument panel out (and if I was in your position that's the first thing I'd do) in order to ensure that the temp gauge has not already been modified in some way. If you are going to attempt any guage mods this is something you will have to do anyway.

There was a thread I cannot find that had an excellent animation of the temp guage working normally correlated with temps . If anyone else has it bookmarked, any chance of a link?

Sounds from what you say....you have no thermostat fitted or a "hollowed" out one.....this is often done to cover up a Overheating problem so a vehicle can be sold on......not what you want to hear but I would defo get it checked out.
I also note you have a V6...so do I, and my gauge behaves same as a diesel......I.E. 5 to 10 mins to reach the 11'clock position and then stays there all day.

This all great advice, what I'll do is take it for another run, only drive it short journeys so far and time exactly when the gauge moves etc and repost my findings. Just thinking 20 mins may be a bit unfair. The guy who sold it seemed genuine and I know on the test trip the gauge was around the 11 o'clock angle, so hopefully I'm Ok. Going to fit this alarm ASAP, any tips on where to buy?
Thanks again to all that have replied.

bongovinners wrote:This all great advice, what I'll do is take it for another run, only drive it short journeys so far and time exactly when the gauge moves etc and repost my findings. Just thinking 20 mins may be a bit unfair. The guy who sold it seemed genuine and I know on the test trip the gauge was around the 11 o'clock angle, so hopefully I'm Ok. Going to fit this alarm ASAP, any tips on where to buy?
Thanks again to all that have replied.

Click on the link in Haydn's signature

If it went to 11'clock on the test run you are probably fine....V6's do run quite cool and as said are not so prone to overheating damage.......enjoy it..

tallbongo wrote:There was a thread I cannot find that had an excellent animation of the temp guage working normally correlated with temps . If anyone else has it bookmarked, any chance of a link?

Think this is the thread you're refering to
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... =3&t=46855

............but this particular animation?

That looks like the one. Thanks.