Bongo Fury

Hello all,

My Bongo 2.5D is broken in Southern Spain. The coolant is leaking through the tank cap and the engine heats. No coolant leaking from anywhere else. It happened twice. Mechanic said that the head gasket needs to be fixed. He asked for 700 Euros to fix the head gasket.

He never suggested to replace the cooling system, thermostat and radiator and I am concerned that the problem will continue even after he fixes the head gasket. There are not many Bongo parts here which complicate things. So replacing the cooling system, thermo, and radiator may be unrealistic.

It will take a week to get fixed, meaning a week of hotel and food expenditure.

I paid 2500 pounds for it plus 500 pounds to fix a couple things. Should I fix it here and take the risk of driving back to the UK (since it can break again), or sell it for scraps down here? If I decided to get it fixed, my plan is to take it to another mechanic.

Thank you in advance.

James

Rotten luck.

It’s rare for the head gasket to just 'fail', it normally fails due to overheating, as you suggest, and it is likely the head will be cracked, too.

If the local chap just replaces the gasket my guess is you won’t get very far.

Have you considered getting the Bongo recovered to a Bongo expert back in Blighty?

I’m guessing you don’t have breakdown cover?

Has the local guy got any knowledge of a diesel bongo, especially the cooling system? If not, it's pretty cheap, but I'd fear very likely 700€ down the pan. If you're in Seville, I could dig out my old mechanics' number (Antonio) - he changed a few hoses and flushed my system a good few years back - but we bleed the system together. Speaks good English and listens, and at least he has worked on them. He also changed just the minimum, ie the head gasket & a few hoses + blanked off the rear heater matrix for a colleague's older bongo in exactly the same situation as you are in now (with NO guarantee, as his advice was to exchange the cylinder head, and renew complete cooling system or to scrap the vehicle). The vehicle was a bit of a dog, but seem to remember it took a good few days in the garage and then lasted two or three months and a good few thousand kilometres, ie plenty enough to return UK.

Since Brexit, transportation back to UK using specialist companies on the south coast is really expensive and not really a viable option.