Bongo Fury

Hi All
Going away next week to Cornwall so decided to carry out my 1st engine oil change. Had the Bongo since January and have carried out all other lubes ( gearbox, diffs etc ) but as the engine had been serviced by the garage prior to purchase there was no need to do a change. Ordered and promptly received a filter from Ian ( thank you! ) and decided to change the oil Wednesday evening. Usually, 45 mins - 1 hr and I'm done with previous vehicles .... the Bongo .... 2 and a bit hrs later still pulling my hair out!

Looked underneath for a sump plug, nope! As I'm on my drive clearance wasn't great but did find a small cut out. Tried a 19mm socket but it wouldn't go over so confused, I took some photos ( see below ) to find the strangest plug ever! Not sure if it's original although it looks like it is, haven't a clue why it has a rubber cover and even less why it has the gubbings under it. Is it deffo the engine sump plug!!!!! Worried by this and due to lack of space I decided to get the Pela pump out ( purchased to drain the gearbox ) and having read various advice on here, set about measuring the dipstick and insurting the tube to said length. Once finished I dipped the dipstick and it was completley oil free so tried to undo the filter! Several hours later ( felt like it! ) and a trip to Halfrauds to get a chain filter undoer success .. it's off!

Replaced new filter, added 5 ltrs then added another 1 ltr, started up ... all ok, left for 30 secs switched off and had my evening meal. Returned to find the oil level well over the high mark .... confused I rechecked but yep, it was over! Re checked the forum and it deffo says 6 1/2 ltrs for oil / filter .........pela back out drained of a little ... then some more and so on, sure you get the picture.

Okay, now to the reason for the above, if the dipstick is fully oil free ... surely the engine is almost empty of oil or am I incorrect? Not being sure of the grade ( semi / full etc ) I am now concerned I have mixed my 10W/40 semi with what was left in the engine ... need I worry?

I know many on here praise the Pela, but I am far from convinced of it's usefullenss if it can't empty all the oil from the engine .... I was / am worried about just how far you can insert the tube into the engine and if you push it to far in what damage / problem you could encounter?

Sorry for the long drawn out thread but .....photo's below by the way!!!

That don't look like any drain ive ever seen on bongos

Mmmmm .... thought that might be the case!!! Deffo think its under the engine sump though!

Gixermark wrote:I know many on here praise the Pela, but I am far from convinced of it's usefullenss if it can't empty all the oil from the engine .... I was / am worried about just how far you can insert the tube into the engine and if you push it to far in what damage / problem you could encounter?

You don't want to make the end of the tube catch on anything - just down to the bottom of the sump and back up a mm or two. Getting 5 litres out via pela, for example, prevents a gush or hot oil up your sleeve when you remove the plug - 1 litre left in there will just now be a trickle.

It's a Japanese thing (most likely aftermarket) .. I have seen mention of the TWENS drain plug on some Toyota Estimas ..

http://www.teoc.ws/community/topic/2613 ... going-mad/

There as been mention of the Mazda not having a auto box drain plug .. but mine defiantly has one ..

Only inserting the Pela pipe as far as the bottom of the dipstick is definitely not right, I've done 49 changes on ours (and counting) and just drop the pipe until I can feel it on the sump. Then 6 litres of oil or a bit more if I've also done the filter, and it's right

Muzorewa wrote:Only inserting the Pela pipe as far as the bottom of the dipstick is definitely not right, I've done 49 changes on ours (and counting) and just drop the pipe until I can feel it on the sump. Then 6 litres of oil or a bit more if I've also done the filter, and it's right

So, your saying you can't get it caught on anything ( obviously not pushing the whole tube down! ) and try to listen to it hitting the sump?
Should I be Ok having mixed the old / new oils??????

I've read posts of people getting them stuck but ours (2.5TD) I just feel it on the bottom, never a problem.

For the cost of the oil and the time since you last had a full change I'd change it all.

Gixermark ,the dipstick stops 150mm short of the sump bottom, the overall length of the pela suction tube from top of guide to bottom of the sump will be about 625mm.

And the plug.....

http://wctsmultiservizi.com/products/st ... 5mm-thread

teenmal wrote:Gixermark ,the dipstick stops 150mm short of the sump bottom, the overall length of the pela suction tube from top of guide to bottom of the sump will be about 625mm.

And the plug.....

http://wctsmultiservizi.com/products/st ... 5mm-thread

Mmmm ...150mm short ...roughly how much oil do you reckon I would have left in the engine???

Also, thanks for the info re the sump plug ... never seen one before, looks a good idea however I would prefer to just have a normal plug on there!

a lot im afraid

Capacity is 6 litres and the filter a further 0.7 litre (which would have been full when removed)

Amount of oil left in engine = 6 litres minus amount in Pela. Any idea how much you removed? I seem to recall there are markings on the side to show amount in it. It holds 6 litres, so you could always guess how much was in there. If you are going to fit a standard sump plug anyway, why not run it for a week or so and then drain it all again. Don't worry about changing the filter again as it's performance will improve once it's had some dirty oil through it.

Simon Jones wrote:Capacity is 6 litres and the filter a further 0.7 litre (which would have been full when removed)

Amount of oil left in engine = 6 litres minus amount in Pela. Any idea how much you removed? I seem to recall there are markings on the side to show amount in it. It holds 6 litres, so you could always guess how much was in there. If you are going to fit a standard sump plug anyway, why not run it for a week or so and then drain it all again. Don't worry about changing the filter again as it's performance will improve once it's had some dirty oil through it.

Yeah thought about a full drain Simon, but having researched the web, mixing semi / full synth won't be a problem. Was question posed years ago re normal oil mixing with synth but if you look on the web, companies such as Mobil say it won't affect the oil ....obviously not to keep doing it and to change the oil earlier than say the next scheduled service.

Re my problem, actually ended up removing 1 & 3/4 ltrs in total!!! Frightening to think damage could have occurred had I not realised my mistake. Not a Pela lover now, much prefer the old fashioned way of sump plug off..drain...refill. I know exactly where I am then .....so to sum up, believe it's now ok to run as is ...fresh filter & some new oil...can't see it doing any harm/damage unless any fellow Bongo owners thinks different?

Thanks for all the input .....