Bongo Fury

My 1995 Mazda Bongo has a leaking Injector pump, the leak appears to be coming from between the pump body and the distribution head (a common fault I understand). I recently saw a post which suggested that this could be repaired insitu replacing the 'O' ring seal by carefully only loosening the bolts which hold the distribution head to the body. Thus retaining all the parts inside in their correct position . However, I have not found a post from anyone who has successfully carried out this operation . I spoke to my local Injection specialist company but I was told it was impossible all the parts would fall out . When I tried to explain the technique suggested, the technician refused to listen telling me he had been doing this for thirty years etc .

If any one has performed this operation I would be grateful for any tips on how they managed it.

My knowledge is mininal and only from here but I replaced the o rings yesterday successfully. I read the bit about not removing the plates and frankly didn't understand it. I followed the members area download and it worked perfectly. Can't reiterate enough though, you need small hands. I'm not big but had to grease my hand and pray it didn't get too warm otherwise I would have been stuck there!

the seal referred to above isnt the side seals mate its the large O ring that seals the main body to the high pressure side, the head.

firstly from personal experience dont attempt to loosen the bolts and gently pull away the head to replace the seal when its in position or you MAY end up with a bucket full of bits like i did there are somewhere between 30 to 40 bits in there .
i then spoke to lawsons diesels in edinburgh and he did laugh then said when they rebuild em they do it off the bongo and in an upright position, oh and they mentioned something about 50 years of experience .
i know of one very talented car builder who has done it in situ and he did write a thread for it on here i will look for it.

heres something to make your eyes water.

http://www.vwdieselparts.com/forum/view ... wn&start=0

Right you are, ignore me!

try this link mate, im sure mel,the great pretender did a thread with pics.

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... er#p586477.

in this link it explains how acetone is used to stop fuel pump leaks, it did work for my large O ring seal, that was 2 years ago, it hasnt leaked since, i have stopped using veg oil as much now though, so not sure if its the veg or the acetone that cured it.

http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... ls#p470451.

you could do a lot worse than search The Great Pretenders old posts, always good and knowledgable posts, often said with a good dollop of wit.

heres another good one from mel.

http://translate.google.com/translate?u ... uage_tools

ADS, Bristol know a thing or two about fixing Bongo. Whilst they fix the side seals (Northern B quotes the proper description) in situ, they remove the pump to do the "internal" seals. Since they replace the seals in house, if they reckoned it was quicker/easier to do these in situ I'm sure they would. They do so many pumps they must have worked out the best approach.

Also when they did mine, they showed me a handful of manky seals/O rings. Suggests that replacing a single one is only half the job.

Hi Thanks everyone for the advice.
There seems to be some doubt about replacing the seal insitu, I was hoping for a resounding yes dozens of bongoliers have done this sucessfully.
All is not lost though as, as usual, this forum has provided sound advice to be cautious about the operation insitu and an alternative which may prove to be the easy answer .
I am going to try the acetone method first if nothing else it shouldn't do any harm and if successful it will give me some breathing space (and time to arrange the mortgage to have the pump refurbished )

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks

i carry a small 20ml bottle from the chemists in my bongo all the time, but ive not needed it since. do you use veg oil or bio diesel.

I have used a mix of veg oil and diesel in the past but not veg oil only. Currently as the price of diesel is relatively low I have been using diesel only.

Colyn wrote:I have used a mix of veg oil and diesel in the past but not veg oil only. Currently as the price of diesel is relatively low I have been using diesel only.

I'd recommend planning on replacing all the seals. If the veg oil has caused one seal to fail (which we don't know for certain of course), the others could be close behind. Keep an eye on it in the meantime. I had leak showing in the same place and it deteriorated quite quickly, resulting in dodgy starting. Not always the case though.

ive not heard of anyone who has successfully run on 50-50 veg or above, who has done it long term, it usually takes out the pump eventually.

Northern Bongolow wrote:ive not heard of anyone who has successfully run on 50-50 veg or above, who has done it long term, it usually takes out the pump eventually.

Very interesting to hear that Ady. I guess that needs to be factored into the savings from using veg oil.

I replaced the other usually troublesome seals a few years ago. I do intend having all seals replaced soon even if the acetone is successful.
I have never used as much as a 50/50 mix of veg oil and diesel nearer 25/75 or thereabouts.

Evening
Know i am reserecting an old post, but does the acetone trick work. Will it stop a leaking injector pump.
Do you just add it to the tank and will 100% acetone nail varnish remover be ok.
Feel a bit stupid asking