Bongo Fury

Hello all
I'm working on the bongo at the minute and one of the projects is a full coolant system service ie replace all components .
As part of this I'd like to replace the front heater matrix and replace or blank off the rear matrix .
My questions are :
1. are there any down sides , apart from having no heater in the rear ,of removing the rear matrix from the system ?
The advantages I see include less components = less potential leaks , I think the club shop sell a blanking off kit , I think I can handle having no heat there as the bus is nice and warm up front .
2 if I do blank off the rear matrix I assume that the AC will still work in the rear ?
3 how difficult a job is it to remove and replace the rear matrix ?
4 same for the front matrix , how difficult a project is it to replace the front matrix and could someone suggest a procedure ?
I know that I'm asking a lot of questions so I thank you all in advance for your help and assistance
Brian

If you disconnect the heating matrix but leave the rest in place then the air being circulated will be either the same temperature or cooled down to the temperature of the Air Con. refrigerant itself if the air con. is turned on.

g8dhe wrote:If you disconnect the heating matrix but leave the rest in place then the air being circulated will be either the same temperature or cooled down to the temperature of the Air Con. refrigerant itself if the air con. is turned on.

"COOL"
Thanks for the quick reply , that's one of the questions answered and to be fair it's important to us as we intend on bringing the bus to Europe on a regular basis ,it will have SOO much more room than the mx5

Keep them coming please !
Brian

Merlot man wrote:Hello all
I'm working on the bongo at the minute and one of the projects is a full coolant system service ie replace all components .
As part of this I'd like to replace the front heater matrix and replace or blank off the rear matrix .
My questions are :
1. are there any down sides , apart from having no heater in the rear ,of removing the rear matrix from the system ?
The advantages I see include less components = less potential leaks , I think the club shop sell a blanking off kit , I think I can handle having no heat there as the bus is nice and warm up front .
2 if I do blank off the rear matrix I assume that the AC will still work in the rear ?
3 how difficult a job is it to remove and replace the rear matrix ?
4 same for the front matrix , how difficult a project is it to replace the front matrix and could someone suggest a procedure ?
I know that I'm asking a lot of questions so I thank you all in advance for your help and assistance
Brian

Hi Merlot man
Just wondering why you want to do that and leave the AC unit in?

Hello bongolia
I'm open to persuasion on either side but my basic thinking was that the less components we have the less potential for water or air leaks , and form driving her around the bus is plenty warm and that's with the blower at 1 so I don't think heating the cabin is a big problem but It would be essential to keep her cool in the summer on holidays , it's one of the reasons we bought her, AC in both front and rear . But I'm not married to anything for now except the AC.
How difficult is it to replace the heater matrasis front and rear , I'm sure you have done it in the wasp ! As you've done everything else
I'm thinking of changing them as they are probably as old as the bus , 1995
Thanks for the replies and please keep them coming
Brian

You don't say what age the vehicle is so difficult to say whether you would actually be improving reliability or risking damaging other parts whilst removing. I would think inspect the pipes for corrosion and any signs of problems, if nothing to show then leave well alone !
Here are some images from Paul Horsfall of Discount Trucks on getting the front matrix out

Good evening all
Thanks a million g8dhe for those great pictures , they make the project look very doable Ppaul Horsfall you are a legand !
The bus is a 1995 with 125,000 on the clock, to be far the front hoses etc look in very good condition but the same can't be said for the rear , I've written to all the previous owners that I can find in the service history but none have come back to my and its been over a month now !
She has already got a new radiator as it had a small leak and at 21/22 years old if nothing else has been replaced I think it deserves it .
Thanks again for the replies ,
Brian

Ah well if its a 1995 then yes a worthwhile precaution!
Paul tells me he is due to do a rear matrix replacement next week so will put some images up of that as well once I have them.

Good morning g8dhe
That would be fantastic to see photos of the process , I would really appreciate that ,thanks .
I feel I really lucked here
Brian

Bongolia wrote:

Merlot man wrote:Hello all
I'm working on the bongo at the minute and one of the projects is a full coolant system service ie replace all components .
As part of this I'd like to replace the front heater matrix and replace or blank off the rear matrix .
My questions are :
1. are there any down sides , apart from having no heater in the rear ,of removing the rear matrix from the system ?
The advantages I see include less components = less potential leaks , I think the club shop sell a blanking off kit , I think I can handle having no heat there as the bus is nice and warm up front .
2 if I do blank off the rear matrix I assume that the AC will still work in the rear ?
3 how difficult a job is it to remove and replace the rear matrix ?
4 same for the front matrix , how difficult a project is it to replace the front matrix and could someone suggest a procedure ?
I know that I'm asking a lot of questions so I thank you all in advance for your help and assistance
Brian

Hi Merlot man
Just wondering why you want to do that and leave the AC unit in?

I see its more precautionary than necessary then.
Changing the front matrix is relatively easy as shown in g8dhe images the rear is a bit more involved with screws and clips as you will see from the images g8dhe will put up here soon.

You can check the matrix in situ for leakage using a footpump fed in to one side of the rubber hose and blank the other off , take it to around 1.50 bar and see if it holds the pressure that wont give you the flow though.

The problem with leaks are more to do with the steel pipework than the matrices.
Checking the pipes externally is pretty obvious, internally the pipes corrode around the tee joints and the brackets.
The wasp had a small hole at one of these tee joints.
On the wasp I will leave the redundant pipework in place to act as a support for the rubber heater hose that I will piggyback to it using broad cable ties rather than replace the steel pipes which are rather costly.
If you chose to do this the tee pieces you will need are available here as well as lots of other useful stuff.
http://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/
If the rear matrix was doubtful and you felt you could live without it then you could just loop the two pipes using a line connector from the same site. https://goo.gl/photos/HjmChWgG9cf2raF97.
Heres an image to whet your appetite, or not. The rear heater matrix is below those two round wheels!
https://goo.gl/photos/QaUwRT3Rdhs6txSs9
Good luck.

OK images just in click the thumbnails below for the main link, also click the larger thumbnail for a fullsize image;

g8dhe wrote:OK images just in click the thumbnails below for the main link, also click the larger thumbnail for a fullsize image;

Nice one,more pixs for the Bongo archives.
I am wondering if it could be done without completely removing the unit? If so it would be fiddly but would mean the AC could stay put.
Merlot man, if you do decide to swop out the rear matrix I have one you can have for postage cost. It holds pressure and has a good flow rate.

Those photos are the business g8dhe , thanks a million !
My AC is leaking as well so that will have to be evacuated either way to fit new seals so the unit may as well come out .
I have a side conversion so it's going to have to come out as well So that another bit of work but not the end of the world .

Thanks very much bongolia for that very generous offer and if I decide to go ahead with this I'll be in touch if that's ok with you . I'll be honest , at the minute I'm leaning more towards simply blanking it as the bus seems plenty warm with just the front heater operating , a bit of thermal insulation in the sides might be just as effective and you will also get the benefit of it at night . Any idea what type is suitable for these buses ? I'm new to the whole camper van World .
Thank you both for you excellent contributions , this is a great site !
Brian

Hi
I've run the system with and without the rear matrix, but I do like rear A/C for the dogs. Regarding the heating, I didn't have any preference either way. I've done both the heater matrices, along with the rest of the cooling system. It depends on whether you are keeping the Bongo, but I have spent hours on end staring at the Bongo and looking at how to change the whole system with components from other vehicles, and it's not too hard to make it much more simple. There are plenty of other vehicles in scrap yards with more easily available cheap parts, making a heating system which is more easily maintained and simple, but keeping the A/C. I have guests here at the moment, but if someone wants to remind me (P.M in a day or two), and I'm happy to chat. (or on FB)
Cheers
Helen

Hi,

thank you this post
I woudl like to remove an entire rear unit to have a room for fresh and grey water tanks, I've found that loop coolant hoses is easy but I am wondering about AC pipes, can I just loop them, will not it change a volume of AC gas ?
I would loop them under passanger seat where they are joined but will be front AC unit working without any issue ?

Thanks a lot