Bongo Fury

Hi all, taking a sharp turn this morning in my 4wd 2.5ltr Diesel and heard an almighty bang! stopped at local garage around the corner, quick investigation showed that the outer C.V. Joint on offside front Drive Shaft had smashed. Does anybody know what could cause this to suddenly happen? Mechanic was unsure and was weary of fitting a new drive shaft incase it happened again. So has removed
it completely. Please advise, is it safe to drive as normal or is it possible that I may loose drive altogether? Sorry for my ignorance and thanks in advance for any help.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

I can't think its a good idea to drive it with one CV joint just removed.

Where abouts are you? Could it be recovered to a Bongo Savvy garage nearby?

Hi Bob, I'm in Devizes, Wiltshire. I've looked on list of Bongo friendly garages and think
my nearest is in Melksham about 10 miles away.

if you remove both front shafts you wont loose drive as the bongo delivers drive to the rear first, if the rear slips then it goes to the front, so really just a fancy rear wheel drive motor.
the above supposes that all is in good condition with the transfer box and that its doing what it is designed to do.

what may break a uj joint could be a fault in the front diff or even something really simple like the wrong sized tyres on the front/rear, or an under inflated tyre or same size tyre but a different brand on the same axle or one really well worn and a new one on the same axle.

drain the oil out of the front diff, does it smell (cooked).

what miles has it got on the bongo.

Someone with more technical knowledge will be along, but why not give the garage a call and see what they say?

The drive on a 4WD Bongo is normally to the rear wheels, with a coupling on the gearbox transferring half the drive to the front wheels if it senses a back wheel slipping.

This would be very unusual on road, so you may get away with driving it that distance, but the mechanic should know.

Either way I wouldn't just leave it with a CV joint missing. You would have trouble if the drive tried to go to it, and likely an MOT fail.

Hi Northern Bongolow, Do you think then it is best to have the driver side drive shaft removed aswell.
She has done 16362 km, I bought her last year and she had new tyres fitted so I will check to see if they are the recomended size.
The garage did issue an advisory that a new 'd' bush on the offside rear anti roll bar mount is required!

Thanks Bod, i will give them a call

as i understand it removing the drive shaft will leave the front diff without the oil but because it is still turning via the other shaft it may overheat over time, you should be fine if your only doing a few miles but if you intend to run the bongo permanently without the front shaft it may be better to remove both front shafts, front diff, and the front prop, saves carrying scrap around.


just looking on here, maybe its possible to keep the oil in the front diff if you split the shaft at the joint.

http://lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/c ... no=.html#7

Inkiefingers wrote:Thanks Bod, i will give them a call

http://www.google.co.uk/#q=bod&imgrc=bB ... B319%3B450




There's more:

http://www.google.co.uk/#q=bod&tbm=vid

Northern Bongolow thank you for your advice.
I have decided to replace the Driveshaft.
I have found a few second hand ones for sale but
need to know if my Bongo has ABS or not.
I have on ly had the van for a very short time, and the
garage that I bought it from didnt really know what they were selling!
I know this is a very basic question, but how do I check if I have ABS or not?

You should have an ABS light on the dashboard that will light up as you switch on and then go off if the system is working OK! Otherwise look under the bonnet and to the left and under the coolant tank on the right is the main control mechanism;
http://lushprojects.com/bongopartsmk2/c ... 1of02.html

have a look at this link it shows the abs sensor on the front of a 2 wheel drive, its the bit that is near the castellated ring at the top of the pic.

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... abs+sensor

Thanks g8dhe and northern bongolow.
It is ABS, new driveshaft ordered. Will have it fitted this week
and hopefully be up and running again. Thanks again