Bongo Fury

Morning! We just bought a 2.0lt petrol Ford Freda. The van is great, wonderful to drive and in pretty good nick all around. But, she has developed an annoying knocking sound whilst in any gear on tick over, can be heard in park very slightly but seems to be worse under load at idling in gear. Disappears completely when the revs are up driving. Some kind of mount/grommet problem?? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Adrian, Cornwall

Welcome. Out of interest, what gearstick positions does it NOT make the noise in (N and P presumably but what about R and others). And if you attempt to add throttle with the brakes on while in D, what happens then? I'm no techie, but these diagnostics may help those that are to give a useful reply.

mikeonb4c wrote: Wed May 09, 2018 10:49 am Welcome. Out of interest, what gearstick positions does it NOT make the noise in (N and P presumably but what about R and others). And if you attempt to add throttle with the brakes on while in D, what happens then? I'm no techie, but these diagnostics may help those that are to give a useful reply.

Thanks for your response. Makes noise in all gear positions(most prominent in D & R) but is reduced in L & S and it can be heard very slightly in P & N but much less. If throttle applied with brake on the noise increases. Once the revs are up and driving it's perfectly quiet. It came on suddenly a week after purchase. Other than that the engine sounds great and all the fluids are clean and as they should be. It does seem to increase at low revs when the engine is engaged and working against the brake.

I wonder if the exhaust is knocking against the body somewhere? Try giving it a good shake - sometimes the rubber mounts can stretch / break causing a rattle at idle or low revs but disappears when the engine is reving and running more smoothly. Worth a try.

TheLongRoad wrote: Wed May 09, 2018 3:27 pm I wonder if the exhaust is knocking against the body somewhere? Try giving it a good shake - sometimes the rubber mounts can stretch / break causing a rattle at idle or low revs but disappears when the engine is reving and running more smoothly. Worth a try.

Thanks for that, i was hoping it might be something straightforward like that, but unfortunately not! It's the sort of noise you'd expect from a bad engine mount, but they all look fine...
Adrian

Can you record a video of the sound and upload to YouTube?

sotal wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 6:53 am Can you record a video of the sound and upload to YouTube?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psoIHWgRzG0

Hopefully you'll be able to hear it here. It definitely gets noisier when engaged in gear and working against brake. goes completely once driving, reappears at junctions when under load. Thanks for your response.

If you need a garage then Allan's, Plymouth, is very well thought of in Bongo circles.

Bob wrote: Thu May 10, 2018 9:42 am If you need a garage then Allan's, Plymouth, is very well thought of in Bongo circles.

Thanks for that.

Turns out it was the crank pulley, loose. Someone previously had tried to take it off, with a tyre leaver by the look of it. They chipped it, gave up and then didn't tighten it down properly! One garage diagnosed torque converter/gearbox and said they wouldn't touch it..Then I took it to Mark at Pitstop Bodmin. He found the problem straight away and fixed it on the spot, fantastic service, they come highly recommended from me.
Happy outcome

Cornishfreda wrote: Sat May 26, 2018 8:40 am Turns out it was the crank pulley, loose. Someone previously had tried to take it off, with a tyre leaver by the look of it. They chipped it, gave up and then didn't tighten it down properly! One garage diagnosed torque converter/gearbox and said they wouldn't touch it..Then I took it to Mark at Pitstop Bodmin. He found the problem straight away and fixed it on the spot, fantastic service, they come highly recommended from me.
Happy outcome

Excellent news. I've heard good reports about Pitstop before - they're one of the proper Bongo experts.

Just shows also how some (other, non Bongo) garages lack diagnostic skills

Brilliant news, and a good recommendation.

Bob wrote: Sat May 26, 2018 11:38 am Brilliant news, and a good recommendation.

They are bongo specialists, Mark reckons he looks after around 200! They carry a huge stock of spares and can't be more helpful

mikeonb4c wrote: Sat May 26, 2018 8:59 am

Cornishfreda wrote: Sat May 26, 2018 8:40 am Turns out it was the crank pulley, loose. Someone previously had tried to take it off, with a tyre leaver by the look of it. They chipped it, gave up and then didn't tighten it down properly! One garage diagnosed torque converter/gearbox and said they wouldn't touch it..Then I took it to Mark at Pitstop Bodmin. He found the problem straight away and fixed it on the spot, fantastic service, they come highly recommended from me.
Happy outcome

Excellent news. I've heard good reports about Pitstop before - they're one of the proper Bongo experts.

Just shows also how some (other, non Bongo) garages lack diagnostic skills

I think the motor industry has changed significantly; if a code cannot indicate what is wrong with a vehicle then basically that is that especially with new cars and the diagnosis ends there. With vintage Bongo's and alike if the problem is not evident a guess is made and then the customer is charged for replacement parts and labour until a remedy is stumbled upon. Love the fact that it was the gb or torque converter once again diagnosed as a problem

Fear you're right there Flanners- 'computer says yes / computer says no'. Happily, real mechanics are still to be found, hanging around real cars usually! Long may they (both) run.