Bongo Fury

Hi chaps

I have searched what seems like all of the Internet and also on here but can't find a definitive answer (if one exists). I had an MOT last week which the Bongo passed with 2 very minor advisories. It did however need 2 new track rod ends which were duly fitted. Since then there has been a violent steering wheel wobble which has now manifested itself from 40mph upwards along with a banging/clunking at the front.

Is this CV/propshaft/diff related? I am currently on RX8 wheels with matching, correctly inflated tyres.

Thanks in advance

Tim

Who fitted the new track rod ends ? If its a garage then I would take it back there!

I would agree with the above
but just check they have tightened up your wheel nuts before yo go any further. Wouldn't be the first time this was missed.

It could just be the balance weights have been knocked off but sounds a bit too violent for that

Thanks for the replies, guys.

First things I checked were the pressures and wheel nuts (thanks to lurking & searching on this forum).

It went back to the garage this morning and they have said that the nearside front RX8 wheel has a "horrendous buckle" and the nearside shock absorber is toast and has leaked all its fluid. Having not hit a pothole (at least not one I would have said would buckle a wheel) I find it strange that this damage has occurred. They have also quoted £500 to change both shock absorbers which I thought was a bit salty.

I'm not certain the RX8 wheel is up to the weight of the Bongo, although they (obviously) fit.

This may be why the wheel failed without hitting anything out of the ordinary, but hopefully others may know more.

As for cost, I guess you could get another quote, not sure how much the parts would be or how much labour involved.

Front shock absorbers are around £80 https://mazdabongo.com/product-category ... uspension/ each so £300+ for fitting seems a bit high ?

Just a thought, I wonder if the quote included replacing the wheel/tyre?

Not that I don't trust some garages much but I would be checking the inner edge of the wheel for big hammer marks, they are known to stick on the hub, he may have gone really mad and whacked the shocker too!. Either that or the apprentice went for the dinner time chippy run and parked half on the pavement.
Just my thoughts

When I first got mine in October first job on the list was a set of new tyres giving me a chance to have a proper look around whilst the rims were off. the tyre guy could not get the rear wheels off and took a club hammer to the inside of the rims for a few whacks then stopped gave it a good dosing of penetrating oil and went off to do the fronts instead. on returning to the backs they still would not budge so he warmed them up with a blow lamp for a few minutes and they popped off. Could well be as noted above sometimes they do stick and if not supervised some garages can get a bit brutal to get the job done.

Thanks for all the replies, chaps. I managed to get 2x new shocks for £132 delivered next day. 3 hours labour at the garage to swap out ended up being £234.

They also put my spare 15" wheels on for me and sorted the tracking. All is well again apart from debating whether or not to get the buckled wheel straightened and put back on. The roads where I live are like medieval donkey tracks in some places.

Luckily they are a garage that I trust and have used for other vehicles although they aren't familiar with sourcing parts for Bongos apart from the usual EuroCarParts type places. They were happy enough for me to supply the parts.

Thanks again, guys!

Given the weight of the Bongo it might be worth looking for a new wheel rather than repairing the damaged one.

Just a thought, but it might also be cost effective. [-o<

I seem to remember reading of these wheels failing as they are not designed for weight of a Bongo.
Alloy wheels cannot be repaired from a buckle.
. It would be interesting to have the buckled wheel balanced to see how far it runs out. In some cases the wheel is not sat correctly on the spigot although the wheel seems tight it is in fact skewed.
As to the tracking that should have been checked when the track rod ends were fitted! Some peeps just count the thread turns off and then refit new ones the same number of turns but this does not allow for incorrect tracking in the first place.