Bongo Fury

Iv had my bongo off the road a few months as iv not been using it over winter.
Iv been starting her when i can and alls been well,,
Just come back from a 17 night cruise and came to start the bongo but the battery was flat. quick start with the power booster and off she went,
within 2 mins the fan came on , strange as its not got to temp yet, when looking under the bonnet all the water had gone from the header, so i turned the bongo off, and opened the header no pressure so i filled the header up it took about 1lt of water,
i then turned the bongo over again but left the header cap off to see what happed, the water slowly disapered so i kept filling with water it took nearly 2lts water then stopped,
iv looked everywhere for water leaking but cant find any,
its kept its level in the header and i cant find any water on the floor.
Iv also checked the oil and its not changed colour.
any idea where the water went for me to fill it up???

Perhaps it evaporated in the heatwave we've had while you've been gone ! 38 degrees in the shade

You'll probably need to bleed it and then get it up to temperature so the system is pressurised and then any leaks should become apparently. Also consider getting a low coolant alarm to give you early warning of a problem.

I'm with Simon, bleed it for sure... Then hang around the front end of yer van a while, it could be loosing coolant out the rad & running along the front cross-member?? It takes a little while to manifest as a leak on the floor...

Didnt get one with it being a petrol,
its been idling for two hours on the drive not a drop of water anywhere, even took it for a drive and not a drop of water.
Im at wheelquick tomorrow so will have them to have a loook.

So it defo wasn't evaporation due to the hot summer we're having then ?

cabte wrote:Didnt get one with it being a petrol

Worth getting LCA anyway. The radiator and pipes are just as prone to damage and deterioration on the petrol versions.

The guys at Wheelquick will see you right

I had a similar problem recently.
Being paranoid about losing coolant, I often check the header tank even though I have a low coolant alarm.
One day the header tank was nearly empty so topped up about 1 litre and started up went for a drive but no loss of coolant.
I used it for a few long trips and still no loss of coolant.
Then one day after driving I noticed coolant dripping from the rear matrix. I took it to a bongo specialist as I was having some other work done, but after driving 45 minutes down the road there was no loss and they even said they could not find a leak. Everything was fine until a few weeks later and I lost another litre.
I took it to Bell Hill who bypassed the rear matrix and so far all good
Why it lost coolant sometimes but not other times still bugs me.
It might not answer your question, but maybe put your hand behind the driver side and feel the pipes to see if they are wet.
Good Luck

water pump seal.

the bongo rests at 1 pound negative pressure when cold, provided your expansion cap is good if not good it can be higher, the cap is not letting in as it should whilst cooling so it sucks in where it can, usually the weakest point is the water pump seal.
this usually seals again when warm, no leak.
fit a new gen mazda cap and bleed it properly, and if of unknown age change the waterpump too.

dobby and tripple R had this, dobby may be along to confirm.

have a search for a good thread by (steve) widdowson 2008 regarding the cap and its operation.

cabte wrote:Didnt get one with it being a petrol,
its been idling for two hours on the drive not a drop of water anywhere, even took it for a drive and not a drop of water.
Im at wheelquick tomorrow so will have them to have a loook.

Rear heater matrix would be my best guess as well. Its possible that the plastic tank it sits in is holding some coolant, and its easy to mistake the condensate drip from the aircon with a leak / or not. Let us know how you get on at Wheelquick. Fingers crossed for you. At least its not such a faff to blead

cheers guys im setting off there in a bit.
will let ye know how i get on need to good for the meet at weekend.

Well spent the best part of the morning at wheelquick,
Told them what happened they told my my bongo has a self bleed system on it, and all i had to do was take the header tank top off a fill with water , just what i did anyway.
They had a look around and got under it and they said theres no water leaking out and no sign of any water leaked out.
they tested and found no leak,
But where did the water go,
They said it couldnt of eveperated,
They did say the only thing it could be is. there EG.
when a wooded boat is in the water its water tight, but if you was to take it out of the water for a while and put it back it will leak until it seals again.
They think i might have a very small leak and due to the bongo not being moved for some time this could be whats happed.
told me to keep eye on the water before i use it and see if there is any water loss in the header tank.
up to now the water hasnt changed.

fingers crossed.

It won't take long to pop the bonnet and have a check... that what I tend to do before I go any distance in the van, i have kind of got into the habit now. Lets hope that that's all it was.... bongo shedding a few tears cos you neglected to use her. Very envious of you having Wheelquick relatively close at hand.....

dunslair wrote:It won't take long to pop the bonnet and have a check... that what I tend to do before I go any distance in the van, i have kind of got into the habit now. Lets hope that that's all it was.... bongo shedding a few tears cos you neglected to use her. Very envious of you having Wheelquick relatively close at hand.....

It was probably because it wanted to go for a SAIL.

Maybe it thinks its a Boat.

LOL she was upset cos we left her behind in this crap weather while we was sunning it up in 34 degrees ,
Anyway she smiling now she had a wash, and clean inside and past her MOT, .