Bongo Fury

Hello- firstly can I apologise for my lack of car type knowledge.
I have a 1997 2.5 diesel bongo which has something wrong but I’m not sure what.
I had the brake pads and cam belt replaced and whilst this was being done my partner filled the coolant but didn’t replace the cap properly.
The next day I took the bongo out and quickly realised the problem and put the cap on and later added more coolant. A few days later I noticed there was smoke coming from under the bonnet and from the back of the vehicle as well as a weird screeching noise which seemed to come from the front of the vehicle. I stopped the van and got towed home and my poor bongos been in the drive ever since.
I wondered if anyone would be able to give any suggestions on how to fix it or if it’s worth trying to x
Thank you

Oh dear.

Really sorry to hear this, and I'm afraid I don't think this will be good news.

If the diesel Bongo has a cooling problem it's prone to cracking the cylinder head, and the symptoms you describe point towards this.

After any loss of coolant the system has to be bled to remove air.

However, this does not mean Bongy can't be revived, you just need a Bongo Friendly garage and your cheque book, or pretty good DiY skills.

Do spend some time on here searching things like 'cylinder head' and 'cooling system'. Putting 'and' between words helps a lot.

Sorry it doesn't sound like good news, but welcome to the Forum.

Edit: If you give us a rough location someone will likely suggest a good garage.

are you sure it was smoke from under the bonnet or was it steam? Have you noticed more coolant dropping level at the header tank? and if it is smoke what colour is it? unfortunately the 2.5td needs the coolant to be bled properly or you can cause severe damage to the engine, hopefully some other guys here can help a bit more with the experience they have with the oil burners. but for now its best to get as much information as possible to correctly diagnose or point you in the right dirrection.

Urgh- okay, that sounds quite sad.
It may possibly have been steam from under the bonnet- and the coolant level hasn’t dropped at all and it’s been sat there a few months.
My partner actually met someone whilst he was waiting for the aa with my vehicle who invented a coolant alarm for the bongo....oh the irony!
I’m in Somerset- mendip area, if there’s anywhere that could be recommended that would be brilliant.

Nearest from memory is ADS, Ashton Vale, Bristol.

They have a contractor who can collect the vehicle for you. I found the price reasonable when I needed them a while back.

Likely Haydn Callow, of this parish, your partner met. Many of us have his Low Coolant Alarms.

Thank you both, that’s very useful advice
That’s brilliant, thank you Bob
It was Haydn- i broke down literally outside his house

Hope it goes well for you and not too expensive, i've heard and read too many horror stories. The bongos are really great vehicles and if you can get it sorted it'll just need some regular checks and you'll have many good times. Put it this way, my bongo made it from scotland to frace just outside switzerland and that was before the epic service (see epic service post) and during this time we've been out a minimum every second weekend and its just sooo practical. In june she'll be going from here to lille-isle of man-bongo bash-edinburgh-isle of skye-isle of harris-then all the way back to here (hopefully with no issues) 5500kms (and another oilchang withe oil and air filter) good luck

Hi, that was some weeks ago, I had just started my evening dog walk.....I did say contact me for advice help......you live very close.......
It did at the time seem like a blown head but it’s worth giving it a proper bleed just in case. Contact me if you wan me to observe/help with bleeding.
Haydn

I’m in Somerset- mendip area, if there’s anywhere that could be recommended that would be brilliant.

I see you are in the Mendip area. Ditto.if it’s any help to you there is a garage between Wraxall and Lydford on the A37 that specialises in Bongo’s, the mechanic is a guy called Royston Heath and judging by the amount of Bongos he has lined up on his forecourt waiting for work to be done he must be pretty trustworthy. I’m going to take mine in for a service soon. I pass his garage every day on my way to work in Yeovil and he is always busy.
If you want to PM me I will provide you with his number to get some advice.