Bongo Fury

I have had this problem on and off for a while.
I was going to replace the engine as it was getting so bad.
I have just not had time to work on the bus.
Bongo 2.5 TD Auto

Problem -
Lack of power when setting off, once upto turbo boost it will pull no problems.
No smoke nothing.
Any setting off from a stand still, on a hill or even reversing is a nightmare.
This isent all the time, I can go a week without a problem but then have 2 days of it playing up

I have done -
New Fuel Filter x 2
Cleaned tiny filter in pump
Transmission Oil
Brand new Injectors
Checked turbos and all is good
Checked a replaced vacuum pipes
Checked fuel pipes for air leaks
Removed tank and cleaned

HELP....!!!!

Video - shows me going up a hill and the bongo not pulling with foot flat to the floor. Come to a stop, put the engine into neutral and the engine will rev threw fine.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZvQ9QPrj34

Could be fuel starvation or binding brakes, fuel starvation (to an extent)will still allow the engine to freely (in neutral)rev, but not enough Juice to Power the vehicle.

Have you done any work/repairs to brakes and or the injector pump?

100% not brakes, I can tell the difference between engine power loss and drag power loss.
It could be fuel BUT having stripped and rebuilt a Diesal pump off one of these (not the one on my van) there isent much which could cause an intermittent power loss.

Anyone had experience with valve clearances?

Are all the bulbs on your dash ok? You're not getting an error code from the ECUs and not knowing about it due to a bust glowplug or hold bulb??

BeArDy wrote:100% not brakes, I can tell the difference between engine power loss and drag power loss.
It could be fuel BUT having stripped and rebuilt a Diesal pump off one of these (not the one on my van) there isent much which could cause an intermittent power loss.

Anyone had experience with valve clearances?

Great stuff, looks like you have most of it covered.,


Good Luck.

Did you find anything in the Banjo filter when you first checked it ?

sounds like you know what you're doing but from my recent experience, well worth checking and rechecking that Banjo filter.I started to get power loss shortly after I changed my fuel filter a month ago....so I did the basics..cleaned the banjo, changed the air filter...symptoms seemed to go away so I thought I'd fixed it until the next long journey and I lose power (it'd get up to 70 on the flat but any incline would lose speed and it took very gentle acceleration to get up to speed otherwise it'd just kick down).

So I changed the fuel filter again suspecting a dodgy filter (but didn't clean the banjo again). fine again for a week..then again...long journey and an hour in and it's losing power again. Decided to check the banjo filter and found some more brown bits in there so cleaned it and all seems fine....

then on the way to the bash..losing power again ! Only to find some more brown bits in the banjo..fine all the way home so decided to look again today having done the 150 miles home since cleaning it last and found some more bits..a lesser amount but it's still coming through...

I do run 50/50 home filtered WVO but the fuel filter should be catching bits the size that I'm seeing in the banjo (plus I've cleaned the pickup in the tank as part of my problem finding)...so I'm sure it's coming from the fuel filter/housing/fuel pipe itself.

George from Bongo Spares at the weekend suggested these non mazda original Fuel filters are shedding fibres which might be the cause for me since I've had no problems for 6 months on WVO until I changed the filter...I didn't actually check the mating surface of the filter housing tho so can't rule out crud dislodged as a result of uncrewing/screwing the fuel filter..Going to monitor every 100 miles or so to see if it reduces (may just been Veg Oil Cleansing I guess).

Moral is not to rule out something you've only just checked...

I have checked the small filter again and again but its intermittent so it would do it all the time if it was blocked.
Just got in from work and it started first time and pulled fine.

All bulbs on dash work, so no ECU faults recorded.

Anyone had as said above valve clearance problem OR auto box problem?

BeArDy wrote:I have checked the small filter again and again but its intermittent so it would do it all the time if it was blocked.
Just got in from work and it started first time and pulled fine.

All bulbs on dash work, so no ECU faults recorded.

Anyone had as said above valve clearance problem OR auto box problem?

It definitely won't be valve clearances, as the problem is intermittent - valves don't self adjust all the time. No idea about the gearbox.

what age is the bongo please.
did you remove the banjo filter and inspect it underneath, i once had one that had a tail of crud like a hairdressers plug hole, it looked clear from above. i hooked out the filter very carefully with a moist/swollen cotton bud.

A few suggestions:

Loose vacuum hoses especially one from inlet manifold to injector pump
Blockage in air intake ducting
Winter pack exhaust valve stuck closed (if fitted)
Injector pump timing
Blocked tank ventilation system (try loosing the filler cap)

Overall, it feels like a fuel starvation problem and if it were me, I'd try it without the banjo filter to eliminate it as being partially blocked.

Value clearances are worth checking too. They will change as the engine warms up.

on the top of the pump is a diaphragm this can fill up with oil from the pipe that simon speaks of in the above post. take the top off and check its cleaned out.---------maybe

Try a stall test on the torque converter if you're sure the engine tuning is ok.

There's a stator in the torque converter which has a one way clutch - if it's slipping, then it won't work as a torque converter but merely as a fluid flywheel and will give the symptoms you describe. I don't have any data of stall test for a Bongo

From previous thread: 1996 2.5TD Bongo Auto