Bongo Fury

This received from Mark in Sheffield:

Ian, hello I’ve a question about your brilliant videos I found on you tube.

I have tried to follow each step but as per part two, when I start my bongo the water in the funnel bubbles madly almost like a boiling kettle and the water rises in the funnel to the point where I have to pour some out. Is the system drawing in air somewhere or am I doing something wrong?

I am having to bleed the system because It overheated but not to the point where the temperature gauge went into the red. I stopped let it cool down and filled the header tank.

I have considered taking it to Dore service station (about 7 miles away) but don’t know if I might cause damage driving from Dinnington.

Please an advice you can give me would be very much appreciated.

This unfortunately seems to me like a head failure over pressurising the cooling system...

I am no expert but I would not recommend driving it as any damage could be made worse.

Someone with more knowledge than myself will be along soon to give more informed advice.

Good luck and hope for the best.

Alan

Just re read the first post and noted the fact that the temp gauge did not move into the red....sadly by the time it moves from the eleven o' clock position it is usually too late as the damage is done...

This is why people fit Hayden alarms as they are more sensitive than the bongo temp gauge.

Alan

Have to agree with Alan, I'd get it delivered to the garage on a recovery truck.

The garage may be able to arrange this.

it may be a little late now but as a general guide if you have filled from cold via the radiator first, then caped it, then filled in the expansion tank, then manually squeezed the pipes to get as much air out as you can then you start the engine. let it tick over for several mins to let it gently bleed itself, monitoring the level of the funnel and expansion tank and watching the bubbles in the funnel.
then you start to rev the engine and the funnel should empty, just before it empties stop revving and lower the funnel to let it push air out and it will fill up again with coolant, rev again until nearly empty, and lower again, repeat until the stat opens and the bottom hose red hot.
when the stat opens the more you rev it the faster it fills the funnel, so in effect the stat opening reverses what you see in the funnel.

the fact that the funnel is filling and loads of air is visible in yours could mean that you havnt done the earlier part of the bleed right, or you have a leak somewhere in the coolant system, or the water pump/belts have failed or the head has cracked so that the engine is passing exhaust gasses into the coolant system and pushing out the coolant.

i would suggest that you get it to a good bongo garage, they will do a sniff test to see if exhaust gasses are present in the coolant.