Bongo Fury

hi all

having a mare with my ford freda, 4wd, 1995, automatic and the garage i bought it from refuses to aknowledge the problem. he says it is running normally. so i wondered if someone could clear this up for me please. does the model above have three forward gears and an overdrive or only three forward gears. also what should the rpm be at 50 mph.

my freda is running at 3000rpm at fifty. also she appears to go through the gears normally to a fourth/overdrive and then drop out of the fourth overdrive within a min and then continues to drive in third all day long. of course this can only be happening if there is actually an overdrive. if not i am going totally mental.

also could someone tell me where the nearest bongo specialist garage to grimsby is or would any garage be able to pinpoint the problem for me.

thanks in advance

Hi,it has a 4 speed box,it sounds like the lock up solenoid for 4 could be faulty,If you are running or fairly flat road this should give you an idea,
Gear Ratios
(mph/2000rpm) for each
gear.
1st – 11.2MPH
2nd – 20.4MPH
3rd – 32.0MPH
4th – 50.3MPH

+/- 8%

PS make sure the vehicle is at running temperature.(not stone cold)

There are 4 forward gears plus top gear lock up (sometimes incorrectly referred to as overdrive). You should hear the revs drop at about 40 mph as it changes over.

This may make more sense if you speak Japanese, but it shows the gear ratios of 4 speed auto and 5 speed manual 'boxes:

My Bongo is only a little over 2000rpm at 60mph. Something is wrong with yours, the garage is wrong. It may not be an expensive fix, get them to speak with a Bongo specialist. Good luck, keep us posted.

Could be a badly adjusted tps ( throttle position sensor ) located on top of the fuel pump under the drivers seat, is the gearbox oil clean and is there enough of it in there ? Should be checked engine running and at operating temp gearbox in neutral, Dirty gear oil will give you selection issues.

mikeonb4c wrote:My Bongo is only a little over 2000rpm at 60mph. Something is wrong with yours, the garage is wrong. It may not be an expensive fix, get them to speak with a Bongo specialist. Good luck, keep us posted.

It should be doing only 50 at 2000rpm Mike (as in teenmal's post above) - take them tractor tyres off

francophile1947 wrote:

mikeonb4c wrote:My Bongo is only a little over 2000rpm at 60mph. Something is wrong with yours, the garage is wrong. It may not be an expensive fix, get them to speak with a Bongo specialist. Good luck, keep us posted.

It should be doing only 50 at 2000rpm Mike (as in teenmal's post above) - take them tractor tyres off

Ok can't really remember except that I thought mine did 65mph at 2500rpm. But its not doing 3000rpm at 50mph, we agree about that

hey all thanks for the speedy responses.

its good to know that im not going mad. he says he has been speaking to a specialist and also that he has been on this site. i think that he doesnt know whats wrong or how to fix it and also doesnt want to pay to put it right.

to be honest the car has many other problems but this is the main one apart from the cylinder head he fitted that leaked from every gasket going.

i have had the atf changed already as it seemed that that could have been the main culprit for causing this problem.

he is supposed to be bringing the car back tomorrow with the cylinder head sorted but he refuses to accept the other problem exists. i am going to show him this thread so any other suggestions, in english, (sorry simon but thats all japanese to me, lol) would be much appreciated.

its such a shame that i am having these problems as i really like it but these issues are taking the shine off it for me : (

hi again

so he brought the freda back to me yesterday saying he had fixed the cylinder head and the exhaust. when i asked him about the other problem he said there is no other problem, refused to discuss it, got in his car and drove away.

i went for a drive it is still revving at 3000rpm at 50mph, nearly 4k at 60. he has stuck gobbo!!!! over the holes in the exhaust and god knows what he considers fixing the cylinder head as he never explained what he had actually done with it.

he was too busy making a quick getaway. i am going to snd a letter today requesting a refund under the sale of goods act.

any advice would be gratefully recieved

thanks

nickitams wrote:hi again

so he brought the freda back to me yesterday saying he had fixed the cylinder head and the exhaust. when i asked him about the other problem he said there is no other problem, refused to discuss it, got in his car and drove away.

i went for a drive it is still revving at 3000rpm at 50mph, nearly 4k at 60. he has stuck gobbo!!!! over the holes in the exhaust and god knows what he considers fixing the cylinder head as he never explained what he had actually done with it.

he was too busy making a quick getaway. i am going to snd a letter today requesting a refund under the sale of goods act.

any advice would be gratefully recieved

thanks

That's what I'd do. He has got accept the car wasn't fit for purpose as sold and either pay for it to be fixed properly or else refund you. He doesn't seem to want to do the former so...

Seems like a visit to trading standards is also on the cards I certainly would, if he has sold goods not fit for the purpose intended then he has committed an offence, certainly worth a phone call anyway.

Nickitams, you need proper advice on this. I'd suggest speaking to both Trading Standards and Citizen's Advice right away.

The former is useful for demonstrating to the garage that you aren't going to be fobbed off; the latter for advice on the correct way to handle this.

For instance, you do have to allow the dealer a proper chance to put things right. I've heard that 3 opportunities to fix the same fault is what's generally expected, but whether this is an urban myth I dunno. Certainly you cannot take your car to another repair shop and then bill the dealer until you've given them ample opportunities to put things right, and even then you probably have to give the seller written notice of your intentions first.

Even tho' the 'law' is theoretically on your side, it's unlikely to be a smooth ride. For instance, you clearly have your suspicions about this dealer given the way they are try to shirk their responsibilities. But you still have to play it by the book and give them a chance.

'Rejecting' the car ain't straight-forward either, I believe. And there's also the simple fact that Bongos - despite how much we love 'em - are essentially Japanese 'rejects'!

I had some problems with a Bongo I bought on behalf of my niece a few years back, and - like you - the dealer was trying to wriggle out of it big time, at one stage trying to claim he was a private seller... It took some doing, writing him (with a copy going to Trading Standards in Wales where he lived) a detailed list of the problems and explaining why the SoG Act was on my side, and I had also contacted the Legal Protection part of my house insurance (which amazingly covered purchases and contracts) and they were about to take the case on. I basically wore the guy down - he got the message I wasn't going to let it lie - and the final trigger was me saying I was going to call the police since I could prove he was acting as a dealer in his advert and him stating that he wasn't was actually a 'criminal' offence. He paid up.

I remember writing to Honest John (Daily Telegraph) at the time asking advice. It was he who replied, rather dismissively, that these cars were basically Japanese scrap and I couldn't expect too much. It might come down to how much you paid for it as well - if it was a stonking bargain, then it could be argued that it simply must have some faults and more wear than most!

As far as the cylinder head goes, I think you should ask for a written guarantee - say 6 months minimum (again, it depends on what you paid).

Bottom line, the car should be 'as described'. That helped me as the eBay advert was gushing about how good it was - 'drives perfect' and similar tosh...

Good luck. Be reasonable, calm - and bold.

nickitams wrote:hey all thanks for the speedy responses.

its good to know that im not going mad. he says he has been speaking to a specialist and also that he has been on this site. i think that he doesnt know whats wrong or how to fix it and also doesnt want to pay to put it right.

to be honest the car has many other problems but this is the main one apart from the cylinder head he fitted that leaked from every gasket going.

i have had the atf changed already as it seemed that that could have been the main culprit for causing this problem. he is supposed to be bringing the car back tomorrow with the cylinder head sorted but he refuses to accept the other problem exists. i am going to show him this thread so any other suggestions, in english, (sorry simon but thats all japanese to me, lol) would be much appreciated.

its such a shame that i am having these problems as i really like it but these issues are taking the shine off it for me : (

Hi,if this vehicle is under any sort of guarantee you should not attempt to solve problems yourself,this could void the warranty.
I would advise you to get the vehicle examined/tested by a professional motor engineer,and a written(not in Japanese )report.

Then take the matter up with the TS.

nickitams wrote: my freda is running at 3000rpm at fifty. also she appears to go through the gears normally to a fourth/overdrive and then drop out of the fourth overdrive within a min and then continues to drive in third all day long. of course this can only be happening if there is actually an overdrive. if not i am going totally mental.

Something wrong with the "Hold" button function...???